Pensioner barrister Margaret Owen, 94, among 150 arrested under Terrorism Act for holding placards at Labour conference
From the Newshound archive · first published 27 September 2026 · last updated 28 September 2026.
More than 150 people — including 94-year-old human rights barrister Margaret Owen and Massive Attack frontman Robert Del Naja — were arrested under the Terrorism Act outside Labour's conference in Liverpool for holding signs reading 'I support Palestine Action'. Merseyside Police spent 16 hours making arrests as over 250 protesters sat in silence outside the Liverpool Experience Campus, with crowds cheering each time someone was led away.
Amnesty International called the mass arrests a 'shameful attack on freedom of speech', with chief executive Kerry Moscogiuri warning that consecutive governments have cracked down on the right to protest.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband was confronted by activists at a Pizza Express nearby; he reportedly refused to engage as arrests continued outside under the Terrorism Act.
Organiser Defend Our Juries is demanding PM Andy Burnham de-proscribe Palestine Action from his conference podium, calling its continued ban 'illogical, unsustainable and immoral'.