Over 4,000 arrested in Britain over Palestine Action ban

Campaigners say more than 4,000 arrests have been made across Britain since Palestine Action was proscribed in July 2025, with residents from Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and other parts of Wales among those detained.

The milestone was announced by civil liberties group Defend Our Juries on Saturday as police detained dozens of demonstrators outside the United States Embassy in London. Organisers estimated around 400 people attended the London demonstration, holding cardboard signs opposing the war in Gaza and expressing support for the banned group.

“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.”

The Metropolitan Police confirmed 139 arrests at the London protest, with officers continuing to make arrests on the scene. A simultaneous demonstration took place outside the American Consulate in Edinburgh, where Police Scotland made no arrests during the event.

In Wales, demonstrators have been arrested at protests in Cardiff and Aberystwyth since the ban. On November 18 last year, Dyfed-Powys Police arrested more than 20 people gathered at Aberystwyth's bandstand, including elderly campaigners and religious figures.

Among those detained was 80-year-old Elizabeth Morley, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, along with a local vicar and a retired teacher. Defend Our Juries described the national total as a disturbing indication of the consequences of using terrorism legislation against peaceful political demonstrations.

The group said the figure represents the vast majority of terror arrests since last July and has not been independently verified as an official national total. The Supreme Court is preparing to consider the controversial ban.