Police make arrests at London Palestine Action ban protest

Arrests have begun at the largest demonstration yet opposing the proscription of Palestine Action.

More than 1,000 people pledged to risk arrest on Saturday at a fresh London protest against the ban, about double the number who took part in a demonstration last month where 532 people were arrested.

On Tuesday, hours before a press conference was due to start, Tim Crosland, a former government lawyer and one of the co-founders of Defend Our Juries, the group that has organised the demonstrations, was arrested by police along with four other spokespeople.

Protesters who signed up for Saturday’s demonstration have been instructed to withhold their details from officers to force en-masse processing at police stations, which organisers say would make it “practically impossible” to arrest everyone. At last month’s demonstration, the Metropolitan police said 212 of those arrested were transported to police stations.

The protest will coincide with a major march in London organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and others, but also comes amid mounting controversy over this year’s DSEI arms fair, Britain’s flagship defence show, which starts on Saturday.

More details soon …