Police treating Palestine flags as terror offences again – despite judge’s clear ruling
This article has been updated with the latest arrest figures.
Police – including some drafted in from Wales – have arrested more than five hundred people during peaceful anti-genocide protests at Parliament Square and elsewhere in London.
While some were carrying signs supporting Palestine Action – banned by the Starmer regime in a move driven by Israeli lobby groups – others were painfully seized and detained or carted off for just holding Palestine flags, as police continue to misapply the unfit Terrorism Act despite a judge’s clear ruling (twice) that flags and other expressions of solidarity with Palestinians are lawful and a right that must not be inhibited by police.
Skwawkbox’s London cameraman Gerry Tasker was at the demo to record some of the arrests and detentions:
A woman harassed by police for carrying a placard about a starving Palestinian child.
The arrests often involved peaceful protesters and there were indications of Israel supporters directing or influencing police. Many of the victims were elderly – and many were physically carried off as Starmer’s assault on civil freedoms to protect Israel continues:
Source: Instagram.
Please remember to support Skwawkbox if you can, to help ensure it can keep running. The site is provided free of charge but depends on the support of its readers to be viable. If you’d like to help it keep revealing the news as it is and not what the Establishment wants you to hear – and can afford to without hardship – please click here to arrange a one-off or modest monthly donation via PayPal or here to set up a monthly donation via GoCardless (Skwawkbox will contact you to confirm the GoCardless amount as it has to be entered by us). Alternatively, if you prefer to make a one-off or recurring donation by simple card payment, please use the form below:
Make a one-time donation
Make a monthly donation
Make a yearly donation
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your support is hugely appreciated.
Your support is hugely appreciated.
Your support is hugely appreciated.
DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearlyThanks for your solidarity so Skwawkbox can keep doing its job of inconveniencing the right and helping to build the left!
If you wish to republish this post for non-commercial use, you are welcome to do so, but please include the donor information above – see here for more.
Omg muslim officers too. Allah sees u shitaan.
Funnily enough, it’s the Met and South Wales police forces’ increasing use of Facial Recognition tech that Big Brother Watch highlights as creating a “dystopian nightmare”.
“Orwellian” and “authoritarian”, Starmer’s their uber-fuhrer Commander in Chief. Palestine and freedom of thought – Corbyn’s Your Party is happening at exactly the right time.
The Independent…….
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/london-protests-palestine-action-arrests-terror-ban-live-updates-b2804813.html
…was reporting about two and half hours ago the police as stating 200 had been arrested:
“200 people now arrested, police say
The Metropolitan Police said they had made 200 arrests for showing support for a proscribed organisation by 3.40pm “with more to follow”.
There were a further four arrests for assaults on officers.
The force said the detained protesters were taken to prisoner processing points in the Westminster area, and those whose details could be confirmed were bailed, with conditions not to attend any further protest in support of Palestine Action.
“Those whose details were refused, or could not be verified, were taken to custody suites across London,” the force said.”
This number now stands at 365:
“The Metropolitan Police has confirmed more than 350 people have now been arrested after hundreds of protesters rallied against the terror ban of Palestine Action……
“The force said this evening: “As of 6pm, 365 people had been arrested for supporting a proscribed organisation.”
Protest organisers claim police arrested ‘only a fraction’ of hundreds of sign-holders
Protest organisers Defend Our Juries said earlier on Saturday that the police had arrested “only a fraction” of 600-700 sign-holders, as numbers surpassed their expectations.
The Metropolitan Police said: “That claim simply isn’t true.
“We estimate there were around 500 to 600 people in Parliament Square when the protest began, but many were onlookers, media people or people not holding placards in support of Palestine Action.
“We are confident that anyone who came to Parliament Square today to hold a placard expressing support for Palestine Action was either arrested or is in the process of being arrested.”
I can confirm that this statement from the police – that everyone involved has either been arrested or in the process of being arrested is factually incorrect as I received an email (just before five o’clock) from one placard holder of my acquaintance that they had not been among those arrested and that they were currently taking a shower.
