UPDATE: 532 arrested during protest policing operation

The total number of people arrested during the policing operation in central London on Saturday has been confirmed as 532.

The overwhelming majority of arrests – 522 – were for displaying an item (in this case a placard) in support of a proscribed organisation (in this case Palestine Action) contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

One of those arrests took place at the form up of the Palestine Coalition march in Russell Square, but the remaining 521 arrests took place at the protest in Parliament Square.

There were a further ten arrests, broken down as follows:

• Six arrests for assaults on officers. Fortunately none were seriously injured.
• One arrest for obstructing a constable in the execution of his/her duty.
• Two for breaching Section 14 Public Order Act conditions.
• One for a racially aggravated public order offence (Section 5 Public Order Act)

The average age of those arrested was 54. A further breakdown of age ranges can be found at the bottom of the page.

263 of those arrested were male, 261 were female and eight either defined themselves as non-binary or did not disclose their gender.

We believe that 30 people arrested at the protest on Saturday had been arrested at previous recent protests in support of Palestine Action in London. We’re not in a position to confirm if any of those arrested had been arrested recently at protests outside London.

Anyone who was arrested as part of the operation was taken to one of two prisoner processing points in the Westminster area.

Those whose details could be confirmed were released on bail to appear at a police station at a future date. They were given conditions not to attend future demonstrations related to Palestine Action.

Those who refused to provide their details at the prisoner processing points and those who were found to have been arrested while already on bail, were transported to one of a number of Met Police custody suites to be dealt with. We did not need to use any custody suites outside London.

• The number of people dealt with at a prisoner processing point was 320.
• The number of people transported to custody was 212.
• As of 13:00hrs on Sunday, 18 people remained in custody but we expect them to be released on bail in the coming hours.

We are aware of photos and footage online suggesting some of those who were released on bail then returned to Parliament Square.

Given the numbers of people arrested yesterday it would have been entirely unrealistic for officers to recognise individuals who returned to the area. Their focus was rightly on those continuing to commit offences who were still to be arrested. We are as confident as we can be that none of those who returned to Parliament Square re-joined the protesters who were holding placards.

Next steps:

Over the coming days and weeks, officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command will work to put together the case files required to secure charges against those arrested as part of this operation.

Securing a charge for an offence under the Terrorism Act is a distinct process, which in some instances not only involves the approval of the Crown Prosecution Service, but also the Attorney General.

Last week we confirmed the first three charges in England and Wales for offences against Section 13 of the Terrorism Act relating to Palestine Action. The three charged were arrested at a protest in Parliament Square on Saturday, 5 July.

A further 26 case files relating to arrests on the same day are due to be submitted to the CPS imminently, with more to follow in relation to later protests.

Further breakdown of ages: