Protest Planned at US Embassy in London Over Palestine Action Ban
More than 400 people are expected to gather outside the United States embassy in London on October 31 to protest against the UK ban on Palestine Action, according to Al Jazeera. Protesters plan to hold placards reading "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action." The campaign group Defend Our Juries said a parallel action will take place outside the US consulate in Edinburgh.
The UK government proscribed Palestine Action as a "terrorist" organisation in July 2025. Proscription is the legal step of officially banning a group. Under the law, membership of Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison, according to Reuters. Defend Our Juries said more than 3,850 people have been arrested for publicly backing the group since July 2025. Those arrested at recent Palestine Action-related actions have included the Massive Attack musician Rob del Naja, the human rights barrister Margaret Owen, the former government adviser Jonathan Porritt and the Reverend Sue Parfitt.
The ban has been contested in court. In June, the Court of Appeal sided with the government and overturned a High Court ruling that had found the proscription unlawful. The UK Supreme Court, the country's highest court, will hear an appeal by Huda Ammori, a cofounder of Palestine Action, on November 4 and 5. Ammori helped found the group in 2020. Defend Our Juries said US sanctions, which are restrictions imposed by the US government, have blocked her from crowdfunding for the Supreme Court challenge.
The ban followed an incident in which activists spray-painted Donald Trump's Turnberry golf course in Scotland. Trump labelled the action "terrorism" on his Truth Social platform and praised the response of then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act, which lets the public request government records, showed the Turnberry protest was discussed. Trump and Starmer spoke by phone twice about Palestine Action in March 2025, a detail that emerged during the legal challenge. Starmer also requested updates from Police Scotland on the arrests and briefed Trump on developments.
The October 31 protests will come three days after a hearing in the trial of the Turnberry protesters at the High Court in Glasgow. Prosecutors are seeking to have seven of the defendants sentenced as "terrorists". In the same week, Washington designated Palestine Action a "terrorist organisation".
Separately, the actors Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley, the singer Susan Sarandon and the broadcaster Gary Lineker signed a letter published on the cover of the New Statesman magazine. The letter urges Prime Minister Andy Burnham's government to reconsider the ban.
Defend Our Juries, which campaigns on jury trials, states that jurors have an absolute right to acquit a defendant according to their conscience. The group says it aims to raise awareness that juries can acquit on that basis even when a judge has directed that no defence is available, a principle also known as jury equity or jury nullification.
