The first people have been charged with showing support for Palestine Action in England and Wales after the group was banned as a terror organisation, the Metropolitan Police said as the force insisted officers will arrest anyone supporting the group at a demonstration this weekend.
Two women and a man were arrested in Westminster following a protest in central London on July 5.
Jeremy Shippam, 71, of West Sussex, Judit Murray, also 71, of Surrey, and Fiona Maclean, 53, of Hackney, north-east London, were charged with displaying an article in a public place, arousing reasonable suspicion that they are a supporter of a proscribed organisation, under section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
They are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on September 16.
The charges come ahead of a planned protest in support of the group on Saturday afternoon in London’s Parliament Square, with organisers expecting more than 500 people to attend.
A Met Police spokesperson said: “We are aware that the organisers of Saturday’s planned protest are encouraging hundreds of people turn out with the intention of placing a strain on the police and the wider criminal justice system.
“The Met is very experienced in dealing with large-scale protests, including where the protest activity crosses into criminality requiring arrests.
“While we will not go into the specific details of our plan, the public can be assured that we will have the resources and processes in place to respond to any eventuality.
“Our officers will continue to apply the law in relation to Palestine Action as we have done since its proscription.
“Anyone showing support for the group can expect to be arrested.”
The force said it will be sending case files to the Crown Prosecution Service for 26 other people arrested on July 5.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “Anyone who displays public support for Palestine Action, a proscribed organisation, is committing an offence under the Terrorism Act and can expect to be arrested and, as these charges show, will be investigated to the full extent of the law.
“These charges relate to three people arrested in central London on July 5.
“We are also planning to send case files to the Crown Prosecution Service for the other 26 people arrested on the same day.
“I would strongly advise anyone planning to come to London this weekend to show support for Palestine Action to think about the potential criminal consequences of their actions.”
It brings the total number of people charged with offences under the Terrorism Act, related to Palestine Action, to 10 across England, Wales and Scotland, Counter Terrorism Policing said.
A total of 221 people have been arrested at a wave of protests across the UK in response to the proscription last month, including one person on suspicion of membership of the group, 58 people on suspicion of inviting support for Palestine Action and 162 people on suspicion of displaying articles which show support.
Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator for Prevent and Pursue at Counter Terrorism Policing, said: “Our role is to enforce the law where we suspect offences to have been committed and we will continue to do so, without fear of favour.
“At this time, it remains illegal to be a member of or encourage support for the group Palestine Action. This legislation is specific to that group and does not interfere with the right to protest in support of the Palestinian cause.
“Operational plans are in place to ensure this right can be preserved over the coming days with protests expected in several major cities, including London.
“As well as robust plans to respond to activity in support of this proscribed group, resources are also in place to investigate offences that may be identified or reported following such events.”
The organisers of Saturday’s demonstration, Defend Our Juries, said protests will continue until a High Court challenge over Palestine Action’s ban in November.
The move to ban them came after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on June 20, which police said caused about £7 million worth of damage.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action three days later, saying the vandalism of the planes was “disgraceful” and the group had a “long history of unacceptable criminal damage”.
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