Police arrest five after Palestine Action banner is hung from Westminster Bridge as pro-Gaza supporters pledge week of mass action
Five people were arrested over a banner hung on Westminster Bridge in support of the banned Palestine Movement.
The men, aged between fifty and seventy-five, were arrested on the bridge on suspicion of encouraging support for a proscribed organisation, contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Palestine Action was banned as a terrorist organization in July after the group claimed responsibility for an action in which two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton last month.
The banner includes the following statements: ‘We support the hunger strikers. We support Palestine Action’.
Earlier this month Prisoners of Palestine said an undisclosed number of prisoners would go on an indefinite hunger strike to protest being held in prison while awaiting trial.
The group calls for the detainee’s immediate release on bail, the lifting of the ban on Palestine Action, and an end to censorship of his communications.
The names of the inmates have not been released but they are among those named Filton 24 and Brize Norton Five who were charged with aggravated burglary, criminal damage and violent disorder during action at Elbit Systems last year.
The first six of the Filton 24 are set to go on trial on Monday after more than a year in detention, while the five detained in connection with the incident at RAF Brize Norton are not expected to stand trial until January 2027.
The men, aged between fifty and seventy-five, were arrested on the bridge on suspicion of encouraging support for a proscribed organisation, contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Five people were arrested on Westminster Bridge and remain in police custody while investigations continue
Palestine Action was banned as a terrorist organization in July after the group claimed responsibility for an action in which two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton last month.
A spokesperson for Prisoners of Palestine said: ‘Today’s banner reflects the disgusted sentiments of people in this country at the banning of Palestine Action and the continued imprisonment of protesters opposing genocide.
‘There are six prisoners participating in an open-ended hunger strike for Palestine and are left with no choice but to use their bodies as a tool to resist injustice.
‘The prisoners each face up to two years of detention without trial, well above the six-month pre-trial detention period.
‘They also faced harsher treatment due to counter-terrorism forces being armed against them.
‘They are now into their 14th day of hunger strike and people across the country are mobilizing to support them.’
A Met spokesman said: ‘Officers arrested five people following the incident on Westminster Bridge on Saturday, November 15.
‘The individuals, aged between fifty and seventy-five, were arrested on suspicion of encouraging support for a proscribed organisation, contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
‘They will remain in police custody while investigations continue.’
It comes as pro-Gaza supporters prepare to launch a week of mass demonstrations across the UK.
Defend Our Juries announced dozens of actions in November to protest Labour’s ban on Palestine Action.
The Repeal the Prohibition campaign will run from 18 to 29 November, with the group describing it as “the most widespread UK-wide mass civil disobedience in modern British history”.
People protest in Trafalgar Square on 4 October 2025 to demand that the British government lift the ban on Palestine Action
People attend a demonstration organized by GM Friends of Palestine at Manchester Cathedral on 4 October 2025
The group says more than 2,000 people have been arrested for carrying signs as part of the End the Ban campaign.
Leigh Evans, who is part of the Global Fleet and will be protesting in Cardiff, said: ‘Protest and direct action are prerequisites for democracy against fascism.
‘Direct action is the only thing proven to work against oppression and apartheid.’
Elle Miller from Glasgow, who will attend protests in both Edinburgh and London, said: ‘Without the protest slavery would still be legal, women wouldn’t be able to vote and gay marriage would still be illegal.
‘We know exactly that protest works because successive governments have tried to criminalize it.
‘If sitting peacefully with a cardboard sign makes me a terrorist, I hope my grandchildren will be as proud of me as the suffragists’ relatives are today.
Oliver Baines OBE, who will be among those carrying banners in Truro, said: ‘Our dispute was never with the police but with the UK Government, with its disgraceful attack on our civil liberties and its appalling complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the West Bank.
‘Equating solidarity with Palestine and opposing genocide with being a terrorist is a grave insult to all peace-loving people.’
A statement from Defend Our Juries said: ‘It is vital that our campaign is successful; not only for Palestine Action, but also for democracy.
‘When the meaning of terrorism is expanded from campaigns of violence against civilian populations to include those that cause economic harm or embarrass the rich, the powerful and the criminals, the right to freedom of expression has no meaning and democracy dies.
‘If we let this go, it will be unions, climate and racial justice movements next.
‘But the Government has outdone itself.
‘Our groups and movements are coming together like never before, finding unity under pressure.
‘By refusing to surrender to fear and standing together, we will confront this attack on us all.’
The Daily Mail has approached the Home Office for comment.
