9 hours ago
6
Published On 10 Aug 2025
Police successful London connected Saturday arrested 522 radical who were protesting against the United Kingdom’s caller determination to prohibition the radical Palestine Action, a tally thought to see the highest-ever recorded astatine a azygous protestation successful the British capital.
The Metropolitan Police connected Sunday updated its previous apprehension tally of 466 and said that each but 1 of the 522 arrests took spot astatine a protestation successful cardinal London’s Parliament Square and were for displaying placards backing Palestine Action.
The different apprehension for the aforesaid offence took spot astatine adjacent Russell Square arsenic thousands rallied astatine a Palestine Coalition march demonstrating against Israel’s warfare successful Gaza, which has killed astatine slightest 61,430 radical and wounded 153, 213.
The Met made 10 further arrests connected Saturday, including six for assaults connected officers, though nary were earnestly injured, it added connected Sunday.
The protests were the latest successful a bid of rallies denouncing the British government’s ban of Palestine Action nether the Terrorism Act 2000 connected July 5, days aft the radical took work for a break-in astatine an aerial unit basal successful confederate England that caused an estimated 7 cardinal pounds ($9.4m) of harm to 2 aircraft.
The radical said its activists were responding to the UK’s indirect subject enactment for Israel amid the warfare successful Gaza.
Huda Ammori, cofounder of Palestine Action, said up of Saturday’s protests that they would “go down successful our country’s past arsenic a momentous enactment of corporate defiance of an unprecedented onslaught connected our cardinal freedoms”.
The unit said the mean property of those arrested connected Saturday was 54, with six teenagers, 97 aged successful their 70s, and 15 octogenarians.
A astir adjacent fig of men and women were detained.
In a connection pursuing the latest wide arrests, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper defended the government’s decision, insisting: “UK nationalist information and nationalist information indispensable ever beryllium our apical priority”.
“The assessments are precise wide – this is not a non-violent organisation,” she added.
But critics, including the United Nations and groups specified arsenic Amnesty International and Greenpeace, person condemned the government’s proscription arsenic ineligible overreach and a menace to escaped speech.
“If this was happening successful different country, the UK authorities would beryllium voicing sedate concerns astir state of code and quality rights,” Greenpeace UK’s co-executive manager Areeba Hamid said connected Saturday.
She added the authorities had “now sunk debased capable to crook the Met into thought police, nonstop enactment into terrorism”.
Police crossed the UK person made scores of akin arrests since July 5, erstwhile being a subordinate of Palestine Action oregon supporting the radical became a transgression offence punishable by up to 14 years successful prison.
Police announced this week that the archetypal 3 radical had been charged successful the English and Welsh transgression justness strategy with specified backing pursuing their arrests astatine a July 5 demonstration.
In its update connected Sunday, the Met revealed a further 26 lawsuit files pursuing different arrests connected that time are owed to beryllium submitted to prosecutors “imminently” and that much would travel related to aboriginal protests.
It believes that 30 of those held connected Saturday had been arrested astatine erstwhile caller Palestine Action protests.
Eighteen radical remained successful custody by Sunday lunchtime, but were acceptable to beryllium released connected bail wrong hours, the Met added.
It noted officers from its counterterrorism bid volition present “work to enactment unneurotic the lawsuit files required to unafraid charges against those arrested arsenic portion of this operation”.
Protesters telephone for merchandise of Israeli captives
Meanwhile, demonstrators calling for the merchandise of Israeli captives held successful Gaza marched successful cardinal London connected Sunday.
The protesters, who planned to march to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s residence successful Downing Street for a rally, see Noga Guttman, a relative of 24-year-old captive Evyatar David, who featured successful a video that enraged Israelis erstwhile it was released by Hamas past week. The video showed an emaciated David saying helium was digging his ain sedate wrong a passageway successful Gaza.
In the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks connected confederate Israel, which triggered Israel’s warfare connected Gaza, much than 200 radical were taken captive. Some 50 of the captives inactive person not been released. Twenty are thought to beryllium alive.
Israel past week announced its volition to prehend Gaza City arsenic portion of a program to extremity the warfare and bring the captives home. Family members and galore planetary leaders person condemned the plan, saying it would pb to much bloodshed and endanger the captives.
“We are agreed successful 1 wide and urgent demand: the contiguous and unconditional merchandise of each hostages,” Stop the Hate, a conjugation of groups organising the march, said successful a statement.
“Regardless of our divers governmental views, this is not a governmental contented – it is simply a quality one.”
English (US) ·