Police have arrested 474 people during a mass protest in central London against the government’s ban on the activist group Palestine Action, marking the highest number of arrests in a single operation by the Metropolitan Police in at least a decade.
The arrests took place on Saturday in and around Parliament Square, where the demonstration was organised by campaign group Defend Our Juries. The protest followed the government’s decision in July to proscribe Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000, making membership of or support for the group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
By 9pm, the Met confirmed 466 arrests for showing support for Palestine Action, with a further eight arrests for other offences, including five assaults on police officers. The force said it had deployed a “significant policing presence”, drawing in officers from other forces in anticipation of large-scale detentions.
Police estimated 500–600 people were present when the demonstration began, though many were not taking part. Defend Our Juries claimed around 1,000 people held signs in defiance of the ban, but police disputed the figure.
A spokesperson for the group said: “The fact that unprecedented numbers came out today risking arrest and possible imprisonment shows how repulsed and ashamed people are about our government’s ongoing complicity in a livestreamed genocide, and the lengths people are prepared to go to defend this country’s ancient liberties.”
The arrests follow a series of demonstrations challenging the ban, which critics argue undermines free speech and the right to protest, particularly in opposition to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.