On Saturday, October 4, 2025, London police arrested hundreds of people in Trafalgar Square during a protest against the UK government's ban on the pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action. The demonstration proceeded despite calls from the Prime Minister and police to cancel it following a deadly terrorist attack at a synagogue in Manchester just two days prior.
The Metropolitan Police reported that 493 people were arrested for supporting a proscribed organization . The protest, organized by the group Defend Our Juries, saw around 1,000 participants gather in Trafalgar Square . The police intervention was a lengthy process, as many of those arrested would not walk out of the square and had to be carried by a minimum of five officers each . In a separate early action, six individuals were arrested for unfurling a banner in support of Palestine Action on Westminster Bridge . As arrests proceeded, onlookers chanted "shame on you" at the officers .
The decision to hold the protest so soon after the Manchester attack, in which two Jewish men were killed, sparked significant controversy . Prime Minister Keir Starmer had urged protesters to "recognise and respect the grief of British Jews," stating it was a "moment of mourning" and "not a time to stoke tension" . Police authorities also expressed concern that the protest would divert crucial resources away from providing a visible security presence for Jewish communities . However, the organizers defended their decision, stating that "cancelling peaceful protests lets terror win" . A spokesperson emphasized that their protest was "not near any synagogue" and was about defying the government's "absurdly authoritarian" ban on Palestine Action and its complicity in the "genocide" in Gaza . One protester, Angie Zelter, echoed this sentiment, saying, "Palestine Action is not a violent organisation, should never have been proscribed in the first place" .
Throughout the event, protesters and organizers sought to maintain a clear distinction between their cause and the tragic events in Manchester. Defend Our Juries had "condemned the attack on the Jewish community in Manchester" and urged police to focus on protecting communities rather than arresting peaceful protesters . Zoe Cohen, a member of the organizing group who identified as Jewish, expressed that it was possible to grieve for multiple atrocities at once, stating she was both "grieving after the appalling synagogue attack" and "grieving for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have been murdered, displaced and starved in Gaza" . The protest is part of an ongoing series of demonstrations since the government proscribed Palestine Action in July under anti-terrorism laws, a designation the group is challenging in court .