More than 20 people have been arrested on suspicion of terror offences after protesters gathered in central London to show support for the now proscribed group Palestine Action, police said.
The Metropolitan Police posted on X on Saturday afternoon saying officers were responding to the demonstration in Parliament Square and making arrests.
Palestine Action lost a late-night Court of Appeal challenge on Friday which sought to stop the protest group being banned, less than two hours before the new legislation came into force at midnight.
The designation as a terror group means that membership of, or support for, Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The move to ban the organisation was announced after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on June 20, an incident claimed by Palestine Action, which police said caused around £7 million of damage.
The force posted on X saying: “Officers are responding to a protest in support of Palestine Action in Parliament Square.
“The group is now proscribed and expressing support for them is a criminal offence. Arrests are being made.
“Further updates will be shared here.”
The Met later posted: “UPDATE: Officers have arrested more than 20 people on suspicion of offences under the Terrorism Act 2000.
“They have been taken into custody.
“Palestine Action is a proscribed group and officers will act where criminal offences are committed.”
A group had earlier said it was set to gather in Parliament Square on Saturday holding signs supporting Palestine Action, according to campaign group Defend Our Juries.
In a letter to the Home Secretary, protesters said: “We do not wish to go to prison or to be branded with a terrorism conviction, but we refuse to be cowed into silence by your order.”
Leslie Tate, 76, a Green councillor from Hertfordshire, said: “Palestine Action are not a violent organisation, and the proscription is wrong.
“You do know, of course, that they were proscribed by Parliament with two other groups involved – all three at once – so that was a trick to make sure the Bill went through.
“The evidence from their actions that they’ve taken from the start of Palestine Action is that they all have been non-violent.
“This protest is necessary to defend our democracy, and this is the creeping edge of totalitarianism, frankly.
“We thought they (the police) would probably take pictures of people. It’s the obvious thing to do, to photograph them, then they have their identity, rather than make arrests.”
Metropolitan Police circled around dozens of protesters standing quietly beneath the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, with placards that said: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action”.
Occasional chants of “free Palestine” broke out from the surrounding onlookers, and some criticised the police attending.
The protest started at about 1.10pm and officers were seen taking people away shortly after 1.30pm.
Reverend Sue Parfitt, 83, who was sat in a camp chair with a placards at her feet, appeared to have been taken away by officers.
A woman seen lying on the ground in handcuffs was lifted by officers and put in a police van.
While flanked by a large group of police, she said calmly: “Free Palestine, stop the genocide, I oppose genocide, I support the rights of the Palestinian people, I support freedom of speech, I support freedom of assembly.”
Several people crowded around to film the arrest as officers placed the woman in the vehicle parked on the road behind the square, before returning to the Mahatma Gandhi statue, where almost no protesters remained.
Chants of “shame” broke out, directed at the police, most of whom had dispersed by 2.10pm.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action on June 23, stating that the vandalism of the two planes was “disgraceful” and that the group had a “long history of unacceptable criminal damage”.
MPs in the Commons voted 385 to 26, majority 359, in favour of proscribing the group on Wednesday, before the House of Lords backed the move without a vote on Thursday.
Four people – Amy Gardiner-Gibson, 29, Jony Cink, 24, Daniel Jeronymides-Norie, 36, and Lewis Chiaramello, 22 – have all been charged in connection with the incident at RAF Brize Norton.
They appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday after being charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the United Kingdom, and conspiracy to commit criminal damage, under the Criminal Law Act 1977.
