New Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will be "just as tough" on Palestine Action as her predecessor, Defence Secretary John Healey has said. His comments came after more than 400 people were arrested while protesting against the group's terror ban.
Healey suggested that supporters of the proscribed organisation would need to face consequences to avoid "two-tier policing". The statement follows significant demonstrations in Parliament Square on Saturday.
Cabinet reshuffle impact
Mahmood took over as Home Secretary from Yvette Cooper, who moved to the Foreign Office, as part of Sir Keir Starmer's (Labour) wide-ranging Cabinet reshuffle on Friday. Cooper had been responsible for the original decision to ban Palestine Action.
The major shake-up saw the Prime Minister tell his new-look team to "go up a gear" in delivering policy. Key priorities include immigration and the search for economic growth.
Mass arrests at protest
More than 425 people had been arrested by around 9pm on Saturday after a Parliament Square rally, Scotland Yard said. The Metropolitan Police condemned what they described as "intolerable" abuse suffered by officers during the demonstration.
Organisers Defend Our Juries described the event as "the picture of peaceful protest". The group called the Metropolitan Police's claims "astonishing" and said those arrested on Saturday were sitting and holding signs.
Healey told Sky News's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: "If we want to avoid a two-tier policing and justice system in this country, when people break the law, there have to be consequences. That's what was happening yesterday, and I, we, almost everybody shares the agony when we see the images from Gaza, the anguish when we see the man-made starvation, and for people who want to voice their concern and protest, I applaud them. But that does not require them to link it to support for Palestine Action, a proscribed group."
Palestine Action's terror ban
Palestine Action was banned as a terror organisation in July after claiming responsibility for damaging two Voyager planes at RAF Brize Norton on June 20. The proscription makes membership of, or support for, the direct action group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The Home Office is set to appeal against a High Court ruling allowing Palestine Action's co-founder, Huda Ammori, to proceed with a legal challenge against the Government over the group's ban. Ammori took legal action against the department over Cooper's decision to proscribe the group under anti-terror laws.
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
