325 Palestine Action arrests outside US embassy days before Supreme Court hearing

The Metropolitan Police has reported 325 Palestine Action arrests after a demonstration outside the US embassy in London on Saturday, days before the Supreme Court is due to consider the legality of the group’s ban. The force said in a post on X on Sunday that 320 of those held were detained on suspicion of expressing support for a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act. The sources do not say what the other five were arrested for. No one has been reported as charged.

What happened at the embassy protest

Hundreds of people gathered in Nine Elms, south-west London, at a protest organised by the campaign group Defend Our Juries. Many held signs reading “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action”. Others carried placards saying “we are protesters, not terrorists” and “heroes, not terrorists”, and some wore keffiyehs or waved Palestinian flags.

According to Press Association reporting, officers began arresting people one by one at around midday, sometimes carrying those who would not walk. Detainees were taken to police vans on Ponton Road, just off the embassy grounds, and then moved to police stations. Onlookers applauded and chanted “free, free Palestine”. One demonstrator climbed a tree holding a placard about teachers who support Palestine, prompting chants of “tree, tree Palestine” from the crowd below.

Why the timing matters for the ban

Expressing support for Palestine Action became an offence when the group was proscribed in June 2025. The protest came ahead of a Supreme Court appeal against that designation, due on 4 November. Those arrested are suspects only, and any decisions on charges rest with prosecutors.

One attendee, a 75-year-old retired lawyer from Cumbria, told the Press Association he feared for civil liberties and hoped the justices would “take a long-term view”. Police arrested him shortly before 1pm.

A Defend Our Juries spokesperson said the day’s detentions took the total arrested for defying the ban to more than 4,000 since July 2025, a figure from the group that the sources do not independently verify. The spokesperson called the ban an attack on free speech and argued it could not be sustained. The group also said a 94-year-old human rights lawyer was among those arrested. Green Party leader Zack Polanski described video of that arrest as “truly dystopian”.

Differing figures and wider protests

Early reports differed on the scale. Al Jazeera, publishing on Saturday, cited 139 arrests, most on suspicion of expressing support for a proscribed group. The Met’s later figure of 325 is the official total. The gap probably reflects arrests continuing through the day, though the sources do not explain it.

Another protest took place outside the US consulate in Edinburgh, according to Press Association images, though the sources give no detail on it. The Supreme Court’s decision on the appeal will shape what happens next for the ban and for the many people arrested under it.

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