The British government’s ban on pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation is unlawful, London’s High Court ruled on Friday after a legal challenge by the group’s co-founder.

Palestine Action was proscribed in July, having increasingly targeted Israel-linked defence companies – particularly Elbit Systems – in Britain, with “direct action”, often blocking entrances, or spraying red paint.

The ban had put Palestine Action on a par with Islamic State or al Qaeda and made it a crime to be a member, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

Lawyers representing Huda Ammori, who co-founded Palestine Action in 2020, argued at a hearing last year that the move was an authoritarian restriction on the right to protest.

The High Court upheld two grounds of challenge, including that the ban was a disproportionate interference with the right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.

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Judge Victoria Sharp said, however, that the ban would remain in place to give the Ammori and the Home Office’s lawyers time to address the court on whether the ban should be lifted pending any appeal.

In January 2026, British police arrested 86 people on suspicion of aggravated trespass after protesters breached the grounds of a prison in west London during a demonstration in support of a Palestine Action activist, authorities said.

The Metropolitan Police said the arrests were made Saturday evening outside HMP Wormwood Scrubs, where demonstrators gathered to protest the detention of a prisoner reportedly on hunger strike.

Police said the group refused to leave when ordered, blocked prison staff from entering and leaving the facility, and made threats toward officers. Some protesters also gained access to a staff entrance area of one of the prison buildings, according to authorities.

A spokesperson for the Justice Ministry described the incident as “deeply concerning,” The Independent reported.