A further 60 people will be prosecuted for ‘showing support for the proscribed terrorist group Palestine Action’, the Metropolitan Police said.
It comes after a chaotic London march on Saturday saw more than a staggering 500 activists arrested – bringing the total to over 700 since July 7, when the group was proscribed.
Stephen Parkinson, Director of Public Prosecutions, said: ‘The decisions that we have announced today are the first significant numbers to come out of the recent protests, and many more can be expected in the next few weeks.
‘We are ready to make swift decisions in all cases where arrests have been made.’
On Saturday, August 9, during a day of mayhem and farce, Left-wing protesters swamped London’s Parliament Square in support of the organisation, which was proscribed by the Government last month as a terrorist group.
Hundreds held placards declaring ‘I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action’ in deliberate ‘idiotic’ acts of law-breaking designed to overwhelm police resources and the courts.
On Saturday, the Met Police announced that more than 360 people had been detained following the scenes of disorder – at an estimated cost of about £3million.
Protesters were accused of a ‘colossal’ waste of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money after seemingly getting deliberately arrested by officers.
A chaotic London march on Saturday saw more than a staggering 500 activists arrested
Protesters sit in Parliament Square holding placards in support of Palestine Action on August 9
A woman is led away by police officers as supporters of Palestine Action take part in a mass action in Parliament Square
However, in an update on Sunday afternoon, the Met said the number of total arrests had skyrocketed to 532 – with 522 of these being for people allegedly displaying placards supporting the proscribed terror group.
One of those arrests took place at the form up of the Palestine Coalition march in Russell Square, but the remaining 521 arrests were carried out during the rally in Parliament Square.
There were a further 10 arrests, which included six for assaulting police officers, one for racially aggravated public order, two for breaching a Section 14 Public Order Act condition and one for obstructing a constable in the execution of their duties.
The average age of those detained by police was 54, the force said, with the youngest person cuffed by cops being aged just 17.
In a statement, a spokesman for the Met added: ‘We believe that 30 people arrested at the protest on Saturday had been arrested at previous recent protests in support of Palestine Action in London. We’re not in a position to confirm if any of those arrested had been arrested recently at protests outside London.’
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.
