Hundreds arrested at Trafalgar Square protest

Police officers detain a man at the protest in London's Trafalgar Square. Photo: Reuters
Police officers detain a man at the protest in London's Trafalgar Square. Photo: Reuters
Police say they arrested 523 people at a protest in London's Trafalgar Square opposing Britain's banning of the Palestine Action group.

London's Metropolitan Police said in a post on X that people were arrested for showing support for a "proscribed organisation".

The gathering was the first since London's High Court ruled in February that a ban designating the pro-Palestinian group as a terrorist organisation was unlawful. UK Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood has been granted approval to appeal the ruling.

Lawmakers banned Palestine Action -- which accuses Britain's government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in Gaza -- under anti-terrorism legislation last July after some members broke into a Royal Air Force base.

Israel has repeatedly denied any abuses in its war in Gaza.

During Saturday's (local time) demonstration, placard-holding protesters, some wearing black and white Palestinian scarves and waving Palestinian flags, sat on the ground or on camping chairs.