Met Police Resumes Arrests for Palestine Action Supporters Despite High Court Ruling
Just weeks after saying it would stop.
by Sophia Sheera
26 March 2026
The Metropolitan police will resume arresting people supporting Palestine Action despite saying just weeks ago that it would stop.
On 13 February, the Met announced it would stop making arrests following a landmark judicial review which ruled that the government’s proscription of Palestine Action was unlawful.
However, on 25 March, the Met issued a new statement saying it would resume making arrests until the home secretary’s appeal on last month’s judgement is over, treating the high court ruling as only an “interim position”.
Deputy assistant commissioner James Harman said: “While the High Court has found the proscription of Palestine Action to be unlawful, it has confirmed the impact of that judgment will not take effect until the government’s appeal has been considered which could take many months.
“That means it is still a criminal offence to support Palestine Action.
“We must enforce the law as it is at the time, not as it might be at a future date.”
In response, activist group Defend Our Juries said: “The ban on Palestine Action is currently ruled unlawful. Right now.
“Nothing says ‘clear guidance’ like regularly changing your mind over the unlawful arrests of thousands of peaceful protesters for holding paper signs,” the group added.
The court of appeal will hear the government’s case on 28 and 29 April, but the Met warned that it could last months.
More than 2,700 people have been arrested for allegedly supporting Palestine Action since it was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in July 2025 – more people than during the entire ‘war on terror’.
Proscription makes it a criminal offence to support an organisation, punishable by up to 14 years in jail.
Palestine Action is a British direct action group founded in 2020 with the aim of ending Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime.
The group has recorded 45 instances of using direct action to block the functioning of the arms industry, with key targets Elbit Systems and RAF Brize Norton among those disrupted.
Sophia Sheera is a journalist in Novara Media’s social media team.