More than 300 arrested at Palestine Action support protest outside US embassy in London

Police in London arrested 325 people during a protest outside the US embassy in Nine Elms on Saturday, after demonstrators gathered in support of the banned group Palestine Action. The Metropolitan Police said the majority of those detained were arrested for expressing support for a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act. Officers continued making arrests into the evening as the crowd remained outside the embassy.

The force said 320 of the arrests were linked to support for a proscribed organisation. Protesters held signs reading phrases including: "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action." Some demonstrators were carried away by officers after refusing to walk, while others were taken to police vans amid applause from parts of the crowd. The protest took place on 1 November and drew hundreds of people to the area around the embassy.

The arrests add to a wider pattern of detentions connected to Palestine Action since the group was proscribed in July 2025. Police figures cited in the reporting indicate that at least 4,000 people have now been arrested in relation to the group. Home Office figures seen by the BBC put the number of arrests in the year ending June 2026 at 3,630, while arrests outside Westminster Magistrates Court earlier this year and those on Saturday brought the total to 4,089.

The scale of the arrests makes this one of the largest recent public-order policing operations linked to the ban. The case matters because it sits at the intersection of protest rights, terrorism legislation and the wider political dispute over the Israel-Palestine conflict. Palestine Action's proscription is being challenged in the courts, with the UK Supreme Court due to review the ban after the group's co-founder was granted permission to appeal.

The Home Office has said it will robustly defend the appeal, underlining that the legal fight over the ban remains active. The protest was coordinated by Defend Our Juries, which has organised a series of demonstrations against the proscription. One protester, retired lawyer Charles Allison, said he feared civil liberties were being devalued, while another, David Bolden, described the ban as an absurd law.

Amnesty International UK has also criticised the arrests and called for the government to drop the proscription, showing that the policing response continues to draw scrutiny from rights groups and campaigners. What remains unclear is how many of those arrested will face charges and how the courts will ultimately rule on the legality of the ban. The Metropolitan Police has been asked to confirm the figures it holds, and the legal challenge is still to be heard by the Supreme Court.

For now, the arrests mark a significant escalation in the enforcement of the proscription and a continuing test of how authorities balance public order, national security law and protest rights.

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