Massive Attack musician Robert Del Naja among more than 200 arrested at Palestine Action protest

Massive Attack musician Robert Del Naja was among more than 200 people arrested at a mass Palestine Action demonstration in central London.

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Trafalgar Square on Saturday to protest the ban on Palestine Action.

The Metropolitan Police said that 212 people had been arrested so far, with ages ranging from 27 to 82. The force confirmed all arrests made are for showing support for a proscribed organisation.

Among them was Del Naja, a singer-songwriter from Bristol, who sat with demonstrators with a sign that read "I Oppose Genocide, I Support Palestine Action", before he was carried away by officers.

Elderly demonstrators sat on camping chairs and on the ground as they held placards, and a number of individuals were carried away by police.

As one woman was carried away from the protest, people chanted "shame on you".

A man was lifted out by police in handcuffs, while officers walked an elderly protester with a walking stick to police vans.

Protesters accused officers of dragging a woman out of the protest and not supporting her shoulders.

Another made a peace sign as she was removed, with another saying, "Palestine Action is not a proscribed organisation" as she was led off by police.

The protest group, Defend Our Juries, said the demonstration, called Everyone Day, would show the "resistance" to the Palestine Action ban is "stronger than ever".

The Metropolitan Police said Saturday's action is "likely to involve offending rather than a lawful protest".

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The force said in March it would resume arresting Palestine Action supporters as a High Court battle over the ban on the group continues.

Police had paused the arrest of demonstrators in February, after the High Court ruled the government's ban was unlawful, but then decided to resume as an appeal against the ruling is likely to take several months.

'This issue affects everyone'

A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries said: "This issue affects everyone. From striking workers to peaceful protesters, everyone fighting for any worthy cause is at risk.

"If left unopposed, what starts with an unlawful ban on one direct action group will lead on to the removal of everyone's rights and freedoms."

'It will present some significant difficulties'

Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme on Saturday, former Met Police chief superintendent Dal Babu, said: "I think the difficulty is, when you've got 700 or 800 people who are willing to be arrested, that just isn't practical. The optics of this will be very challenging for the police.

"It will present some significant difficulties for the police in terms of how they manage it and also be aware of the fact there will be a huge amount of people who have sympathy with what is going on with the views of Palestine Action."

He said the decision to make arrests at the protest was an operational one and would be based on the intelligence officers have.

Protesters have held mass rallies aiming to overwhelm the criminal justice system with the number of cases.

More than 3,000 people have been arrested so far for allegedly expressing support for Palestine Action since it was banned as a terrorist group last year. More than 2,400 of these were in London.

(c) Sky News 2026: Massive Attack musician Robert Del Naja among more than 200 arrested at Palestine Action protest