Met Police charge another 47 people for supporting outlawed Palestine Action - bringing total number to 114
Dozens more people have been charged with supporting the banned group Palestine Action, bringing the total facing prosecution over protests in London to 114.
The latest suspects, counting 47, were all arrested at a demonstration in London on July 19, the Metropolitan Police said, and were all charged by post.
They are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on October 27 and 28 accused of a terrorism offence by showing support for a banned group.
Detective Chief Superintendent Helen Flanagan from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command said: 'We are quickly and efficiently investigating those arrested for showing support towards Palestine Action and working closely with our colleagues in the CPS, we anticipate further charging decisions through this week and beyond.
'We fully recognise people's right to demonstrate peacefully, and thousands continue to protest in support of Palestine without breaking counter-terrorism laws.
'I would therefore urge anyone considering coming out and showing support to Palestine Action to reconsider, otherwise you will very likely be arrested, investigated, and we'll work with the CPS to bring about prosecutions.
'For those people now charged, if convicted, they are facing potentially serious consequences that could impact on their careers and their ability to travel overseas.'
Palestine Action had called on supporters to take part in mass protests in a bid to overwhelm the justice system and make prosecuting all the demonstrators impossible.
Pro-Palestine Action demonstrators are seen here in London's Parliament Square on August 9
Activists have turned out in rallies prompted by the campaign group Defend Our Juries
Metropolitan Police officers are pictred here in Parliament Square on August 9
But last month Metropolitan Police Commander Dominic Murphy said the plan was 'completely misguided'.
Palestine Action was proscribed after the group claimed responsibility for damage to jets at RAF Brize Norton.
It was also linked to allegations of a serious assault on staff and police officers at a business premises in south Gloucestershire.
Since then, hundreds of people have been arrested for showing support for the group.
Palestine Action's co-founder Huda Ammori is taking legal action against the Home Office over the decision to ban the group, with the full legal challenge due to be heard in November.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said last month he was 'proud of how our police and CPS teams have worked so speedily together to overcome misguided attempts to overwhelm the justice system'.
He added in a statement: 'If necessary, we are able to investigate and quickly charge significant numbers of people each week if people want the potentially life-changing consequences of a terrorist conviction.'
Sir Mark insisted arrests did not 'outlaw people's right to demonstrate in support of Palestine, or any other cause'.
Palestine Action's co-founder Huda Ammori (pictured) is taking legal action against the Home Office over the decision to ban the group
This protest was held outside the Royal Courts of Justice in central London on July 4 as the group launched legal action against the Government's decision to ban the organisation
He went on to say: 'They are simply the enforcement of a specific provision under the Terrorism Act in relation to a specific proscribed terrorist organisation, Palestine Action.
'Where officers see these offences, we will continue to make arrests and, as shown today, the CPS and police will work to quickly secure charges, at whatever scale is necessary'.
He explained that the consequences for those charged under the Terrorism Act include a maximum sentence of six months’ imprisonment and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) having a record of a person’s TACT conviction which will be seen by employers who use DBS to carry out checks on staff or new applicants.
Hundreds of arrests were made when people showing support for Palestine Action took to the streets in central London on August 9.
A wide variety of messages were seen on display including in Westminster's Parliament Square, with some activists wearing signs saying 'I am on duty to stop genocide'.
Others held placards with messages such as: 'Our right to non-violent protest.'
Sacha Deshmukh, chief executive of Amnesty International UK, said the 'mass arrests' at that day's protests under UK terrorism law were 'deeply concerning'.
Describing the campaigners as 'peaceful', she added: 'Peaceful protest is a fundamental right.
Metropolitan Police officers are seen here observing a protest in central London in support of Palestine Action, organised by the Defend Our Juries group, on Augusr 26
These protesters gathered outside the Old Bailey as six people appeared charged with aggravated burglary, criminal damage and violent disorder over a Palestine Action protest
'The protestors in Parliament Square were not inciting violence and it is entirely disproportionate to the point of absurdity to be treating them as terrorists.'
One woman in her 50s attending the Parliament Square protest told the Mail: 'It’s a disgrace.
'They should hang their heads in shame. It’s an outrage. We’re a police state.'
Another woman, in her 40s who gave her job as a teaching assistant, said: 'I don’t care about prison. I don’t care about losing my job. I’m on the side of history.'
The ban on Palestine Action came after two military aircraft were vandalised at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire in June, causing damage worth £7million.
A judicial review will take place in November, with protests set to continue on a rolling basis until then.
A Home Office spokesperson said last month: 'The Home Secretary has been clear that the proscription of Palestine Action is not about Palestine, nor does it affect the freedom to protest on Palestinian rights.
'It only applies to the specific and narrow organisation whose activities do not reflect or represent the thousands of people across the country who continue to exercise their fundamental rights to protest on different issues.
A protester waves a Palestinian flag at a 'Lift The Ban' demonstration in support of Palestine Action in Parliament Square, central London, on August 9
There have also been demos outside the Royal Courts of Justice (pictured here on July 4)
'Freedom to protest is a cornerstone of our democracy and we protect it fiercely.
'The decision to proscribe was based on strong security advice and the unanimous recommendation by the expert cross-government proscription review group.
'This followed serious attacks the group has committed, involving violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage.
'It also followed an assessment from the joint terrorism assessment centre that Palestine Action prepares for terrorism, as well as worrying information referencing plans and ideas for further attacks, the details of which cannot yet be publicly reported due to ongoing legal proceedings.'
