Palestine Action terror ban is lawful, judges rule in victory for Home Office
Palestine Action’s ban under terrorism laws will remain in place after the Court of Appeal ruled that banning the group was lawful, a major victory for the government.
A rare five-judge panel at the Court of Appeal found that the High Court was wrong to previously rule that banning the group was unlawful.
Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr told the Court of Appeal on Monday that the home secretary’s decision to ban the group under terrorism laws was a “justified and proportionate interference with individual rights”.
“The banning order was not unlawful,” he told the court, describing Palestine Action as a group that “clearly encourages unlawful violence amounting to terrorism.”
The Court of Appeal agreed with the Ministry of Internal Affairs on all grounds of appeal, ensuring the government’s decisive victory.
The group was banned by then home secretary Yvette Cooper in July 2025 after members broke into RAF Brize Norton and damaged jets to protest the war in Gaza.
The panel of five judges, Baroness Carr, Master of the Rolls, Lord Justice Edis, Lord Justice Lewis and Lady Justice Whipple, found that Ms Cooper’s decision struck a “fair balance” between the need to protect national security and infringe on individuals’ rights to freedom of expression and assembly.
The High Court had previously ruled that Ms Cooper’s decision to ban Palestine Action under terrorism legislation was unlawful. Three senior judges at the Supreme Court concluded that only a small number of Palestine Action’s activities amounted to terrorism and that the group’s actions did not meet the high bar to make it a terrorist organisation.
The High Court said Ms Cooper had not considered whether imposing a terrorism ban on Palestine Action was “proportionate” to the threat posed by the organisation. Judge Sharp wrote that in doing so Ms Cooper had made a “significant” mistake by not following the Home Office’s own policy on interdiction.
Since the group was banned, thousands of people have been arrested for holding banners supporting Palestine Action.
This is a story of breaking. More to follow…