The other interesting bit of reporting from the Independent article was this at 16:01 today from a Holly Bancroft:
“Protesters arrested by police are not being taken into custody, organisers say
Protesters arrested for holding signs in support of Palestine Action have not been taken into police custody but instead are allowed to go home, organisers of the demonstration have said.
A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries, who co-ordinated the protest at Parliament Square, said: “The police have only been able to arrest a fraction of those supposedly committing ‘terrorism’ offences, and most of those have been given street bail and allowed to go home. This is a major embarrassment to Yvette Cooper, further undermining the credibility of this widely ridiculed law, brought in to punish those exposing the government’s own crimes.”
They said that they already had growing support for their next action in September.”
Looking at the video footage, there seemed to be a majority of older people being arrested. It will be interesting to see the full details of the final tally.
WE FELT COMPELLED TO SPEAK OUT’
The first of the arrests began just before 1pm, when a man waving a placard that read “I support Palestine Action” was stopped by police, writes Gurpreet Narwan, reporting from Parliament Square.
Officers told him he was showing support for a terrorist organisation, searched him and ushered him away.
The action soon escalated. Among the 365 people arrested today were a number of elderly people, a blind man in a wheelchair, and a teenager.
They were protesting peacefully, with a number of people pointedly seating themselves below statues of Mahatma Gandhi and the suffragette Millicent Fawcett.
They told Sky News that they were fully expecting to be arrested but that they felt compelled to speak out and defend the right to protest.
One protester said: “I don’t think I’m a criminal. That’s not the person I am.”
However, he said he was being guided by his faith and his conscience.
Things calmed down after a few hours but there was a heavy police presence well into the afternoon and early evening.
https://news.sky.com/story/police-make-arrests-at-protest-in-support-of-proscribed-group-palestine-action-13409027
That’s Tory Britain for you.
As you’ve no doubt figured out, it’s mainly old people (who’ve reached pension age and no longer work) volunteering for this pro-PA protest and being arrested cos everyone else still working (myself included) is too scared of getting the sack. I didn’t know that it was happening in Parliament Square otherwise would’ve been seriously tempted to pop over there from Whitehall!
The Metropolitan Police said: “That claim simply isn’t true.”
I have news for the police. No-one believes a word they say now anyway. If they told me it was daylight, I’d go outside to check.
https://news.sky.com/story/police-make-arrests-at-protest-in-support-of-proscribed-group-palestine-action-13409027
It is now 474 arrests
It’s gone from an initial ’50 arrests’ to how many, SteveH?
“It is now 474 arrests”
Live Facial Recognition. This is how dangerous autocrats like Starmer (and the rest of McSweeney’s ‘Labour Together right’) use surveillance capitalism to create Big Brother Government.
https://bigbrotherwatch.org.uk/blog/police-use-of-live-facial-recognition-faqs/
qwerty,
You appear to be giving the impression in your response to Billy no mates that just because he posts a few links that he views the issue you raise in the same way as the rest of us normal human beings.
Given that little Billy boy voted for these policies via his unstinting support for Starmer and his regime along with his continued refusal to criticise such policies instigated by his treasonous WEF-Globalist/Zionist/Trilateral Commission zombie of an icon, it is a safe bet that Billy is on the opposite side of the divide on such matters.
If it’s a policy coming from The Crash Test Dummy you can bet your pension and life savings that Billy will never ever utter a word of criticism.
Dave – 😘
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Tears of a Clown.
That was an easy one, Billy.
Dave – ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What’s NOT to like, wee non-dom nonce defending, noncecase?
Still got that part time job? What was it, again?
They systematically lied about John Charles De Menezes.
That was another easy one, Billy.
It’s ‘There’s a hole in my bucket’, by Harry Belefonte and Odetta.
Reached number 32 in the UK singles chart in September 1961.
I can see why someone like you would choose that one, but can you not come up with something more challenging?
Dave – ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Oh dear, if only we were all as clever as you think you are. Who are you trying so desperately hard to impress, yourself?
Ah! I see, Billy, that you’re now switching to doing an impression of Violet-Elizabeth Bott from the Just William books.
