LONDON, 31 July. - (ANA) - Hundreds of protesters face arrest in London on Thursday over a planned show of solidarity with proscribed group Palestine Action (PA), with activist organisation Defend Our Juries (DoJ) telling The New Arab that new Prime Minister Andy Burnham must put an end to the prosecution of protesters if he is to win public confidence.

 

The planned protest is set to take place outside Westminster Magistrates Court at noon on Thursday, after more than 1,800 members of Defend our Juries were due to face trial over alleged support for Palestine Action. The trials, which were due to start at 9AM, are believed to have been postponed.

 

On Wednesday  evening, the Metropolitan Police issued a warning over the planned protest. The potential arrests, which fall under the Terrorism Act, come with the threat of a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

 

"Expressing support for Palestine Action is an offence under the Terrorism Act. Those who do so will be arrested," the statement read.

 

Under the presious government of Keir Starmer, thousands of people were arrested for expressing solidarity with Palestine Action, which most commonly including holding placards bearing the slogan: "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action."

 

"Andy Burnham has acknowledged the evidence that Israel is committing the most horrific of crimes. Yet today it looks like hundreds more pensioners will be arrested as terrorists for peacefully protesting against those crimes and the libel that those who oppose them are ‘terrorists'," a spokesman for Defend our Juries told The New Arab, referring to the large numbers of elderly people arrested at previous demonstrations.

 

"If Andy Burnham is to regain public trust he must put a stop to this now."

 

The protest is the first of its kind to be held under Burnham's fledgling premiership, challenging what activists say has been a crackdown on the right to protest, particularly in relation to Palestine and Gaza.

 

Direct action organisation Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist group in June 2025 under former prime minister Keir Starmer. The ban was first introduced under Home Secretary Yvette  Cooper, and continued under her successor Shabana Mahmood.

 

Mahmood, who was once active in pro-Palestine advocacy, has overseen a continuation of policies seen as curtailing protest rights.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/31 July 2026 - - -