London police arrested 890 people at a demonstration in Parliament Square on Saturday, including 857 detained for expressing support for the proscribed group Palestine Action, Scotland Yard said, in what officials described as likely Britain’s largest mass arrest.
Officers said about 1,500 people attended the rally, which began just before 1 p.m. Police said arrests started shortly after as officers moved through the crowd to detain those believed to be supporting a group outlawed under the Terrorism Act. Palestine Action was proscribed by the UK government in July after the group claimed responsibility for incidents in June in which two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Claire Smart, who led the policing operation, thanked officers for their “professionalism and tireless work” and said they had faced what she called “intolerable” abuse. She said the violence encountered was “coordinated and carried out by a group of people, many wearing masks to conceal their identity, intent on creating as much disorder as possible,” and that many of those individuals had been arrested and were being charged.
Scotland Yard said 33 people were arrested for other offences, including 17 for assaults on police officers. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan reiterated the force’s view that it is a criminal offence to be a member of, or to express support for, Palestine Action: “If you show support for Palestine Action — an offence under the Terrorism Act — you will be arrested,” he said. He added the force had the custody capacity and resources to process the numbers detained.
Organisers and some demonstrators disputed the police account. Defend Our Juries, which organised the rally, described the event as “the picture of peaceful protest” and said aggression had come from officers. One organiser called claims that protesters had been violent “frankly laughable.” Protesters in the square chanted slogans including “Met Police — pick a side, justice or genocide,” and footage from the scene showed officers escorting people into police vans, arguing loudly with demonstrators and detaining some who appeared distressed.
Among those at the demonstration was Mike Higgins, 62, who is blind and uses a wheelchair. Higgins, who said he was among 532 people arrested at a previous protest, told reporters he planned to keep attending: “What choice do I have? Nothing is being done about the genocide other than by us. And I'm a terrorist? That's the joke of it.” Another demonstrator, Franco Ferrer, 69, from Llanberis in north Wales, said he wore a satirical T‑shirt reading “Plasticine Action” because he believed the government’s decision to ban a group under terror laws was “outrageous” and a suppression of free speech.
The policing operation in Parliament Square came on a day when other demonstrations were also staged in central London. Scotland Yard noted the contrast with a Palestine Coalition march it also policed, which it said was attended by around 20,000 people and did not descend into the disorder seen at the Parliament Square event.
Police said they were beginning to secure charges in relation to the Parliament Square arrests. Authorities did not provide a full breakdown of the charges beyond those linked to the proscription and to offences such as assault. Protest organisers said they would challenge the policing and the use of terror legislation to proscribe a campaigning group.
Palestine Action was added to the government’s list of proscribed organisations in July after it claimed responsibility for actions that damaged aircraft at RAF Brize Norton on June 20. Under the Terrorism Act it is an offence to belong to, invite support for, or express support for a proscribed organisation; prosecutions under those provisions have drawn criticism from civil liberties groups and supporters of the demonstrations.
Scotland Yard said it had a duty to enforce the law “without fear or favour” and that advertising an intention to commit a crime left it no option but to act. Defend Our Juries and other supporters said they would continue to protest and to challenge what they described as restrictions on lawful political expression.
Metropolitan Police said investigations into the incidents at Parliament Square were ongoing and that further details of charges would be released as prosecutions were prepared.