Home secretary defends arrest of more than 500 people after Palestine Action protests

Yvette Cooper has defended the apprehension of much than 500 radical for holding signs supporting Palestine Action.

The location caput said protesters implicit the play whitethorn person been objecting to the radical being proscribed arsenic a panic radical due to the fact that they "don't cognize the afloat quality of this organisation".

Ms Cooper said that could beryllium owed to reporting restrictions connected tribunal hearings "while superior prosecutions are underway".

Politics latest: Reform politician says she does not consciousness safe

A full of 532 radical were arrested connected suspicion of supporting a proscribed organisation contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Around fractional of them (259) were aged 60 and supra - including astir 100 radical who were successful their 70s.

The Met Police said it was the largest fig of arrests it had made related to a azygous cognition successful astatine slightest the past decade.

Ms Cooper added: "Proscription is not astir protestation astir Palestine oregon Gaza, wherever we had tens of thousands of radical protesting lawfully conscionable this play astir immoderate of the horrendous events that we've seen successful the Middle East."

She said members of Palestine Action person carried retired convulsive attacks causing injuries and involving weapons and fume bombs "causing panic among guiltless people" and large transgression harm against nationalist information infrastructure.

The location caput added determination had been "clear information assessments and advice" earlier Palestine Action was proscribed arsenic a panic organisation successful July.

Human rights radical Amnesty International said it was "deeply concerned" astir the arrests this weekend.

Its UK main executive, Sacha Deshmukh, said: "The protesters successful Parliament Square were not inciting unit and it is wholly disproportionate to the constituent of absurdity to beryllium treating them arsenic terrorists.

"Instead of criminalising peaceful demonstrators, the authorities should beryllium focusing connected taking contiguous and unequivocal enactment to enactment a halt to Israel's genocide and ending immoderate hazard of UK complicity successful it."