Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Claire Smart said officers had encountered violence that was “co-ordinated and carried out by a group of people ... intent on creating as much disorder as possible”.
Protesters gathered outside the Houses of Parliament on Saturday.Credit:Getty Images
Defend Our Juries,however,said that among those arrested were priests,war veterans and healthcare workers,and that they included many elderly and some disabled people.
Many of those arrested in recent weeks are released on police bail,and it was unclear how many were still in detention.
“These mass acts of defiance will continue until the ban is lifted,” a spokesperson said.
Mike Higgins,62,who is blind and uses a wheelchair,was arrested last month but returned to demonstrate on Saturday.
“And I’m a terrorist? That’s the joke of it,” he said. “I’ve already been arrested under the Terrorism Act,and I suspect I will be today.
“Of course I’ll keep coming back. What choice do I have?”
Posting on X,Labour MP Richard Burgon described the arrests as “a total disgrace. It’s exactly why I voted against banning Palestine Action in Parliament – and why this ban must be overturned.”
Burgon was one of nine Labour MPs to oppose the ban in a House of Commons vote in June.
Ban criticised
The ban on Palestine Action puts it alongside al-Qaeda and Islamic State,making it a crime to support or belong to the organisation,punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
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Human rights groups and the United Nations have criticised the ban as disproportionate and say it limits the freedom of expression of peaceful protesters.
The move “raises serious concerns that counter-terrorism laws are being applied to conduct that is not terrorist in nature,and risks hindering the legitimate exercise of fundamental freedoms across the UK,” UN human rights chief Volker Türk warned.
He added that according to international standards,terrorist acts should be confined to crimes such as those intended to cause death or serious injury or the taking of hostages.
Huda Ammori,Palestine Action’s co-founder,has condemned the ban as “catastrophic” for civil liberties,leading to a “much wider chilling effect on freedom of speech”.
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The group has been supported by prominent cultural figures,including bestselling Irish author Sally Rooney,who said she planned to use the proceeds of her work “to keep backing Palestine Action and direct action against genocide”.
But British Defence Minister John Healey said firm action was needed to counter-accusations by right-wing critics of “a two-tier policing and justice system”.
“Almost everyone shares the agony when we see the images from Gaza ... and for people who want to voice their concern and protest,I applaud them,” he told Sky News. “But that does not require them to link it to support for Palestine Action,a proscribed group.”
Palestine Action has won approval from the High Court to challenge the ban,a ruling the government is seeking to overturn. The case is ongoing,with a hearing scheduled for September 25.
AP,Reuters
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