Met issues revised position on Palestine Action support

The Metropolitan Police has revised the enforcement approach officers will take in response to displays of support for Palestine Action which is a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act.

Anyone showing support for the group is likely to be arrested.

This is a change from an interim position adopted following last month’s High Court judgment which indicated that while officers would identify and gather evidence of offences, arrests would be unlikely.

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. We must do that consistently and without fear or favour

“It was necessary for us to take an immediate view following the High Court ruling because as it was being read out in court, protesters outside the building were engaged in displays of support for the group. It was also not known at that time whether the court would grant the Home Secretary permission to appeal its judgment and if it did, whether it would overturn the proscription with immediate effect or leave the proscription in place pending the outcome of the appeal.

“We needed to give our officers clear guidance in unusual circumstances and recognising we needed time to reflect fully on the unique situation and what it meant for policing, the most proportionate option was to step back from arresting while still gathering evidence of offences.

“The High Court decided on 25 February to grant the Home Secretary permission to appeal and to leave the proscription in place pending the outcome of that appeal. Having now considered our position in light of that decision, taking into account all the circumstances, we have determined that while Palestine Action remains proscribed and support for it remains unlawful under the Terrorism Act, we must continue to enforce the law and this is likely to involve the arrest of those committing offences.”

Background:

• Last month, the High Court ruled that the proscription of Palestine Action was unlawful and ordered that the proscription be quashed.

• However, because the Government is appealing, the court has delayed the effect of that order until the appeals process has concluded. This could take many months.

• The effect of the decision is that Palestine Action remains a proscribed organisation and it remains a criminal offence under the Terrorism Act to be a member of the group, encourage support for it, or to express support or wear or display an item that does so. This is set out in paragraph 22 of the ‘press summary’ published by the court following the judgment.

• Immediately following the judgment, the Met set out its approach to displays of support for the group in a protest context. It was explained that officers would still identify and gather evidence of offences, but that they would not arrest unless the offending went further to include violence, intimidation, criminal damage etc.

• Today’s announcement confirms a revised approach.

• All policies are kept under review as context, threats and demands change.