More than 300 arrested at London Palestine Action protest
More than 300 people have been arrested after hundreds gathered outside the US Embassy in London in support of Palestine Action, and the Supreme Court hears a case over the ban next week.
How it was covered
- ITV carried 41% of the airtime and concentrated on arrest scenes, protester motives and police resources.
- Sky News concentrated on protest atmosphere, arrest choreography and the legal battle.
- BBC One concentrated on legal mechanics, police resourcing and the calm standoff.
- Channel 4 and GB News: not found in tracked broadcasts.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
More than 300 people have been arrested after protesters gathered outside the US Embassy in London in support of Palestine Action, Channel 5 reported on Sunday. The Met said 320 people were held for expressing support for the group, which was banned as a terrorist organisation.
Earlier on Saturday, the arrest total was lower. BBC One West reported 48 arrests by 17:25, and ITV carried the same figure in its early evening bulletin. Sky News and ITV later reported 139 arrests by the evening.
Demonstrations took place in London and Edinburgh. Hundreds gathered outside the US Embassy in London, where police had warned that attending could lead to arrest. ITV reported that police said people could be arrested even if they did not hold placards supporting the banned group. Charlotte Leeming of Sky News described a silent protest, with many people sitting down with cardboard signs, and said there were up to 400 people, many of them retired professionals.
Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation last summer. ITV reported that the ban followed a break-in at RAF Brize Norton, where activists sprayed red paint into the engines of two planes and disabled them. BBC News said the government acted after a run of court cases involving break-ins and direct action protests. The Court of Appeal ruled in June that the decision was lawful. The Supreme Court is due to hear a case over the ban next week. BBC One West had earlier said the next stage would take place in the months to come.
Supporters say the protests are about freedom of expression and democratic rights. Emma Volney of ITV reported that one protester said the aim was to be arrested to put pressure on the government. The protester rejected the idea that police time should go to knife crime and phone theft, saying officers should not be arresting older people for holding cardboard. Sky News reported that protesters called the arrests draconian and heavy-handed. Sky News also reported that the Home Office had argued that Palestine Action is not simply a peaceful protest group and has shown violent methods.
The London protest was calm. Tom Simons of BBC One West said both sides agreed what would happen even if they disagreed about whether it should. Tom Symonds of BBC News reported that officers spoke to protesters before a larger group carried them bodily to police vans. BBC One West reported that the Met said it would also arrest anyone facilitating the protest, including by handing out water or arranging logistics. Sky News reported that the operation had produced probably nearly 4,000 arrests over the past 15 to 18 months.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Widely reported · 4 or more of 5 channels | |||||
| Palestine Action was designated a terrorist organisation last summer. | |||||
| Protests were planned in London and Edinburgh, with hundreds of demonstrators gathering or expected at the US Embassy in London in support of Palestine Action. | Reported by ITV | ||||
| Signs at the protest were technically in breach of the Terrorism Act because they supported a prescribed organisation. | Reported by BBC News | ||||
| Reports said dozens or 139 people were arrested at a central London protest. | Not reported by BBC News | ||||
| Reported by a few · 2–3 channels | |||||
| At the protest, people were removed from the crowd and carried to a line of police vans. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | ||
| The Court of Appeal ruled in June that the proscription was lawful, with further appeal hearings and a Supreme Court review due. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by Sky News | |||
| The Supreme Court was due to hear a case over the ban the following week. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | |||
| Police warned that protesters could be arrested even if they did not hold placards. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by Sky News | ||
| The Metropolitan Police said that all protesters at the US Embassy faced arrest. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| Only on one channel | |||||
| Nearly 4,000 arrests had been made at such protests over the previous 15 to 18 months. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | |
| Organisers said they are seeking to overturn the ban, describing it as an attack on the democratic right to protest against Israel. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The proscription of Palestine Action followed a break-in at RAF Brize Norton in which activists sprayed red paint into the engines of two aircraft and disabled them. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
ITV led with the confrontation between the law and protesters, using Emma Volney's reports from the US Embassy and interviews with people who wanted to be arrested. It stressed the rising arrest count and the argument that police resources were being diverted from crime. Its preview also gave the most specific account of the RAF Brize Norton break-in that preceded the ban.
- “The weight of the law against the resolve to overturn it.”
- “Showing support for the group is a offence under the Terrorism Act following its ban in June last year.”
- “They shouldn't be arresting old people like us for holding up bits of cardboard.”
BBC One West treated the protest as a calm but legally fraught standoff, with Tom Simons explaining how banners and even logistical help could trigger arrest. It gave prominence to the police's claim that the operation diverted officers from neighbourhood crime, and to the unresolved court process. Its later bulletin supplied the 48-arrest figure.
- “Well, this is a very calm protest, and the reason for that is that in some ways everyone agrees what is going to happen here today”
- “the Met has also said it will arrest anyone facilitating this protest, which could involve, say, handing out water or arranging the logistics for it.”
- “48 people have been arrested near the US Embassy in London after several hundred protesters gathered there in support of the banned group Palestine Action.”
BBC News gave a detailed procedural account of the arrests, with Tom Symonds describing protesters who came prepared to be detained and officers who warned them before carrying them bodily to vans. It set the action within the Terrorism Act and the sequence of court cases behind the proscription. It also highlighted the policing cost to Saturday neighbourhood crime.
- “All of these protesters have come here today prepared to be arrested.”
- “The signs that they're holding are currently and technically in breach of the law, that law being the Terrorism Act.”
- “a larger group of officers comes in, picks them up literally bodily, and carries them out to this line of police vans just here.”
5 News gave a concise round-up that added Edinburgh to the London protest and noted the Terrorism Act ban. Its Sunday update carried the highest arrest total, reporting more than 300 arrests and a Met figure of 320 people held for expressing support. It was the only channel to state the 320 figure.
- “More than 300 people have been arrested after a protest in London yesterday in support of Palestine Action.”
- “the Met says 320 of those were arrested were held for expressing support for the group”
- “More than a hundred gathered outside the US Embassy with demonstrations in Edinburgh too.”
Sky News focused on the theatre and scale of the protest, with Charlotte Leeming describing a silent sit-down demonstration by up to 400 people, many retired professionals. It detailed the choreography of arrests and the protesters' claim that the law is draconian and heavy-handed. It also set out the Home Office's argument that the group has used violence and noted nearly 4,000 arrests over 15 to 18 months.
- “This is a silent protest.”
- “they believe that it's their right, it's a freedom of expression, and it's draconian measures, it's too heavy-handed to arrest these people.”
- “We've seen probably nearly 4,000 arrests in all.”
Who was on air
People and organisations each channel put on air while covering this story. Channels' own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed, and the list can miss people.
- 12:35 GMT
Ed Miliband, Foreign Secretary
ITV News · Sat 31 Oct
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.