Palestine Action terror ban is lawful, judges rule in victory for Home Office

Palestine Action terror ban is lawful, judges rule in victory for Home Office Five judges gave their ruling after the Home Office appealed previous decision that Palestine Action ban was unlawful - Bookmark Palestine Action’s ban under terrorism laws will remain in place after the Court of Appeal ruled that the group’s proscription was lawful in a major win for the government. A rare five-judge panel at the Court of Appeal found that the High Court was wrong when they previously ruled that the group’s proscription was unlawful. Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr told the Court of Appeal on Monday that the home secretary’s decision to ban the group under terror laws was “a justified and proportionate interference with individual rights”. “The proscription decision was not unlawful”, she told the court, describing Palestine Action as a group that “overtly promotes unlawful violence amounting to terrorism”. The Court of Appeal agreed with the Home Office on all grounds of appeal in a definitive victory for the government. The group was banned by then-home secretary Yvette Cooper in July 2025 after members broke into RAF Brize Norton and vandalised jets to protest the war in Gaza. The five-judge panel, Baroness Carr, the Master of the Rolls, Lord Justice Edis, Lord Justice Lewis and Lady Justice Whipple, found that Ms Cooper’s decision struck a “fair balance” between the need to safeguard national security and disrupting individuals’ rights to freedom of expression and assembly. The High Court had previously ruled that Ms Cooper’s decision to ban Palestine Action under terrorism legislation was unlawful. Three senior judges at the High Court concluded that only a small number of Palestine Action’s activities amounted to terrorism, and that the group’s acts had not crossed the high bar to make it a terrorist organisation. The High Court said that Ms Cooper had failed to consider whether imposing a terror ban on Palestine Action was “proportionate” to the threat posed by the organisation. Justice Sharp wrote that, by doing this, Ms Cooper had made a “significant” error by failing to follow the Home Office’s own policy on proscription. Since the group’s proscription, thousands of people have been arrested for holding up placards in support of Palestine Action. This is a breaking story. More to follow... [Image text:] UP OPPOSE Yours Genocide COOTER PALESIINE ACTION OPPost Ropa GENO CIDE I Justice SUPPORT Pha PALESTINE ACTION AAN