UK court upholds 'terrorist' ban on Palestine Action: lawful security measure, or an assault on protest?
Britain's Court of Appeal ruled that the government's proscription of the activist group Palestine Action as a 'terrorist' organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000 was lawful — overturning a February High Court decision that had called the ban unlawful and disproportionate. The court said the group 'overtly promoted unlawful violence amounting to terrorism'; Palestine Action's co-founder vowed to fight on to the Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights, calling it one of the most extreme attacks on the right to protest in modern British history. More than 3,000 people have been arrested over support for the group since the July 2025 ban.
The summary above is a neutral framing. Below, each side reports the same story in its own words — judge for yourself.
Allowing the home secretary's appeal, Chief Justice Sue Carr said the proscription 'struck a fair balance' and that it would be a 'fundamental mistake to overlook the fact that Palestine Action overtly promoted unlawful violence amounting to terrorism' — adding its conduct 'was not that of a non-violent, direct-action group.' Lawyers for Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood argued that claims the ban would significantly curtail free expression were 'overstated and incorrect.' The ruling overturned a February High Court decision against the ban.
Co-founder Huda Ammori vowed to 'fight proscription all the way' to the Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights, calling the ban 'one of the most extreme attacks on free speech and the right to protest in modern British history.' Critics note more than 3,000 arrests have followed merely for expressing support for the group since July 2025, and that a lower court had found the ban unlawful and disproportionate — warning that labelling a direct-action protest movement 'terrorist' conflates property damage with terrorism and chills legitimate dissent.
