Lift the Ban: Fourth arrest, 30th July 2026 "Graduation Day"

This is one of a series of posts about my experience of the Defend our Juries (DoJ) 'Lift the Ban' campaign. See my Lift the Ban page for more.

Note: in case you are wondering why this post is date before 30th July, that was when I first put wrote a post saying that I was going to take part. I've edited today, 2 August, with an account of what happened.

DoJ billed this as 'Graduation Day'. This is what they said;

On July 30th, 152 people were arrested at what should have been a “Graduation Day” celebration outside Westminster Magistrates Court.

More than 1,500 people had received letters stating that a hearing relating to their prosecution would take place on July 30th at the court. Their names were listed for court hearings on the day.

Instead of being permitted into the court for their listed hearings, 152 people were arrested, mostly under the Terrorism Act, while peacefully attending an event outside the court. Some were arrested just for speaking to the crowd, others for trying to put up a small platform for performers and speakers to stand on, some were even arrested for clapping!

I was one of those, listed for a court hearing (arising from my arrest on 9th August 2025 and subsequent charge under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act (TA 2000)), and then arrested on the day. They said they were arresting me under Section 12 of TA 2000, because I said something like:

"I am a member and a supporter of Palestine Action and I encourage everyone to do the same because saving lives is not terrorism"

I say 'something like' because that is what I intended to say but the day was a bit chaotic and I was nervous, so I may not have said exactly that. Also, when they didn't seem to be arresting me, I got up and said it again, facing straight at the police to make sure they heard me, and I don't know whether I said exactly the same things both times! If they decide to charge me they will need evidence, so presumably they've got video footing of the event and may have a recording of me speaking. Or else this Blog post might be used as evidence, but since I'm saying that I don't know exactly what I said - really don't! - it would be pretty weak evidence.  I understand that they may also raid my home for evidence, but if they do, I hate to disappoint them but I don't think they will find anything incriminating!

The routine is getting familiar now, and I was taken in a Pixie (police van) to Plumstead police station (which is where I was taken last time too). It took over 90 minutes to get from outside Westminster Magistrates Court to Plumstead police station, and then we sat in the Pixie for a couple of hours in the police station car park, waiting in the queue for processing. When I finally got in, it was all very calm and un-threatening. Once again there was no sense that any of the police that I had dealings with thought for one moment that I was criminal. TBH, I'm finding it quite interesting meeting all these young (very young compared to me) police men and women. I'm not going to say anything in more detail because I don't want to get them into trouble. And, I need to say again, the experience may be very different for someone who is not a white, British man like me. (Although this time I wasn't wearing my Christ the Cornerstone t-shirt because we'd been asked to wear something red. I wore my Jeremy Corbyn t-shirt which I thought might not have been universally popular, but no one said anything about it.)

But the police were not ALL like that. One constable who seemed to be directing proceeding outside Westminster Magistrates Court for part of the time suddenly started to get angry, and his face turned positively venomous. He pointed to one us and shouted that he was was tripping people up. It didn't look like that to me and TBH it looked very personal on the part of the police constable.

Section 12 of TA 2000 is a more serious offence than Section 13, with a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail. I'm working on the assumption that it will not come to that! DoJ and their lawyers are pretty confident that it won't, for someone like me (middle class white man), but I have to be prepared for that as a possible outcome. To put it dramatically, I have to be prepared for the eventual outcome (starting quite some way in the future, since there are still appeals pending on the proscription of Palestine Action and that, combined with the chaos in the courts as noted in the DoJ quote above, means that any conviction is still a long was off), for the eventual outcome of me spending the last years of my life in jail.

So you will appreciate that I am constantly wondering whether I am right to be doing this. Not only, though, in terms of whether I am right to be risking own liberty, but also more importantly whether the cause I am supporting is just. The news from Gaza and the West Bank, and the treatment of the Palestine Action activists*, indicates very clearly that it is.

*Most recently reports that those found guilty of smashing windows and spraying red paint on Barclays Bank are likely to receive a 'terrorism' sentence, as happened to the Filton four.