UK Court of Appeal upholds terrorism ban on Palestine Action, overturning High Court ruling
A five-judge panel concluded that the government's proscription of the direct action group under the Terrorism Act "struck a fair balance", reversing February's High Court decision.
Background
Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation by then-Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in July 2025, after members broke into RAF Brize Norton and vandalised military jets in protest against the war in Gaza. The ban, which took effect on 5 July last year, made membership of or support for the group a criminal offence carrying a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison. The proscription has remained in force while the government appealed a ruling that declared it unlawful.
High Court ruling
In February 2026, three High Court judges – Dame Victoria Sharp, Mr Justice Swift and Mrs Justice Steyn – found that the proscription was unlawful. They said only "a very small number" of Palestine Action's activities amounted to terrorism and that these had "not yet reached the level, scale and persistence" to justify a terror ban. The court also ruled that Ms Cooper had made a "significant" error by failing to consider whether banning the group was "proportionate", contrary to the Home Office's own policy.
Appeal arguments
Lawyers for the Home Office told an April hearing that the High Court's findings on human rights impacts were "overstated and wrong", and argued the ban "strikes a fair balance between interference with the rights of the individuals affected and the interests of the community". Huda Ammori, co-founder of Palestine Action, challenged the proscription through her barrister Raza Husain KC, who called it an "ill-considered, discriminatory, due process-lacking, authoritarian abuse of statutory power".
Court of Appeal decision
The Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, sitting with four other senior judges including Master of the Rolls Sir Geoffrey Vos, overturned the High Court's ruling on Monday. She said that comparisons drawn between Palestine Action and the suffragettes were "seriously flawed". The court found that the government's decision to proscribe the group was lawful and struck a fair balance.
Comparisons between Palestine Action and groups such as the suffragettes were seriously flawed.
Arrests and aftermath
More than 3,000 people have been arrested since the ban came into force, many for holding placards saying "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action" during a civil disobedience campaign led by Defend Our Juries. The proscription remains in place following Monday's ruling.
- Palestine Action proscribed as a terrorist group under the Terrorism Act; membership or support becomes a criminal offence.
- High Court rules the proscription unlawful, citing proportionality failures and a limited number of terrorist acts.
- Court of Appeal hears arguments from the Home Office and lawyers for Huda Ammori.
- Court of Appeal overturns the High Court judgment, finding the ban lawful and that it struck a fair balance.
