Merseyside Police report 82 arrests after Palestine Action protest at Labour conference

Merseyside Police reported 82 arrests and a further 79 people reported for summons after a protest supporting Palestine Action outside the Labour Party conference in Liverpool on Sunday, 27 September. The figures, reported by The Guardian on Monday, distinguish people taken into custody from those reported for a possible summons. They also put the scale of the police response in sharper focus than the earlier counts published while the demonstration was still under way.

According to the police account reported by The Guardian, the 82 were arrested on suspicion of wearing or carrying an article supporting a proscribed organisation. They were taken into police custody and later released on bail. The report gives no charging or court outcome for those arrested, or for the 79 reported for summons. An arrest, a report for summons and a conviction are distinct stages, and the police tally establishes none of the latter outcomes.

What happened outside the conference

The demonstration was organised by Defend Our Juries outside the conference venue. The Guardian reported that many participants sat with handmade signs expressing support for the banned group Palestine Action. Novara Media, reporting from the scene, described the gathering as mostly seated and said participants included retirees, medics, clergy and disabled people using mobility aids. Those descriptions help explain the character of the protest, but do not determine whether any individual committed an offence.

Estimates of the crowd differed. Merseyside Police put attendance at about 180, according to The Guardian; Defend Our Juries claimed more than 200 took part. Novara Media reported an organiser estimate of 195. The figures are estimates from different parties, and none should be treated as an exact headcount. The police also said that not everyone present was committing a criminal offence.

Police and campaigners respond

In its statement quoted by The Guardian, Merseyside Police said it respected the right to protest lawfully and sought to keep the peace and protect the public. Superintendent Peter Clark said the force had a plan for policing the conference and that officers would take proportionate action where offences were committed. The force's statement did not say that every person at the protest was suspected of breaking the law.

Defend Our Juries condemned the arrests and called for Palestine Action to be removed from the list of proscribed organisations. The group said protesters were taking a principled stand over Gaza. Its characterisation of the arrests is a campaign position; the police account identifies the suspected offence as displaying support for a proscribed organisation, not a finding of guilt against any participant.

Amnesty International UK's chief executive, Kerry Moscogiuri, called the arrests a ‘truly shameful attack on freedom of speech’, according to Al Jazeera. She urged the prime minister to reform laws affecting the ability of communities to demonstrate. Al Jazeera also quoted a protester who said the risk of arrest was worth taking to defend free speech. These responses show the dispute over the ban's effect on protest; they do not resolve the individual cases.

The Guardian reported Defend Our Juries' claim that Margaret Owen, a 94-year-old human rights barrister, was among those arrested. Novara Media also reported her arrest after speaking with her at the demonstration. Separately, The Guardian reported that two activists confronted Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband at a Liverpool restaurant about Gaza and the ban. Miliband said he would discuss the issue at another time before the activists left.

The legal backdrop

Palestine Action's proscription took effect in July 2025. In a June 2026 judgment, the Court of Appeal allowed the Home Secretary's appeal against a lower-court decision that had found the proscription unlawful. The appeal court held that the decision to proscribe the group was lawful. That ruling concerns the ban itself; it does not decide whether anyone arrested outside the Labour conference committed an offence.

The Court of Appeal explicitly considered the rights of people wishing peacefully to protest or hold placards and the possible chilling effect of proscription on supporters of the Palestinian cause. It nevertheless concluded that the Home Secretary's decision was lawful after weighing those rights against national security and the rights of others. The judgment provides the legal context for Sunday's arrests without establishing the facts of any one protester's case.

Al Jazeera reported that the Supreme Court was set to hear a challenge to the ban, but gave no hearing date. For the Liverpool demonstration, The Guardian's account establishes the police totals and the release on bail of those arrested; it does not report subsequent charging decisions or court results. Those decisions will determine what, if anything, follows for the individuals involved.