Former head teacher arrested under terror laws – for holding up Private Eye article

UK’s police-state descent continues as even the separate words ‘Palestine’ and ‘Action’ now banned in the same sentence

Among the slew of more than a hundred arrests yesterday, as police forces continue to exploit the proscription of Palestine Action (PA) – a specific group carrying out ‘direct action’ against Israeli weapons factories and related interests, which has now been declared a terrorist organisation like ISIS or al-Qaeda by the Starmer regime – to repress protests against Israel’s genocide, was that of a retired head teacher in Leeds.

Some were arrested for holding up placards or banners saying that they support PA because they oppose genocide – treated since the PA proscription as a criminal offence under the Terrorism Act carrying a sentence of up to fourteen years. Others were were arrested as police misconstrued a pro-Palestine or anti-Israel banner or shirt. But one man was arrested for holding up an article from Private Eye, often described as the most establishment ‘anti-establishment’ publication in the UK and certainly no particular friend of the left.

The magazine section in question was a page titled ‘Palestine Action explained’, with an ‘x’ on a red background for PA’s vandalism of privately-owned ‘RAF’ planes accused of helping Israel against the Palestinians and a tick on a green background for ‘Shooting Palestinians queuing for food – a critique of the Starmer government’s priorities and failure to do anything to oppose or end Israel’s genocide in Gaza:

The article was published after the proscription, but the magazine does not appear to have been penalised, yet a protester holding it up was treated as a criminal.

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Police reportedly also told protesters that even the separate words ‘Palestine’ and ‘Action’ now banned in the same sentence, even if the sentence is not referring to PA. Tens of thousands were threatened with arrest in London yesterday if their chants were considered – without any clarification of what might be considered – to go too far, despite a judge’s ruling that condemnations of Israel’s genocide and expressions of solidarity with the Palestinians are a legal right in the UK.

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