R.S.

This is the statement issued by the Met Police about the Defend Our Juries demonstration today. Commander Adam Slonecki, from Scotland Yard, said: “All those intending on coming to this event know that supporting a proscribed organisation is unlawful – they are essentially meeting to purposefully commit a crime.” This is a remarkable contrual of the law and extent of police powers. Surely it cannot be right that someone protesting against the Government’s decision to proscribe an organisation is automatically interpreted by the Met Police as supporting that organisation and is therefore committing an arrest-able offence. This is especially the case when the proscription is being challenged in the courts. I believe the government and parliament made the wrong decision in proscribing Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation and I continue to call for its deproscription by the government. If the people turning up today to demonstrate against the proscription of Palestine Action are to be arrested for simply turning up, are we all to be criminalised for suggesting the government got this wrong?