UK police ban Palestine Action protest outside parliament
FILE PHOTO: The Houses of Parliament are seen during a sunset in London, Britain, November 4, 2019. REUTERS/Yara Nardi/ File Photo
LONDON - British police have banned campaign group Palestine Action from protesting outside parliament on Monday, a rare move that comes after two of its members broke into a military base last week and as the government considers banning the organisation.
The group said in response that it had changed the location of its protest on Monday to Trafalgar Square, which lies just outside the police exclusion zone.
The pro-Palestinian organisation is among groups that have regularly targeted defence firms and other companies in Britain linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza.
British media have reported that the government is considering proscribing, or effectively banning, Palestine Action, as a terrorist organisation, putting it on a par with al-Qaeda or ISIS.
London's Metropolitan Police said late on Sunday that it would impose an exclusion zone for a protest planned by Palestine Action outside the Houses of Parliament - a popular location for protests in support of a range of causes.
"The right to protest is essential and we will always defend it, but actions in support of such a group go beyond what most would see as legitimate protest," Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said.
"We have laid out to Government the operational basis on which to consider proscribing this group."
Palestine Action's members are alleged to have caused millions of pounds of criminal damage, assaulted a police officer with a sledgehammer and, in the incident last week, damaged two military aircraft, Rowley added. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
17 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Seven Iranians appear in UK court charged with assault after embassy incident
FILE PHOTO: Police officers stand in front of Iran's embassy, after six men were arrested earlier on the same day on suspicion of grievous bodily harm during a protest, London, Britain, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes/File photo Seven Iranians appear in UK court charged with assault after embassy incident LONDON - Seven Iranian nationals appeared in a British court on Monday accused of attacking a pro-Tehran demonstrator near the Iranian embassy in London last week. The seven men, aged between 30 and 50, are charged with intentionally causing grievous bodily harm to one person outside the Iranian embassy on Friday. Their lawyers told Westminster Magistrates' Court that the seven defendants were opponents of the Iranian government and had been threatened before the incident. Prosecutor Rachel Hughes said: "The defendants were protesting outside of the Iranian embassy against the current Iranian regime as part of a pro-royalist protest, in which they had placed the Iranian flag on the ground. "The victim knelt and kissed that flag before running off with it. All the defendants chased after the victim and participated in an attack over a six-minute period." Hughes said the complainant remains in hospital with serious injuries including broken ribs, a broken ankle and a suspected bleed on the brain. Judge Daniel Sternberg denied the seven defendants bail ahead of their next court appearance at Southwark Crown Court on July 21. Monday's court hearing comes amid heightened conflict in the Middle East and after the United States bombed Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday. The last heir to the Iranian monarchy – whose father, the U.S.-backed shah, was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution – on Monday urged Western states to accept the collapse of the Iranian government was necessary to deliver peace and stability. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
17 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Caribbean delegation to travel to Brussels, London to discuss slavery reparations
LONDON - A Caribbean delegation is set to travel to Brussels and London next month to bring the highly divisive issue of reparations for slavery and colonialism to the table, organisers have told Reuters. At least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped, forcibly transported by European ships and sold into slavery from the 15th to the 19th centuries. Calls for reparations are longstanding but have been gaining momentum, particularly among the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the African Union (AU). Backlash against it has also been growing, and many of Europe's leaders have opposed even talking about reparations. Organised by the Repair Campaign, a group advocating for reparations in the Caribbean, the trip will start in Brussels on July 1, where the delegation will host a briefing with European Union (EU) lawmakers. In 2023, the EU said Europe inflicted "untold suffering" on millions of people but even though some member states have acknowledged past wrongs, no country has agreed to reparations. The delegation will then travel to London, where they will hold a briefing in parliament on July 2. The delegation's aim is to "open a dialogue" with European and British representatives about their countries' roles in advancing reparations, according to organisers. The delegation includes Caribbean academics and policy experts, as well as members of national reparations committees established by CARICOM member states and backed by their respective governments. CARICOM has a reparations plan, which, among other demands, calls for technology transfers and investments to tackle health crises and illiteracy. The AU is developing its own plan. Opponents of reparations argue that contemporary states and institutions should not be held responsible for their past. But advocates say action is needed to address the legacies, such as racism. Britain, which transported an estimated 3.2 million people, the most active European country after Portugal, has also rejected calls for reparations. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
