Police arrested at least 442 protesters at a London rally in support of the banned group Palestine Action on Saturday.
Controversial demonstrations went ahead despite a plea from the Prime Minister to “respect the grief of British Jews” after Thursday’s Manchester synagogue terror attack.
The bulk of the arrests occurred in Trafalgar Square, where protesters held placards showing their support for Palestine Action, which the British Government has proscribed as a terrorist organisation.
They also included six people who were detained for unfurling a banner backing the banned group on Westminster Bridge.
The Metropolitan Police said: “As of 6.30pm officers had arrested 442 people for supporting a proscribed organisation.
“A different protest group gathered in Whitehall, blocking the road before trying to march first towards Trafalgar Square, then Parliament Square. Officers have intervened.”
Organisers Defend Our Juries said more than a thousand people had gathered at the central London landmark to hold a mass, silent vigil protesting the proscription while the names of Palestinian children killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict were read out.
Jewish figures have called the action “phenomenally tone deaf” following Thursday’s killing of two people in the terror attack.
Protesters unfurl a banner on Westminster Bridge as part of a demonstration organised by Defend our Juries, in support of Palestine Action in Trafalgar Square, London (Photo: PA) A protester holds a sign, during a demonstration organised by the Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine calling for an end to Israeli occupation, ahead of the two year anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas from Gaza (Photo: Reuters)A vicar, who had been sitting with her eyes closed and holding a poster saying “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action”, was among those arrested and carried out by police.
Some people in the crowd called police “shameful” and one said to officers “thanks for protecting us” as the woman was taken away.
Two elderly men were also seen being carried by each limb to the south-west side of the square, where officers and police vehicles were waiting to process the arrests.
The Met later imposed Public Order Act conditions on the pro-Palestine protests, requiring demonstrators to leave the area.
A statement said: “Public Order Act conditions have been imposed on the protest in Whitehall, requiring protesters to leave the road and assemble in Richmond Terrace.
“Officers remain in the area to enforce the conditions. We will reopen the road as soon as it is safe to do so.”
Dave Rich, director of policy at the Community Security Trust charity which provides protection for the Jewish community, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think it’s phenomenally tone deaf, to say the least, for so many people who claim to care about human rights and care about freedoms, to be taking police resources away from protecting the rights and freedoms of Jewish people to live their lives and go to synagogue in safety, all to support a proscribed terrorist organisation, which is not the same thing as supporting the Palestinians.
“And I think it’s remarkably self-absorbed and insensitive, to say the least.”
Protesters take part in a mass demonstration organised by Defend our Juries, against the British government’s ban on Palestine Action (Photo: Reuters) A protester is led away by police during the London rally (Photo: Reuters)But Kerry Moscogiuri, director of campaigns at human rights group Amnesty International UK, said: “Arresting hundreds of people for peacefully sitting down and holding these signs is not the job of police.
“These arrests are in breach of the UK’s international human rights obligations and should not be happening.”
The Met had urged the group to call off its plans, with Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley saying: “By deliberately choosing to encourage mass law-breaking on this scale, Defend Our Juries are drawing valuable resources away from the communities of London at a time when they are needed most.”
Policing minister Sarah Jones said many of those attending the event “want to be arrested, that is their aim”.
She said: “We believe in people’s rights to protest. This protest here in London is a different order of event because people are supporting a proscribed organisation and the police have to step in in that case.”
A similar event held by Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine also took place on Saturday.
After a crowd of about 100 pro-Palestinian supporters gathered outside Manchester Cathedral to listen to speeches, they moved off en masse to march through the city centre.
Kemi Badenoch speaks with Deputy Chief Constable John Webster, as she visits the scene of the Manchester Synagogue attack on October 4, 2025 in Manchester, England (Photo: Getty Images) Protesters had been urged to rethink their plans after Thursday’s terror attack (Photo: Reuters)As they banged drums and chanted “Free Palestine!”, a group of counter-protesters got ahead of them, marching in front and holding a flag saying “F*** Hamas” and shouting “release the hostages”.
Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police Sir Stephen Watson urged would-be attendees at the protest to “consider whether this is really the right time”.
Police forces have deployed extra officers to synagogues and other Jewish buildings to offer protection and reassurance in the aftermath of the attack.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch was joined earlier on Saturday by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Assistant Chief Constable John Webster as she visited the synagogue at the centre of Thursday’s terror attack.
Badenoch, who will also be in Manchester for the Conservative Party’s annual conference next week, has said Jewish people in the UK must be given greater security as some are “leaving to go to Israel”.
She said: “Jewish people right now are telling me that they are leaving to go to Israel. Israel is at war. How can people be leaving the UK to go to a war zone and think that they’ll be safer there?
“We need to bring back safety to our streets.”
Sir Keir Starmer, who visited the scene on Friday, urged people planning to protest in Manchester and London this weekend to “respect the grief of British Jews”, and said demonstrations could cause further pain to mourners.
Writing in The Jewish Chronicle and Jewish News, the Prime Minister said: “This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain.”
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