Best get that bucket fixed pronto. You’ll be needing something to be ‘thick’ in when you’ve finally stopped ‘thcreaming and thcreaming’.
Dave – For goodness sake grow up. 🥱
Christ!!! The bingo dobber’s being worked overtime with those zingers, wee gobshite.
Have you short circuited?
Now that one is either ‘Potato Head Blues’ written and recorded in 1927 by Louis Armstrong or, given the tone, Moanin’ the Blues by Blind Lemon Jefferson from 1929.
Got any more, Billy?
Dave – This is fun.
😕
Charlie Drake, My Boomerang won’t come back.
Next.
Dave – 🥱😴💤
All tracks from ZZ Top.
In order: “Rough Boy’; ‘Arrested for Driving While Bind’; and ‘Sleeping Bag’.
Only umpteen more emojis to go, Billy.
Meanwhile, in related news, the Grayzone, in the latest example of the Hannibal Directive…….
https://thegrayzone.com/2025/08/08/israels-death-sentence-remaining-captives/
….reports the implications of the Zionist Israeli Regime’s effective implementation of “The General’s Plan” for the Israeli prisoners taken on October 7th 2023:
“Israel’s military leadership has acknowledged that full occupation of Gaza will cause the killing of the remaining captives. But Netanyahu’s government seems to want them dead.
In June 2024, after Israel’s army slaughtered over 200 civilians in Gaza’s Nuseirat Refugee Camp, including several execution style killings to extricate a hostage, Noa Argamani, the Al-Qassam Brigades announced a new policy: if Israel soldiers came too close to areas where captives were held, the prisoners would lose their lives. Israel’s refusal to heed this policy led to the killing of Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five others just over two months later.
Now, in a fit of desperation, after failing to force the hand of Hamas through imposed famine and previous campaigns of military pressure, Israel’s security cabinet has approved plans to ethnically cleanse the whole of Gaza City and occupy urban areas where captives might be located. Eyal Zamir, the Israeli army chief of staff, has warned Israel’s security cabinet that the full conquest of Gaza would place the captives’ lives in peril. “The deeper we go into sensitive areas, the greater the risk to the hostages,” he acknowledged, while still offering support for the escalation.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum that advocates for the captives went even further, proclaiming that “the Israeli government sentenced the living hostages to death and the fallen hostages to disappearance” by announcing a takeover of Gaza…..
…….For the most influential members of Israel’s messianic-fascist government, the captives present a final obstacle to the “total victory” agenda, which can only be fulfilled with the defeat of Hamas, the annexation of northern Gaza and the expulsion of much of Gaza’s population. Bezalel Smotrich, the fanatical Finance Minister who forms the linchpin of Netanyahu’s coalition, has openly argued that returning the captives through negotiations was “not the most important thing.”
Israel’s Channel 13 reported this August 7 that Smotrich sabotaged a hostage deal backed by Israel’s military-intelligence apparatus, joining with Netanyahu to unleash carnage across Gaza in flagrant violation of a US-brokered ceasefire. Now, with the full conquest of Gaza on the horizon, he and his allies are presented with the tantalizing opportunity to wipe out the remaining Israeli captives in Gaza. In their view, this would fully deprive Hamas of its negotiating leverage, and clear the way to triumph.”
A lot of thoughts occur. All but one are unprintable.
Which is that with the Zionist fanatical Zealots now publicly giving up on the prisoners still held in captivity there can be no further need for UK Government spy planes to be flying from RAF Akrotiri or other bases/locations to Gaza allegedly attempting to locate those prisoners.
That fig leaf has now been removed.
Hardly surprising, really. Just as the Israeli victims of the Hannibal directive deployed on Oct. 7th were deemed expendable by their government, the same goes for the hostages.
Scum is as scum does.
Well I haven’t heard of hamas booby-trapping any hostages’ bodies….yet.
I sau ‘yet’ because I won’t be in the least bit surprised when benny tries to palm the world off with that one.
