On Sunday, August 17, the campaign group Defend Our Juries filed a formal contempt of court complaint against Home Secretary Yvette Cooper over an article she published in The Observer. The complaint followed Cooper’s repeated insinuations that the government proscribed the activist group Palestine Action due to their violent actions against people.
The letter, addressed to Attorney General Richard Hermer KC MP, centered on an article written by Cooper in The Observer, titled Yvette Cooper: Palestine Action’s violent criminality is not lawful protest. In the article, Cooper stated:
“Demonstrating is vital to free speech, but this right does not extend to violence, intimidation, and inflicting injuries.” However, Defend Our Juries highlighted that the proscription of Palestine Action was not based on any claims of violence against individuals, but rather on property damage, specifically targeting the weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems UK, which supplies weapons to the Israeli military.
Legal documents from High Court proceedings revealed that the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) had classified Palestine Action’s actions as using direct action tactics, primarily involving property damage rather than violence toward people. The JTAC also noted:
“In support of its aims and objectives, the group primarily uses direct action tactics, the majority of which would not constitute an act of terrorism as defined under Section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2000, on the basis that any damage to property is typically more minor.”
In addition, the Proscription Review Group (PRG) advised that banning Palestine Action would be a “novel and unprecedented” step, citing the lack of any previous example of an organisation being proscribed based primarily on actions involving property damage.
Defend Our Juries pointed out that, of nearly 500 actions carried out by Palestine Action since 2020, only one alleged violent incident involving a police officer’s injury had been contested in court, and that incident had not yet been tested in a legal setting. Despite this, Cooper mentioned the allegations in her column without clarification, a move that the group described as prejudicing the judicial process.
In their letter to the Attorney General, Defend Our Juries emphasized the serious implications of Cooper’s remarks: “It is not only disingenuous to present this isolated case as characteristic of Palestine Action, it is a contempt of court that prevents fair trials of those who stand accused. Yvette Cooper’s comments have been widely publicised, such that it would be impossible to find a jury unaffected by them.”
The group also expressed concern about the political barriers to initiating contempt of court proceedings against the Home Secretary. However, they stressed that no one, regardless of their position, should be above the law. They added:
“It is particularly egregious for a Home Secretary to abuse their office in this way, to present a false and misleading picture of those who face serious criminal charges.”
In the article, Cooper also referred to the humanitarian situation in Gaza, describing Israel’s actions as “crimes against humanity.” This marked a rare official acknowledgment by the government of the serious allegations against Israel. Defend Our Juries noted this recognition, pointing out that it carries legal ramifications and could have wider implications.
Finally, the group stated their intention to inform the legal teams of those facing trial, known as the Filton 24, and urged the Attorney General to respond swiftly due to the legal and political consequences at stake. They concluded by stating that Palestine Action was not proscribed for violence, but for exposing the government’s complicity in the actions they were protesting.
