46 people arrested at UK protest supporting banned Palestine Action

Police have arrested 46 people at a protest in London against the Palestine Action group being designated a proscribed terrorist group, the Metropolitan Police said.

Protesters gathered for the second week in a row in central London after police reiterated that showing support for the group was a criminal offence.

Other demonstrations were also planned across the United Kingdom on Saturday, including in Manchester, Cardiff and Londonderry, Northern Ireland, according to campaign group Defend Our Juries, who organized the event.

Two groups of protesters gathered underneath both the Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela statues in London's Parliament Square for the demonstration shortly after 1 pm (1200 GMT).

The individuals then wrote the message "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action" with black markers on pieces of cardboard, and silently held the signs aloft as they were surrounded by Metropolitan Police officers and members of the media.

Some demonstrators could be seen lying on top of each other on the floor as police searched their bags and took their ID cards and handmade signs.

Officers could then be seen carrying away a number of protesters who were lying down, lifting them off the ground and into waiting police vans parked around the square.

Other standing protesters were also led away from the statues and placed into the vans.

The last of the protesters was lifted from the Nelson Mandela statue shortly after 2:30 pm.

A Metropolitan Police officer at the scene told the PA news agency that 46 people had been arrested at the protest.

The offences mainly related to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000, the officer said.

In a post shared on X, Defend Our Juries said the protesters had been arrested "for holding cardboard signs" and that further arrests had been made at the Manchester demonstration.

Scotland Yard said its stance remains that officers will act where criminal offences, including support of proscribed groups or organizations, are committed.

The force added that this includes "chanting, wearing clothing or displaying articles such as flags, signs or logos."

Police arrested 29 people at a similar protest in Parliament Square last weekend.

The terrorist group designation means that membership of, or support for, Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

The move to ban the organization came after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at a Royal Air Force base on June 20, an incident claimed by Palestine Action, which police said caused about £7 million ($9.4 million) worth of damage.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action, saying that the vandalism of the planes was "disgraceful" and the group had a "long history of unacceptable criminal damage."