The only surprise is that they haven’t done so long before now
Last week the MSM were showing lots of ariel footage of Gaza more-or-less completely turned to rubble, but guess what, it was nothing to do with Israel, and all down to Hamas. The following clip is from an article Caitlin Johnstone posted yesterday:
Netanyahu just told Fox News that the horrifying aerial footage of the destruction in Gaza that we’ve been seeing is because every single building in Gaza was booby trapped with explosives by Hamas.
“The reason you see the flattened buildings is because Hamas booby traps every single building,” Netanyahu said. “So when we come in, we first have the population moved even though Hamas tries to keep them in the combat zones. But after they move, and we start to move into the neighborhoods that are now populated only by terrorists, they ignite these booby traps. So what we do is we put in an APC, an armored personnel carrier, with a lot of explosives. Detonate it. It sets off all the booby traps and the buildings begin to collapse as a result of that. They’re empty buildings, they’re not populated buildings.”
Absolutely nobody believes this is true. Not one single person alive on this earth sincerely believes that Gaza now looks like a gravel parking lot because Hamas placed explosives inside every single building….
Odd, isn’t it, that we’ve not heard about this before, and are only hearing about it now after the MSM showing the ariel shots of Gaza completely bombed to smithereens. Just coincidence of course, and the 14,000 plus 2,000lb bombs Israel rained on Gaza had absolutely nothing to do with it, and ditto all the bombs and missiles which, together, equal the destructive power of six Hiroshima atomic bombs:
Gaza bombing ‘equivalent to six Hiroshimas’ says Bradford world affairs expert
Published: Wednesday 16 April 2025
Respected international affairs expert Emeritus Professor Paul Rogers from the University of Bradford says Israeli bombing of Gaza is ‘equivalent to six Hiroshimas’ during this latest interview with broadcaster and activist Owen Jones.
https://www.bradford.ac.uk/news/archive/2025/gaza-bombing-equivalent-to-six-hiroshimas-says-bradford-world-affairs-expert.php
And THAT was four months ago and is no doubt nearer to seven now.
And here’s a link to Caitlin’s article:
Israel Is Beginning To Choke On Its Own Lies
https://caityjohnstone.medium.com/israel-is-beginning-to-choke-on-its-own-lies-31411ed43ee4
Meanwhile 10,000+ Palestinian prisoners including women & 160 children are held in Israel’s hell hole jails “On no or flimsy charges.” (Human Rights Watch).
A Free Multi-Ethnic Democratic State of Palestine From The Rivers To The Sea would free all.
And enable the Right of Palestinian Refugees to Return consigning Zionists to history.
More from yesterday in Parliament Square.
https://steelcityscribblings.uk/wp/2025/08/10/yesterday-in-parliament-square-london/
Meet the Kripo……
CNBC, eh? Funny how no UK media outlet appears/appeared capable of doing any such filming of proceedings AT ALL!
Any semblance or illusion that the British police is a democratic force, policing with consent on behalf of the community is been destroyed.
The police isn’t doing their jobs, the police has every right to refuse to follow orders that are immoral and arresting peaceful protesters is immoral.
I wonder how many incident of shop lifting at small shops across London happened at the same time, while the police was otherwise engaged.
How long before people arrested as terrorist, leave Britain and ask for political asylum in Ireland, France, Belgium or other EU countries? They made the criteria and will be granted political asylum.
I lived in France for 16 years ago. Saw lots of peaceful protests. Schoolchildren “on strike” during a school day, accompanied by gendarmes to keep them safe as they walked down the road, the gendarmes job being to ensure that traffic didn’t mow them down. Farmers’ protest, with tractors blocking the road – gendarmes job: to redirect traffic via other routes. Local authority strike. Gendarmes: at “County Hall” to ensure no-one went into the offices (me included). Gilets Jaunes holding up traffic at multiple roundabouts/bridges. Gendarmes job: to ensure the protests achieved their aims. UK police – back the government, whether that is Thatcher v the miners or Starmer’s authoritarianism. Compare and contrast.
The UK goverment and plod proving that the living garbage pail kid that is jd vance has a valid point…
The Govt says “The ban is justified because it targets serious criminality.”
