Palestine Action latest: Humiliation for government as High Court rules terror ban was unlawful

Yasmine Ahmed, UK director of Human Rights Watch, accused the government of a “brazen and gross abuse of power” for its attempt to ban Palestine Action.

“This decision is a shot in the arm at a time when British democracy faces attacks from this government to undermine our rights to freedom of assembly, speech and expression,” he said.

“Palestine Action is not a terrorist organization and should never have been designated as a terrorist organization.

“Today’s decision reinforces what many of us have been saying all along: that the government’s misuse of terrorism legislation was a brazen and gross abuse of power that served to stifle legitimate criticism of Israel and those who benefit from its atrocities.

“The search for justice does not end with this decision, people’s rights were usurped, thousands of people were arrested and their lives turned upside down due to a ban that was found to be unlawful.

“We must not allow the government to sweep this scandal under the carpet. There must be a thorough and independent investigation to understand how this decision was made and to ensure guardrails can be put in place to prevent similar abuses from occurring in the future.”

In the 46-page judgment, Dame Victoria Sharp said: “We accept that the reality of the prohibition and heavy penalties for offenses under the 2000 Act will mean that it is reasonable to expect people to be risk averse, to adjust their behavior and to avoid things that present a serious risk of committing any of these criminal offences.”

The judge added that people with close ties to the group “may practice more self-censorship than others” due to fear of crime.

Dame Victoria later added: “Having regard to the evidence available to the Home Secretary when the decision to ban was made, the nature and scale of Palestine Action’s activities, insofar as they involve acts of terrorism, have not yet reached the level, scale and permanence that would justify the application of criminal law measures that are the result of the ban and the very significant interference with convention rights that result from those measures.”

So why was the group banned and what will happen to the arrested protesters?

Albert Toth more below:

Former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn described the Supreme Court decision as a “tremendous victory”.

The Independent MP for North Islington wrote of X: “This is a tremendous victory for the Palestinian solidarity movement, civil liberties and our common humanity.

“The real crime is this government’s complicity in genocide, and we will not rest until there is justice for the Palestinian people.”

Palestine Movement activists called for the resignation of former home affairs minister Yvette Cooper after the Supreme Court ruled to lift the ban.

Speaking outside the Royal Courts of Justice on Friday morning, activist Lisa Minerva Luxx said: “They (the Supreme Court justices) are not saying this is illegal now, they are saying it has always been illegal.

“This means Yvette Cooper lied to the British public, lied to get the ban through the House of Commons, lied even to Parliament.

“He lied when he said he had intelligence of disturbing plans, he lied about nefarious funds, and the courts have proven none of this to be true. He cannot be trusted to serve as a minister of this country and must resign today.”

Ms Luxx also called for current Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to resign, adding: “The British government has betrayed the British people and this is just a small example of how much they have betrayed the Palestinian people.

“The government paid nearly a million pounds to persecute the British people for having a morality at odds with their foreign interests.”

Independent’political reporter Athena Stavrou reports:

Green Party MPs have welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling that it was unlawful for the government to ban Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws.

All four Green Party MPs voted against the ban in parliament last year.

Carla Denyer, Bristol Central MP and former Green Party co-chair, said in light of the ruling the government must “end its authoritarian attacks on peaceful protests”.

He wrote to X: “The Greens voted against the ban so we welcome this.”

“The government must now immediately end its authoritarian attacks on peaceful protests and fully address its complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”

Independent‘s political correspondent Athena Stavrou reports:

Sir Keir Starmer is under fire from MPs in his own party after the High Court ruled that a ban on Palestine Action was unlawful.

Jon Trickett said he thought the ban was “not compatible” with British constitutional rights.

The Labor MP for Normanton and Hemsworth abstained from voting on the ban in parliament last year.

“Starmer’s draconian ban on Palestine Action is now in jeopardy following Supreme Court ruling,” he wrote of X.

“I never thought it was within our constitutional rights and I said I couldn’t vote for the whips.

“We stand in solidarity with all those who organized protests and were arrested.”

Dame Victoria Sharp, sitting with Mr Justice Swift and Mrs Justice Steyn, said in her 46-page judgment that the home secretary had made a “significant” mistake by breaching his own policies.

Dame Victoria continued: “He exercised his discretion in banning by taking into account a consideration inconsistent with his own policy, namely, the advantages to be gained if the Palestine Action were to be banned from criminal offenses arising as a result of the ban.”

“Subject to further representations regarding assistance, we propose to issue an order setting aside the Home Secretary’s decision to ban Palestine Action,” the senior judge said.

At a brief hearing on Friday morning, Dame Victoria said both sides had until February 20 to submit written arguments on what the consequences of the High Court’s decision should be.

IndependentWhitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:

Labour’s former shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, welcomed the decision, urging the government not to appeal the case.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he said: “This is great news. I voted against the ban because it is an attack on our civil liberties. I urge the government not to object.”