Palestine Action ban to be reviewed by Supreme Court
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Home and legal correspondent Published 30 July 2026, 16:49 BST Updated 16 minutes ago The controversial ban under terrorism legislation of the protest group Palestine Action will be reviewed by the Supreme Court.
In a major blow to the Home Office, the court confirmed on Thursday that it had given the group's co-founder permission to appeal the ban which came into effect in July 2025.
While the full details of the reasons for the appeal are yet to be published, the BBC understands they relate to Huda Ammori's argument that the ban breaches human rights.
Officials at the court say the appeal will be expedited - which means it will be heard after the summer break. The eventual outcome of the case could have major implications for terrorism legislation in the UK.
The decision comes weeks after the end of the first major trial of members of the group which had caused more than £1m of damage to a defence firm near Bristol with an Israeli parent company. Four members of that break-in team were jailed , with one also sentenced for causing grievous bodily harm on a police officer who was hit with a sledgehammer.
Separately, more than 2,000 people are facing potential trial for protesting against the ban by declaring their support for a proscribed terrorism group in mass demonstrations.
The battle over the banning of Palestine Action has now gone on for more than year.
Former Home Secretary Yvette Cooper banned the group on advice from the police and security officials after an escalating spate of break-ins targeting Elbit, an Israeli-owned defence firm.
The High Court initially ruled that the ban was unlawful - but five judges on the Court of Appeal then overruled it , unanimously deciding the home secretary had acted lawfully and within her powers to proscribe Palestine Action.
That decision by the Court of Appeal will now be reviewed by the Supreme Court.
During Thursday, some 117 protesters were arrested outside Westminster Magistrates' Court, with Metropolitan Police saying the majority of arrests were for expressing support for the group.
Scores of protesters had turned up there because they had expected to appear in court accused of allegedly showing support for the group at earlier public events. However, those cases had been listed in error. Many of the defendants said that they felt they had no choice but to turn up, despite the court and Metropolitan Police telling them not to do so.
Palestine Action co-founder Ammori welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to hear her appeal - and said that the latest arrests were part of a wider crackdown on Palestinian solidarity.
"We will continue to fight this proscription all the way to the Supreme Court and, if necessary, to the European Court of Human Rights to overturn what has become one of the most extreme attacks on free speech and the right to protest in modern British history."
The Home Office has repeatedly said that the ban of the group has nothing to do with protest in support of Palestinian causes - and was necessary because it was causing significant criminal damage to legitimate businesses.
Both the High Court and the Court of Appeal have ruled that Palestine Action's activities include criminal acts - although they were divided on whether those incidents justified turning to terrorism laws.
Those laws - approved by MPs in Parliament - allow the government to ban a group for either serious violence or serious criminal damage for an ideological cause - and trigger wider powers for the police to investigate and charge suspects for organising activities and fundraising.
The Home Office has been contacted for comment but following its major win at the Court of Appeal it said that it would robustly defend any further appeal to the Supreme Court. The BBC understands that position has not altered since the change in prime minister.
Palestine Action ban is lawful, Court of Appeal rules
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