Defend Our Juries, the organisation behind an upcoming peaceful demonstration in central London, has warned potential supporters that tomorrow’s “campaign comes with risk”.
In a detailed briefing ahead of the demonstration due to take place in Parliament Square at 12:50pm this Saturday, organisers have shared legal contacts and urged people to “look after each other” as they potentially anticipate police involvement.
Local healthcare officials claim Israel has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians since October 2023, with a growing number of people around the world are calling for an end to the conflict. But some activists in the UK argue that they are being silenced.
But who are Defend Our Juries?
Defend Our Juries: What is it?
Defend Our Juries was initially founded by a former government lawyer named Tim Crosland to highlight the “constitutional crisis taking place in our courts.”
The group believes that the independent rights of juries in the UK are being threatened, particularly in cases heard by judges regarding environmental activists and those arrested for taking direct action to stop racial injustice or end the conflict in Gaza.
As juries initially found many of these activists “not guilty”, the group claims that lobbyists and justices are trying to wield power over juries and courts that “violate the most basic principles of natural justice and the right to a fair trial.”
An example of the type of thing they’re concerned about is when a judge found two Insulate Britain activists in contempt of court and jailed them for seven weeks for mentioning the climate crisis in their closing statements. It came after the judge banned the defendants from telling the jury they were protesting about the climate crisis and fuel poverty.
Although Defend Our Juries isn’t tied to any other organisation, Crosland was one of dozens of people who were reportedly arrested days after Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist group, when police descended on a group of peaceful protestors holding up signs calling for an end to genocide in solidarity with Palestine Action.
Speaking before his arrest, Crosland said: “In theory, we are now terrorist supporters and can go to prison for 14 years, which is kind of crazy. I think what we are here to do is just expose the craziness of that.”
One of their latest campaigns has centred on calls to “lift the ban” which was imposed on Palestine Action in July 2025 after they were proscribed a terrorist organisation - a move that many rights groups have criticised.
“Following intensive lobbying by representatives of the Israeli government and the arms industry such as Lord Walney, dishonestly presented to the public as ‘independent advisers’, Palestine Action have been branded as a ‘terrorist organisation’, for trying to stop crimes against humanity and for exposing the British government’s complicity in genocide,” Defend Our Juries said.
They are now demonstrating in an attempt to raise awareness and call for the ban to be lifted.
“It is vital that our campaign succeeds – not just for Palestine Action but for democracy,” they said.
“Once the meaning of ‘terrorism’ is separated from campaigns of violence against a civilian population, and extended to include those causing economic damage or embarrassment to the rich, the powerful and the criminal, then the right to freedom of expression has no meaning and democracy is dead. If we let this go, the unions, and climate and racial justice movements will be next.”
What to expect from the Defend Our Juries demonstration
There are actually two demonstrations taking place tomorrow in central London: Lift The Ban (LTB) and the National March for Palestine.
Defend Our Juries has revealed that more than 500 people have agreed to take part in tomorrow’s LTB demonstration, where they will peacefully sit with their placards for around an hour from 1pm.
At the sound of Big Ben, those taking part are planning to write “I OPPOSE GENOCIDE, I SUPPORT PALESTINE ACTION” on their signs.
According to the group’s briefing, “there is a substantial risk of arrest”, but at this point it’s hard to tell what will happen next. The Met Police have confirmed to The Standard that arrests are likely for those that show support for Palestine Action.
The police have detained previous groups displaying such signs, but it looks like organisers suspect the sheer volume of protestors taking part this time may make this difficult.
Organisers are telling attendees: “Expect to be arrested.”
The briefing adds: “500 is more than double the total number of people arrested under the Terrorism Act in 2024.
“It would be practically and politically difficult for the state to respond to an action on this scale. Even assuming it had the physical capacity to arrest so many people on the same day, the political fallout from such an operation would be incalculable, causing irreparable damage to the reputation of the government and the police. Our assessment is that an action on this scale could be enough for the ban to be lifted.”
Their efforts come as the group also attempts to demand that the UK government lift a ban that’s been imposed on Palestine Action after it was proscribed as a terrorist organisation last month.
According to the group’s briefing, they suspect that it wouldn’t be “practically or politically possible for the police to arrest 500 people for holding cardboard signs against the genocide,” and it might “be enough to ensure the ban is lifted.”
A Met Police spokesperson confirmed to The Standard that those who show support for Palestine Action “can expect to be arrested.”
“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 spokesperson said.
“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.
They continued: “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.”