30 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Israel signals Iran campaign can end soon but much hinges on Tehran
Remains of a ballistic missile lie on the ground following missile attacks by Iran on Israel, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in northern Israel, June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Avi Ohayon Rescuers and security personnel work at the impacted site after a missile attack from Iran, amid the Iran-Israel conflict in Tel Aviv, Israel June 22, 2025. REUTERS/Tomer Appelbaum Israel signals Iran campaign can end soon but much hinges on Tehran JERUSALEM/TEL AVIV - Israel is looking to wrap up its campaign in Iran soon and has passed the message on to the United States, according to three Israeli officials, though much depends on its adversary's next move. According to two other officials, Israeli leaders are trying to work out the precise exit strategy that will conclude the campaign and end Iran's missile and drone attacks, to avoid tit-for-tat strikes paralysing the country. Another source briefed on the matter said that the military has signalled that it was close to achieving its goals. But although Israel picked the moment to launch its surprise strike on Iran, it cannot control when the conflict ends and risks being drawn into a costly war of attrition if Tehran chooses to extend the fight, officials and analysts say. Since unleashing its offensive in the early hours of June 13, Israel has killed senior Iranian generals and nuclear scientists, dismantled air defence systems, and struck multiple atomic-related sites and ballistic missile facilities. "We are not there yet but it looks more like a matter of days than weeks," said Eran Lerman, a former Israeli deputy national security adviser, in comments that chimed with the views of the three Israeli officials. "The end game is not that far from an Israeli point of view." On Sunday, Israel received a significant boost when the U.S. Air Force joined the hostilities, hitting three Iranian nuclear complexes with massive, bunker-busting bombs that Israel does not have in its arsenal. Hours later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters that Israel was close to meeting its objectives and had no desire to prolong the operation. "We won't pursue our actions beyond what is needed," he said. "When the objectives are achieved, then the operation is complete and the fighting will stop." That could prove wishful thinking. On Sunday and Monday, Iran fired barrages of ballistic missiles across the length of Israel, sending millions of people fleeing into bunkers as interceptor rockets sped into the sky knocking out most, but not all, of the incoming projectiles. The missile barrages have killed 24 civilians and damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings, rendering thousands homeless. Tel Aviv, Israel's commercial hub, has been a frequent target. Israel has moved into a tightened wartime posture: non-essential businesses are closed, schools are shut and its airspace sealed to all but a handful of flights. Israel's vibrant economy cannot afford prolonged lockdown. And Israelis have already been growing increasingly weary of the war against Iran's ally Hamas in Gaza, triggered in 2023 by the Palestinian militant group's October 7 2023 attack. SEEKING AN OFF-RAMP Military and government officials have acknowledged that the duration of Israel's campaign hinges on Tehran. "It depends on the Iranians," one military official said last week. If Iran refrains from further escalation, officials believe there is a case for ending the operation sooner rather than later. Analysts say Iran may choose to minimise the significance of the U.S. strikes, consolidate power internally, and maintain limited missile fire on Israel using its surviving launchers. "The only option is to continue shooting at Israel, which they will do, but in a very calculated way," said Sima Shine, a former Mossad official and analyst at the Institute for National Security Studies. "They understand their capabilities aren't endless, so they're rationing them." Two European diplomats said Tehran would have to signal a willingness to de-escalate. But one warned that, if Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei felt secure, he might choose to prolong the conflict, making it a drawn-out confrontation. Israel's strikes on Monday against Iranian ruling symbols were a message to Tehran, said Lerman. "It's meant to indicate to the regime, to Khamenei that a war of attrition could be a very costly business for him and for the survival of his power structure." Netanyahu said that if Iran dragged out its attacks, Israel would launch strikes that would "exact a price from the Iranian regime". Netanyahu, asked whether he and U.S. President Donald Trump saw eye to eye on how the war should conclude, said he could think of a few mechanisms to end it but declined to offer details. "We're in a time of war," he said. "There's the fog of battle ... I am working closely with President Trump." For now, hope of a negotiated off-ramp remains alive but uncertain. "This could end like it often does with Hamas—Israel declaring its objectives achieved and offering to stop if the other side does," said Shine, referring to past conflicts between Hamas militants and Israel in Gaza. "But Iran is not Hamas. A negotiated agreement would be a better outcome." Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, said Israel would not accept a one-sided halt. "A unilateral stop on our part would mean (Iran) firing at our civilians," he said. "The ball, to a certain extent, is in Khamenei's hands and he himself has yet to decide," Edelstein told Israel's N12 News. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
