Met changes approach to Palestine Action support

The Metropolitan police has changed its enforcement approach that officers will take in response to displays of support for Palestine Action.

Since last month's High Court judgment, which ruled the proscription unlawful, the force adopted an interim approach that meant while officers would identify and gather evidence of offences, arrests would be unlikely.

However, this has now changed and anyone showing support for the group is likely to be arrested.

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."

He continued: "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.”