(Their opinion, but ours is that they were trying to prevent a Genocide and this is to be tested soon in the courts).
But isn’t this Labour Cabinet & previous Tory Cabinet by selling arms to Israel, by allowing Israeli arms companies to manufacture arms in the UK, by using RAF spy planes for Israel, & by allowing UK companies & pension funds to invest in a country that is a perpetrator of Genocide, complicit in war criminality?
And some argue it is guilty on four counts?
In the 2WW what were the French Resistance with their acts of sabotage?
UK Lab Govt and previous Tory Govt Proscribe Thyself.
Not a UK based tale, but I just thought I’d leave this here, for the likes of the resident.
https://youtu.be/Rx3OdMEaKYk?si=CpCYoq-qTvA6GZmP
So the next time you hear keef or mizz balls spouting similar…
Toffee – It will be interesting to see what is revealed and/or confirmed by the Orgreave Enquiry
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/inquiry-to-uncover-truth-of-orgreave
Haha! This ^^^^ from the prick that revels in a blind wheelchair user along with hundreds of pensioners being arrested at a non-violent demonstration.
If anything’s confirmed it’s your unequalled, unparalelled gobshitery, revealed every time you post.
Had those miners striked under a keefist govt, you’d be calling for their hanging. As there’s very little discernable difference between keefism and thatcherism I’m surprised you haven’t already.
Orgreave was over forty years ago. The largest proportion of those affected will likely be pushing up daisies or very close to that point right now.
That enquiry is only taking place at this point because we have reached the point in time where the can stopped when it was kicked down the road.
The notion that this has any relevance whatsoever is merely another pathetic attempt at slapping a dead cat on the table to divert the discussion.
Best you focus on mending that leaky bucket, Billy, rather than trying to divert attention from the crimes of your false idol.
Distraction theory.
And to paraphrase the song ‘Chirpy, Chirpy, Cheap, Cheap.’
“Where’s police evidence gone?
Where’s the evidence gone?”
Meanwhile as Allan points out after Israel dropping 6 Hiroshima’s on Gaza (courtesy of Biden & Trump) wonder how many Israeli hostages that took out & will N’s starvation policy take the rest out?
Callous is as callous does?
The means don’t justify the ends.
Ceasefire & Peace Now! ☮️
Meanwhile, spare a thought for satire, which is having to run extremely fast just to keep up:
https://steelcityscribblings.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/250810-guardian-cartton-on-palestine-action-defiance.jpg
Dave, I hope if there is another PA demo in
London on Saturday that the peaceful protesters don’t do anything foolish like each having a copy of an ICJ international arrest warrant with them (made out to the name of Keir Starmer, PM on behalf of the UK Labour Govt and the police) with a charge of COMPLICITY IN GENOCIDE) and if the police try to arrest them they hand these to them (making a note of police officer’s number) and thus make a Citizens Arrest.
I hope the headlines next Sunday don’t read: PALESTINE ACTION DEMO LONDON 500 CITIZENS ARRESTS!
Have finally finished my adaption of a famous poem (like songs with poems you are always writing & re-writing):
‘THE PA DEMO.
THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT WENT TO SEE.
WITH A BEAUTIFUL ANTI-GENOCIDE QUOTE.
THEY TOOK SOME HONEY AND PLENTY OF CROWDFUNDED MONEY.
WRAPPED UP IN A LABOUR GOVT ICJ INTERNATIONAL ARREST WARRANT NOTE.’
‘The owl and the pussycat went to a PA demo to see.
With a beautiful Anti-Genocide note.
They took some honey, with crowdfunded money.
Wrapped up in a Lab Govt ICJ arrest note.’
‘The owl and the pussycat went to a PA demo to see.
With a beautiful Anti-Genocide note.
They took some honey, with plenty of crowdfunded money.
Wrapped up in a Labour Govt ICJ arrest warrant note.’ ⚖️
Free Palestine! ♥️
Ceasefire & Peace. ☮️
🆘 Palestine!
Oops! End of line 2 should be “quote” not “note.”