A former councillor has been arrested under the Terrorism Act at a protest in London and is waiting to learn whether he will be charged.
David Gibson, 66, who served as a Green councillor from 2015 to 2023, was arrested for displaying a sign that said: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
Mr Gibson said: “I was arrested for holding a placard along with about 500 others.”
He was one of at least half a dozen people from Brighton and Hove to have been arrested – and one of three from Hanover along with Ian Macintyre and Carol Lawrence.
Two of the Hanover Three – Mr Gibson and Mr Macintyre – were pictured in the Sunday Times and, after their arrest, they were processed near by before being given police bail until October.
The police had formed a human wall around the hundreds of protestors in Parliament Square, Mr Gibson said, adding that in one or two places it appeared to be a permeable wall.
He said: “They were stopping any more people from joining the group protesting but seemed happy for people to leave without arresting them, particularly if they weren’t holding a placard in their faces.
“Why risk jeopardising being able to travel abroad and a possible prison sentence – the maximum is 14 years – as a convicted ‘supporter’ of a terrorist organisation?
“Because the government is abusing the anti-terrorism legislation. There are plenty of normal laws to prosecute people who do what Palestine Action have been doing such as criminal damage.
“They’re trying to suppress protest. I’m not a member of Palestine Action and never have been. But it’s legitimate to commit a crime to prevent a greater crime.
“It feels like people are being intimidated out of doing what they feel they have to do. There’s a long tradition of people in this country opposing tyranny.”
And the tyranny could be applied, he said, to the actions of Israel in Gaza or the actions of the British government suppressing the right to protest.
Mr Gibson added: “It’s a slippery slope. If they get away with this, who’s next? The government are using a sledgehammer to crack a nut when they’ve got other laws that they could use.
“People are being starved. I can’t sit on my hands and do nothing when I see people dying slowly. They’re captive and food supplies are controlled. It’s not safe – even to get food.”
The question of whether the police are applying the law correctly was touched on in the current issue of Private Eye (issue 1656) in a short piece headlined: “Line of dissent.”
It quoted Jack Straw, when he was Home Secretary, giving pledges in the House of Commons in a debate about the Terrorism Bill which became the Terrorism Act 2000.
He said: “The bill is not intended to threaten in any way the right to demonstrate peacefully – nor will it do so.”
Private Eye said: “Describing as ‘wholly erroneous’ the concern of MPs that the act might be used to curb the right to protest, Straw declared: ‘We should defend to the last the right of peaceful protest and dissent in this country.’
“All in all, Straw gave seven assurances to his fellow members that the Terrorism Act would not be used to treat acts of peaceful protest as acts of terrorism.”
The Metropolitan Police said that 532 people had been arrested at the protest in London on Saturday 9 August.
The Met said: “The overwhelming majority of arrests – 522 – were for displaying an item, in this case a placard, in support of a proscribed organisation, in this case Palestine Action, contrary to section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
“One of those arrests took place at the form up of the Palestine Coalition march, in Russell Square, but the remaining 521 arrests took place at the protest in Parliament Square.”
In the latest issue of the Sunday Times, the former Supreme Court justice Jonathan Sumption said that the Home Secretary was justified in banning Palestine Action.
But Lord Sumption said: “I deplore the arrest of demonstrators objecting to the Home Secretary’s banning order by holding up placards.”
He also said: “Britain is a democracy in which there are many legitimate ways of expressing dissent. Peaceful protest is an important part of the democratic process.”
A Brighton journalist also made it into the latest issue of Private Eye, with the lead letter, in praise of the first-hand account of a British doctor’s observations in the previous issue.
Jim Hatley responded to Professor Nick Maynard’s report by quoting the war photographer Don McCullin, saying: “You have to bear witness. You cannot just look away.”
Mr Hatley wrote: “Thanks to Prof Maynard, firstly for risking his life to help the victims in Gaza and then to report what he had witnessed under his name, rather than anonymously, which added to its power. It left me angry and in despair.
“Thanks also to the Eye for publishing such outstanding journalism. We have no excuse and cannot look away.”
In Scotland, police detained but did not formally arrest a man wearing a white T-shirt bearing a picture of the animated character Morph and the words “Plasticine Action: We oppose AI-generated animation.”
But another man said that he was less fortunate, having been arrested for holding a placard that said: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine. Action needed now!”
Ian Mursell, of London, said that he had not expressed support for a proscribed organisation but the police appeared to have missed the point.
Mr Gibson, of Islingword Road, Brighton, has been bailed to report to Plumstead police station, in south east London, in October.
Made my day. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer chap😊
The trampling of free speech and human rights is always funny to it comes after you eh
How brave and principled, I’m glad there are still people willing to stand up for our freedoms
Brave and principled! Useful idiots more like!
The Jack Straw quote is interesting, it serves to evidence how promises and assurances made by one Labour government just over 20 years ago, can be ignored and abused by the next for its own convenience and purposes today.
Quite shocking in such a short passage of time.
Yes and no. They were declaring support for a proscribed organisation linked to the targeting of uk military bases and infrastructure as well as businesses in addition to the persecution of jewish people.
They could have been waving banners saying that they support Palestine instead, thereby making their peaceful protests legal.
Instead of this they are prioritising their desire to challenge the government over its decision to proscribe. They have damaged their own cause by criminalising themselves
Yes and no. They target uk military, business and infrastructure that enabled or profited from genocide in Gaza. This was there criteria and not as you have stated the persecution of Jewish people.
This was every clear, there use of direct action was taken because the banner waving you mention was at a time when no action from the uk Government policy on Israel and Gaza. As continued support has come from teachers, politicians and the clergy would suggest damage has not been done to their support and only to the government and supporters of Israel.
This is a painful reminder of the absurdity of the Uk government response to Israel and Palestine
Well the PM said that they had evidence of Jewish businesses being targeted. Widely reported in the press.
I see another group smashed into a factory last night. I guess they peacefully drove a car through the gates and then quietly set about destroying the skylights and solar panels.
I expect that the length of jail sentences will steadily increase until it all stops.
If peaceful protest is a now a crime in this country, we all should be worrying about what kind of fascist regime we are living under far and above the what the cause being protested about is. I am no fan of Mr Gibson and the Greens but I uphold his right to peaceful protest on whatever subject he chooses. Britain has always been famous as a free country celebrating free speech and now there is a worrying slide in a direction which makes a mockery of what millions of our predecessors died for in two World Wars. Clue. They fought for our freedom, not our oppression.
You can still protest peacefully – just do not say that you support palestine action, but just support palestine. Simple really.
Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences from making that speech.
It’s quite a simple and long term concept.
Elaine, peaceful protest isn’t a crime, but supporting a proscribed organisation is. That’s what this arrest was about. You’re conflating the right to protest with the illegality of promoting banned groups, which isn’t the same thing at all. It’s a shame, because you so often get tripped up on these nuances, and it really weakens your point.
They are free to peacefully protest as much as they like, just not free to support a terrorist organisation!
At least he wasn’t being racist and putting an England flag up!!!
Especially if he put it up somewhere he wasn’t allowed to by law, like a motorway, and then threatened workers who were there to take them down!
Nothing racist about the English flag! Get a life!