By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
LONDON — Metropolitan Police arrested at least 139 people outside the U.S. Embassy in London on Saturday, Oct. 31, during a demonstration supporting Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian activist organization banned under Britain’s terrorism laws.
The arrests occurred in the Nine Elms neighborhood of southwest London, where hundreds of protesters gathered carrying signs expressing support for the organization despite advance warnings that doing so could constitute a criminal offense.
Police initially reported 48 arrests before raising the number to 139 as the operation continued. Most arrests involved suspected expressions of support for a proscribed organization.
According to The Associated Press, demonstrators displayed placards declaring, “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action,” while others applauded and chanted “free, free Palestine” as officers escorted detained protesters to police vehicles.
In an updated statement, Metropolitan Police confirmed the increased arrest total and indicated that enforcement operations were continuing.
“139 people have now been arrested. Officers remain on scene and are continuing to make arrests,” police said, according to The Guardian’s coverage of the demonstration.
The protest was organized by Defend Our Juries, an activist group campaigning against Britain’s decision to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist organization.
Organizers estimated that approximately 400 people attended the demonstration, many deliberately displaying messages that could expose them to arrest under the country’s counterterrorism legislation.
Palestine Action was proscribed in 2025 following incidents involving attacks on military facilities and businesses associated with Israeli defense manufacturing.
The designation makes membership in or certain forms of support for the organization criminal offenses, with serious violations potentially punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
British authorities have defended the prohibition as a response to the organization’s activities, while opponents argue that the restrictions criminalize political expression and peaceful protest.
Ahead of Saturday’s demonstration, the Metropolitan Police issued a warning that individuals displaying support for Palestine Action could face arrest.
Commander Adam Slonecki, who oversaw the operation, explained that police intended to enforce the law against participants and individuals assisting with activities considered unlawful.
“All those intending on coming to this event know that supporting a proscribed organisation is unlawful – they are essentially meeting to purposefully commit a crime,” Slonecki said.
“The public would rightly expect us to be proactive and not just standby and wait for offences to be committed.”
Slonecki also warned that enforcement would not necessarily be limited to people holding signs.
“I want to be clear – it is not just those who hold up placards who should expect to be arrested. Anyone officers consider to be playing a key role in organising the event, giving instructions to others and/or providing logistical support will very likely be committing an offence and face enforcement action.”
Police maintained that the operation was directed at suspected violations of counterterrorism legislation rather than expressions of political opposition to government policy.
“This is not about preventing people from expressing their views, but about acting robustly in cases where doing so involves criminality,” Slonecki said.
Officers established a dispersal order covering the embassy area from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m. Saturday, authorizing police to direct individuals to leave designated locations under applicable legal conditions.
Arrests began shortly after 12:30 p.m., with officers approaching demonstrators individually. Some protesters were carried away after declining to walk to police vehicles.
Among those participating was Charles Allison, a 75-year-old retired lawyer who traveled from Cumbria to London.
Allison told the Press Association that he attended because of concerns about restrictions on civil liberties.
“I decided that I ought to try and do something, and this is the little bit that I’m doing,” Allison said, according to ITV News.
“I fear for our civil liberties, which are being devalued and watered down, even by this new Labour Government.”
Allison acknowledged that he was knowingly risking arrest.
“I speak as an ex-lawyer, so it’s uncomfortable for me to break the law deliberately. But I felt that I could do no other.”
Police escorted him away shortly before 1 p.m.
Other participants expressed similar objections to Britain’s prohibition of Palestine Action.
Sue Morhall, a 79-year-old retired woman, criticized American involvement in international conflicts and said she wanted political leaders to recognize opposition to the war in Gaza.
“The USA is complicit in most of the wars that are going on. I just feel the leaders of this world, including Trump, need to know that people are so against what’s happening in Gaza,” Morhall said.
The Rev. Bill White, 72, also participated in the demonstration, arguing that the terrorism designation unjustly restricted protesters.
“There’s a bad law and it is wrong to criminalise people that are trying to prevent genocide,” White said. “How can I not be here?”
Organizers criticized police for making arrests that they said extended beyond demonstrators explicitly displaying support for the banned group.
Defend Our Juries alleged that officers detained people providing assistance to participants and others before they displayed signs.
Those claims were disputed by the police position that logistical assistance connected to unlawful expressions of support can itself constitute an offense under certain circumstances.
The demonstration took place four days before a scheduled Nov. 4 Supreme Court hearing concerning Palestine Action’s designation under British terrorism legislation.
Opponents of the ban argue that it is disproportionate and interferes with freedoms of expression and assembly. The government maintains that proscription is justified by the organization’s actions.
Palestine Action was established in 2020 and has sought to disrupt businesses and facilities it associates with Israeli military operations.
The organization describes its campaign as opposition to companies involved in supplying equipment to Israel, which its supporters accuse of committing genocide against Palestinians. Israel denies that accusation.
In 2024, Palestine Action activists broke into a factory operated by Israeli defense manufacturer Elbit Systems UK and damaged equipment using sledgehammers and crowbars.
In June 2025, activists entered a Royal Air Force base and damaged two military tanker aircraft, spraying paint into their engines and using crowbars against the planes.
The RAF incident was among the events preceding the British government’s decision to ban the organization.
The United States subsequently imposed sanctions against Palestine Action in August 2026 and designated it as a terrorist organization.
The sanctions and British prohibition have made the organization a focus of disputes over the boundaries between political protest, criminal property damage and activities covered by counterterrorism laws.
Defend Our Juries has organized repeated demonstrations challenging the ban. The group claims more than 4,000 people have been arrested for expressing support for Palestine Action since the prohibition took effect.
The figure represents the organizers’ reported total and was not independently established in Saturday’s police announcement.
A separate demonstration was held outside the U.S. Consulate in Edinburgh, Scotland, where protesters displayed similar messages supporting Palestine Action.
Police Scotland reported no immediate arrests but said officers were examining images and other evidence involving participants who displayed signs or wore clothing expressing support for the banned organization.
“Evidence is being reviewed and further action will be taken as appropriate,” Police Scotland said.
British authorities have continued enforcing the prohibition while the legal challenge proceeds.
The upcoming Supreme Court hearing will address the dispute over Palestine Action’s designation, with the government’s authority to prohibit the organization and the consequences for freedom of expression remaining central questions in the proceedings.
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