More than 50 demonstrators have been arrested outside the Labour Party conference in Liverpool during a protest in support of the banned Palestine Action group, police have said. More than 250 protesters sat outside the conference centre earlier, many holding home-made banners which read: “I support Palestine Action”. Scores of police officers stood by before moving in to start making arrests, warning protesters they were illegally holding signs supporting a proscribed organisation. After asking them if they were going to continue to do so, officers led some of the protesters away, telling them they had been arrested under the Terrorism Act.
Merseyside Police said more than 50 people had so far been detained at the Defend Our Juries event and that officers were in the process of making arrests on suspicion of wearing/carrying an article supporting a proscribed organisation. A force spokesperson said it respected everyone’s rights to protest lawfully while also aiming to keep the peace and ensure public safety. The force said it made “detailed and co-ordinated plans ahead of such events to ensure it can apply this consistently, fairly and proportionately”. The spokesperson said not everyone present at the protest had been committing a criminal offence.
The arrests were criticised by Amnesty International, which called them a “shameful attack on freedom of speech”. One of those detained was human rights barrister Margaret Owen, 94. A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries said: “We had hoped the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, would do the sensible thing and bin the ban on Palestine Action given the weight of public pressure to do so and the escalating amount of resources required in enforcing it. “Continuing the charade of the proscription of Palestine Action is illogical, unsustainable and immoral.” Demonstrators in Liverpool cheered every time someone was carried away by police.
Kerry Moscogiuri, chief executive of Amnesty International UK, said: “Protesting is one of the most effective tools we have to make our leaders listen to us, but we have seen consecutive governments crack down on our right to do it. “The arrests of grandparents, teenagers and everyone in between for holding placards outside the Labour Party conference are a truly shameful attack on freedom of speech. “The new prime minister can reform our laws so that communities are protected in coming together and demonstrating on the issues they care about. Will he do so?” In July it was confirmed that Palestine Action’s proscription would be The court said it had given the group’s co-founder permission to appeal the ban, which came into force in July 2025.
In a statement issued shortly afterwards, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the government would “robustly defend this appeal”. The Home Office has repeatedly said that the ban of the group has nothing to do with protest in support of Palestinian causes – and was necessary because it was causing significant criminal damage to legitimate businesses. Both the High Court and the Court of Appeal have ruled that Palestine Action’s activities include criminal acts – although they were divided on whether those incidents justified turning to terrorism laws. BBC News has asked the Ministry of Justice to comment.
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