Palestine Action Ban Protesters Plan Tactic to Overwhelm Police at Next London Demonstration

Published: 22 August 2025. The English Chronicle Desk

Protesters opposing the government’s ban on Palestine Action are planning a mass demonstration in London that aims to make it “practically impossible” for police to arrest everyone taking part. The group behind the upcoming protest, Defend Our Juries, announced that participants will withhold their personal details from officers, forcing law enforcement to transport them to police stations rather than processing them on the street.

The demonstration, scheduled for 6 September, will be the largest organised in opposition to the proscription of Palestine Action since the group was banned in June. Organisers have said the protest will only proceed if at least 1,000 people formally pledge to attend, although over 2,500 individuals have already expressed interest.

Earlier this month, during the largest demonstration since the ban, 532 people were arrested. Of those, 212 were taken to police stations after refusing to provide details or because they were already on bail, while the remaining 320 were released on bail after being processed on the street near Parliament Square. The Metropolitan Police confirmed that no external stations were required to manage the arrests.

Defend Our Juries is instructing participants not to comply with street bail procedures, which the group describes as a “charade” that denies arrestees immediate legal advice. Protesters will instead withhold their information, compelling police to take them to stations for proper processing. In briefings to be held for participants, organisers claim that had more people insisted on their right to station processing in previous demonstrations, police would have struggled to complete mass arrests.

Tim Crosland, spokesperson for Defend Our Juries, said: “The police were only able to arrest as many people as they did because of their trick of using ‘street bail’ on a mass scale. If 1,000 people sign the pledge to take part on 6 September, ensuring we have the critical mass for the action, and hundreds insist on their right to receive immediate legal advice at a police station, the charade will be exposed. It will be practically impossible for the police to arrest everyone.”

The upcoming protest is expected to last indefinitely, contrasting with the previous demonstration, which lasted just an hour. Organisers are urging participants to remain in place until arrested, maintaining the collective presence of the group.

Public and political reactions to the ban have been mixed. A Survation poll for LabourList found that seven in ten Labour members believe the government was wrong to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation. The group was banned after activists entered RAF Brize Norton and defaced two military aircraft. Former cabinet minister Peter Hain and Labour MP Stella Creasy have also expressed criticism, stating that current enforcement neither protects protest rights nor makes them effectively policeable.

Crosland emphasised the wider political implications, noting that the government’s “monumental waste of policing resources to criminalise cardboard sign-holding against genocide” has drawn condemnation across the political spectrum. He added that with growing opposition among Labour members and MPs, the ban may face increasing pressure in the coming months.