
Palestine Action protesters arrested in Cardiff released on bail
They were among more than 70 people arrested at Palestine Action protests across England and Wales on the same day.
BREAKING IN CARDIFF (Caerdydd) – Police are moving in on a group of 13 people who are sat outside the BBC Cymru HQ.
The group are holding signs with 'I OPPOSE GENOCIDE – I SUPPORT PALESTINE ACTION' written on them.
46 arrests have already taken place in London for the same act. pic.twitter.com/UVhCtFd2CL
— Defend our Juries (@DefendourJuries) July 12, 2025
Protesters sat outside the BBC Cymru HQ and held signs that read 'I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action', according to campaign group Defend Our Juries, who organised the demonstration.
In a statement on Sunday, the force confirmed that the individuals had been bailed but that an investigation into the incident, led by Counter Terrorism Policing Wales, was ongoing.
They were detained for an initial 24-hour period in custody before a further maximum of 12 hours extension was granted on Sunday, SWP said.
The terror group designation means that membership of, or support for, Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The move to ban the organisation came after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on June 20, an incident claimed by Palestine Action, which police said caused about £7 million worth of damage.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action three days later, saying that the vandalism of the planes was 'disgraceful' and the group had a 'long history of unacceptable criminal damage'.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

The National
18 minutes ago
- The National
I was at the national Palestine protest in Edinburgh and saw hope
This protest came at a time when activists across the UK calling out the genocide in Gaza are having to censor their own language, clothing, and signs, or risk arrest. "What about my watermelon earrings?" one activist asked me when I arrived. Another pointed to their socks that were in support of Palestine. According to campaign group Defend Our Juries, more than 150 arrests have been made at demonstrations across the UK. READ MORE: RECAP: Activists defy Labour with illegal pro-Palestine T-shirts in Edinburgh In Scotland, Sean Clerkin, 64, was arrested and has been charged under the Terrorism Act, after he displayed a placard stating "Genocide in Palestine, Time to Take Action". A 55-year-old man was also charged in Glasgow last week under suspicion of terror offences for wearing a T-shirt allegedly showing support for Palestine Action. Both of those actions took place in Edinburgh on Saturday, but no arrests were made despite police in attendance at two different protests. 'We are not here to support Palestine Action, we are here against genocide', Mick Napier, from the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, told the crowd outside St Giles who were embarking on their route to first the UK Government offices at Queen Elizabeth House, and then to Bute House, the official residence of the first minister of Scotland. "Genocide in Palestine, Time to Take Action" was chanted several times throughout the day. Protesters held banners which read "we will not be silenced" and "[[UK Government]] is corrupt". Journalist Lesley Riddoch, former SNP MP Tommy Sheppard, Alba leader Kenny MacAskill, and leaders from the Gaza Genocide Emergency Committee (GGEC) led the march. Outside the [[UK Government]] offices, Sheppard called for his colleagues in the Scottish Government to "think again" about Scottish Enterprise funding going to Israeli-linked arms companies. Sheppard said: "To my colleagues in the Scottish Government, it is time to think again about the fact that Scottish Enterprise has a relationship with these [arms manufacturing] companies. "That needs to be ended. It cannot be justified by saying, 'oh, none of the money goes to produce arms, it's a completely different part of the company, nothing to do with arms exports'. "Do you remember in the 1970s and 1980s when we fought against apartheid and we campaigned to boycott Barclays? No one said 'let's boycott Barclays but make an exemption when they're funding community projects locally'. Tommy Sheppard (Image: Laura Pollock) "No, the whole point of boycotting and taking action against the company is to make sure that they understand that their actions in one part of the world have consequences for everything else they do elsewhere. "That is that is how we apply leverage and that is what we must do as well." He later told me the shift in Israel's assault with their plans for a concentration camp in Gaza is the key reason the stance by the Scottish Government must reviewed. READ MORE: Garbage join growing artist coalition against pro-Palestine censorship "They [the Scottish Government] have to stop being scared when the other side are trying to demonise us and trying to make us worry that we're going to arrested for turning up," Sheppard said. Riddoch took to the microphone next and was visibly emotional when sharing her anger at arrests made following the proscription of Palestine Action. "We can remember situations in the past like this and thought this would never happen again, when people are wondering if the police will arrest someone for wearing a t-shirt," she said. "So the point is, as everybody here has said, this is a genocide, as everyone is saying here together, Palestine needs action and we will all go together on that one." Lesley Riddoch (Image: Laura Pollock) She later spoke directly to officers in the crowd, adding: "Now I'm appealing to the police. I know it's tough. You are moral citizens as well. "Do we look like terrorists?" Later, MacAskill spoke outside Bute House: "Many countries have had the courage that the UK are only going to face in terms of a conviction at The Hague in some day to come. "Take a bow South Africa, Spain, Ireland." He continued: "We do wish to see the hostages returned, but it's nothing to do with them. Kenny MacAskill (Image: Laura Pollock) "Netanyahu's war is about the obliteration of Gaza and the colonization of Palestine and the removal of its people. "That's what it is. That's why we have to speak out." Doha Abu Amer, a Palestinian woman who has family in Gaza, Colin Brown from the Fire Brigades Union Scotland, and Billy Hendry, an ex-Royal Marine, all spoke as well. There were several chants calling out both Keir Starmer and John Swinney, telling them "you can't hide" - many by children. "She is driving a lot of things," one of the mothers told me of her 11-year-old daughter, "even at school, she was trying to do a bake sale for Palestine. I have to catch up with what she is wanting to do. Our kids today are so aware of what is going on. "You cannot push children to do something if they don't believe in it in their hearts." When activists put on t-shirts that others have been arrested for, the crowd cheered and I looked towards Police Scotland officers in the crowd. One liaison officer took a picture of them, and the pair spoke to each other, but no action was taken. "Strength in numbers?" Riddoch later questioned on social media after everyone made it home. READ MORE: Uniformed police pulled from Glasgow Pride over 'impartiality' concerns Deputy assistant commissioner Ade Adelekan, who leads the policing operation in Westminster where more than 100 activists have been arrested over the last two weeks, warned on Friday that those expressing support for Palestine Action 'will likely be committing an offence and will very likely be arrested'. He added: 'I would urge those people to consider the seriousness of being arrested under the Terrorism Act and the very real long-term implications – from travel, to employment, to finances – that such an arrest is likely to have for their future.' After the march, Riddoch told me: "A lot of people in my family were saying 'if you get lifted for a terrorism charge, you'll never be able to go anywhere with your passport again'. "This is the kind of stuff they're doing to just drive complete fear of saying: this is a genocide." In Scotland on Saturday, there was no fear. Only action, and hope.


BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
Yvette Cooper pledges new power to stop violent attackers after Southport
The home secretary says a powerful new crime to target suspects who are found to be preparing mass killings will ensure their plotting is taken as seriously as Cooper said the criminal justice system had to be given new tools to respond to violence-fixated individuals who are not motivated by a particular ideology, in the wake of the Southport attack last suspects who take steps towards an attack can be jailed for life, even if their plans are not fully told the BBC that the government will "close the gap" between such offenders and lone, violence-obsessed individuals by giving police the power to apprehend them long before they can act. Axel Rudakubana is serving a life sentence for murdering three girls when he attacked a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport almost a year others girls were seriously injured, along with two adults who tried to stop the police found he had been researching a target prior to the attack, they could not have arrested and charged him with a serious offence because he had no ideological motive linked to the definition of to BBC Radio 4's State of Terror series, which charts the response to violent extremism over the 20 years since the 7/7 bombings, Cooper said the police will get the power to prevent such individuals who do not have a clear ideology, in the same way they can with terror suspects. "There is a gap in the law around the planning of mass attacks that can be just as serious [as terrorism] in their implications for communities, their impact, the devastation that they can cause and the seriousness of the crime," she said."We will tighten legislation so that that is taken as seriously as terrorism."Cooper said the plan - which was briefly announced in March but not fleshed out until now - was for the new law to be similar to the exceptionally serious crime of preparing for acts of legislation, brought in after the 2005 London bombings, is a vital counter-extremism tool that has jailed dozens of allows the police to arrest a terror suspect for the steps they take to prepare for an attack - such as researching a it stipulates that there must also be evidence the preparation is linked to an ideological cause, such as support of a group banned under terrorism laws. The planned non-terror offence would apply to a far wider range of scenarios, including the activity of individuals like Nicholas Prosper. He had been planning a mass school shooting before he was apprehended for murdering his said: "We've seen cases of growing numbers of teenagers potentially radicalising themselves online and seeing all kinds of extremist material online in their bedrooms."They're seeing a really distorted and warped online world."We have to make sure that that the systems can respond while not taking our eye off the ball of the more long-standing ideological threats."State of Terror continues on Monday on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

The National
6 hours ago
- The National
Starmer urged to 'engage' with Scotland on Gaza evacuations
First Minister John Swinney wrote to Sir Keir Starmer earlier this month, saying Scotland 'stands ready' to receive some of the 2000 children from Gaza injured as a result of the Israeli bombardment of the territory, to be treated in the NHS. But Swinney claims to have received no response from the Prime Minister. READ MORE: 55 arrested in Westminster as protests grow over Palestine Action ban In a statement to the PA News Agency, Swinney said: 'It is deeply saddening that so far the UK Government has refused to even enter into a dialogue about medical evacuations for children in Gaza who, without proper medical attention, will be left to die. 'That is the frank reality of life in Gaza under Israeli bombardment and blockade. 'The healthcare system in Gaza is on the brink of total collapse, with surgeons working day and night under artillery fire, with inadequate supplies and often no electricity. 'We know that many hospitals have been targeted and decimated by the IDF (Israel Defence Forces).' The First Minister added that Scotland is prepared 'to do what is required to save the lives of as many of these kids as we can'. His initial call came after a meeting with children's charity Unicef, prompting him to declare a 'race against time' to help children in need of urgent medical care. 'But we can't do so without the support of the Labour Government to get the children through the UK visa system and into Scotland,' he said. 'The suffering, torment and killing of the people of Gaza has gone on for far too long. 'I urge the Prime Minister to urgently engage with the Scottish Government on this issue so we can save as many young lives as we can.' READ MORE: Garbage join growing artist coalition against pro-Palestine censorship A spokeswoman for the UK Government said: 'Since the start of the conflict, UK support has provided essential healthcare to over 430,000 people in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. 'We have been clear the situation in Gaza is intolerable and that there must be an immediate ceasefire. 'We urge Israel to let vital humanitarian aid in and allow Gazans to receive urgent healthcare, including allowing the sick and wounded to temporarily leave the Gaza Strip to receive treatment.' As it stands, the UK has only allowed two Gazan children to enter the country for medical treatment, which was supplied through private healthcare facilities and funded through charity organisations, rather than through the NHS.