Police chief warns Palestine Action supporters at a US Embassy rally they are 'meeting to purposefully commit a crime'
Police officers detain a person during a pro-Palestine demonstration on 7 October, as the Met confirmed it plans to arrest organisers of Saturday's rally, not merely placard carriers.
Organisers and anyone giving instructions or providing logistical support at Saturday's Defend Our Juries demonstration near the US Embassy in central London will 'very likely' be arrested alongside placard holders, says Commander Adam Slonecki, who is leading the Metropolitan Police operation. Palestine Action has been proscribed under the Terrorism Act since June 2025, making any public show of support a criminal offence, a ban the Court of Appeal upheld in June 2026.
Commander Adam Slonecki, leading the Met operation, vows to act 'robustly' wherever expressing views at the rally involves criminality.
Anyone officers judge to be 'playing a key role in organising the event' risks committing an offence.
Every attendee, not just organisers, faces arrest, with the Metropolitan Police treating mere attendance as a criminal offence.
