Overview
- The Court of Appeal on June 15 upheld the Home Secretary’s June 2025 decision to proscribe Palestine Action, overturning a February High Court ruling that had found the ban unlawful.
- The judges said the Home Secretary should be given wide deference on national security grounds and accepted the government’s account of escalation and the risk of serious damage to property.
- Government materials identified only a small number of actions — three incidents — that met the statutory “serious damage” threshold, but the court treated the group’s activity as a whole when justifying proscription.
- Police enforcement has led to large-scale arrests for public expressions of support, including recent local detentions under Section 13, and thousands of arrest records and pending cases now face prosecution in the criminal courts.
- Human rights groups, lawyers and UN experts say the ruling will chill lawful protest and free speech, and campaigners plan further appeals to the Supreme Court and international rights bodies.