Over 50 Arrested as Palestine Action Protesters Target UK Labour Party Conference

Police in the United Kingdom have arrested more than 50 people protesting in support of the banned Palestine Action group outside the annual Labour Party conference in Liverpool, northwest England, on September 27, 2026. The local Merseyside Police confirmed the arrests in a statement published on Sunday, noting that individuals taken into custody had displayed material in support of Palestine Action, which was proscribed as a terrorist group by the Labour government in July 2025 under the Terrorism Act.

The protest, organised by Defend Our Juries, saw more than 250 demonstrators sit outside the conference centre holding banners supporting the group. Following requests from officers regarding whether they intended to continue holding the signs, dozens of police began making arrests under the Terrorism Act.

Reporting from Liverpool, Al Jazeera correspondent Milena Veselinovic stated that the demonstrators aimed to place the proscription front and centre of UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s agenda on the opening day of the conference. One protester emphasized that the arrests pale in comparison to the situation in Gaza and defended the action as a matter of free speech. Kerry Moscogiuri, chief executive of Amnesty International UK, criticized the police response as a shameful attack on freedom of speech, calling on the new prime minister to reform laws protecting community demonstrations.

Additionally, activists confronted Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband inside a Liverpool restaurant to demand the lifting of the ban on Palestine Action and an end to what they termed Israel's genocide in Gaza. Miliband reportedly refused to comment, and the activists subsequently departed. A broader civil disobedience campaign has persisted since the group was outlawed in July 2025, resulting in more than 3,600 arrests for displays of support.