The proscription of direct action group Palestine Action by Keir Starmer’s government was ruled unlawful on 12 Friday February, in another major breakthrough for the Palestine solidarity movement. “The High Court ruled the Palestine Action ban is unlawful as it is disproportionate to free speech and the Home Secretary breached her own policy,” Huda Ammori, the group’s co-founder, wrote on social media as the news broke.
“This is a monumental victory both for our fundamental freedoms here in Britain and in the struggle for freedom for the Palestinian people, striking down a decision that will forever be remembered as one of the most extreme attacks on free speech in recent British history,” Ammori added in a statement following the ruling.
In July 2025, then-Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and the rest of Starmer’s government designated Palestine Action a terrorist organization, criminalizing engagement with the group as well as expressions of support. However, the move backfired, with thousands joining peaceful sit-ins holding signs reading: “I Oppose Genocide. I Support Palestine Action.” Over 2,500 people were arrested during these actions, the group Defend Our Juries points out, leading not only to further criminalization of free speech and the right to assembly, but also to the misuse of public resources, as hundreds of police officers were deployed in response to these actions.
On Friday, Defend Our Juries insisted charges raised against sign-holders should be dropped, and that the Home Office and police authorities should seek a way to amend the harmful consequences of the ban. Overall, the judges’ decision was welcomed as an important vindication for the whole Palestine solidarity movement, with some commenting that it supports claims that the government had acted spitefully when it introduced the proscription.
“The decision to proscribe was made despite warning that the move would backfire, and despite deep and widespread concerns among civil servants, international experts, human rights observers, and civil society,” Defend Our Juries wrote in a statement following the court decision.
“When presented with the full evidence—as they were in the Filton 6 case—ordinary people don’t agree with the government that damaging weapons that would be used in a genocide is a crime, let alone terrorism,” Defend Our Juries stated. “And now the ban has been struck down, there is no longer any reason for Palestine Action-linked prisoners, including those who went on a hunger strike, to be held in prison without trial on unsubstantiated ‘terror’ charges. They should be released immediately.”
Although the ban has been ruled unlawful, it will remain in place while the government decides whether to pursue an appeal—something that statements by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood indicate is likely to happen. However, local media and activists have reported that police forces have been instructed not to pursue arrests of those expressing support for Palestine Action while the process is ongoing.
However, they haven’t lifted the unlawful ban