London: 139 arrested at Palestine Action ban protest

London's Metropolitan Police arrested 139 people on Saturday, 31 October, at a protest outside the US Embassy against the ban on the group Palestine Action. The force said that the majority of arrests were for expressing support for a proscribed organisation, and that arrests were continuing. The number had been 48 earlier in the day. The protest was organised by Defend Our Juries, which says that more than 4,000 people have been arrested for defying the ban since it took effect in July 2025.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the US Embassy in London at lunchtime for what the organisers called a mass action, and a separate protest took place outside the US consulate in Edinburgh, where no arrests were reported. Demonstrators in both cities held placards reading: I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action. Many of those arrested, including senior citizens and Holocaust survivors, have displayed such signs, according to one report. Amnesty International UK described those detained as grandparents, teenagers and everyone in between. Defend Our Juries called the arrests dystopian.

The ban

The British government banned Palestine Action under anti-terror laws in July 2025, under then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and classifies it as a terrorist organisation. It sits on a list that also includes al-Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah, according to the reports. Membership of or support for the group is a criminal offence that carries a sentence of up to 14 years in prison.

Hearings for more than 2,000 of the cases were postponed in July until later this year, according to one report.

The group's co-founder, Huda Ammori, has challenged the ban in court, arguing that it is disproportionate and infringes human rights. The Court of Appeal ruled in the government's favour in June. The Supreme Court will hold a two-day hearing on the case from Wednesday, 4 November. The reports found do not give the date of the hearing, which is inferred from the day of publication.

Measure	Figure
Arrests in London on 31 October (final reported)	139
Arrests reported earlier that day	48
Arrests since July 2025, according to the organisers	more than 4,000
Cases postponed from July	more than 2,000

The reports found do not say how many of the 139 will be charged, or give their ages. The Metropolitan Police said it was continuing to make arrests, so the final number may be higher. The reports do not carry a response from the government to the protest, and they do not say what the Supreme Court will decide or when.