Statement on the High Court Judgement on the Palestine Action Ban

A Monumental Victory

Cambridge PSC welcomes today's High Court judgement on the proscription of Palestine Action.

The ban has been overturned on the grounds:

1) that the decision to seek the Order proscribing Palestine Action was made by the
Home Secretary in breach of her own policy on when she would exercise her
discretion to seek an order proscribing an organisation.

2) that the decision to proscribe was contrary to the Human Rights Act 1998 (the
HRA) because it amounted to an unjustified interference with the rights protected
by the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention) under article 10 to
freedom of expression and under article 11 to freedom of association and peaceful assembly.

This judgement came in spite of the replacement of the original judge with a hand-picked panel of three.

The government will appeal against this ruling. The court has directed the parties to provide written submissions by 20 February 2026. Palestine Action currently remains proscribed, and it is still an offence to express support for Palestine Action. The Metropolitan police has released a statement saying that officers will “continue to identify offences where support for Palestine Action is being expressed, but they will focus on gathering evidence of those offences and the people involved to provide opportunities for enforcement at a later date, rather than making arrests at the time”.

Cambridge PSC believes that in the face of clear public opposition to the genocide in Gaza, the government has engaged in a clear effort to restrict, and in some cases, prosecute, advocacy for Palestine. Numerous doctors and health professionals in the UK have been accused of misconduct, including Dr Abu Sittah, who was cleared at tribunal (though the GMC has appealed this decision), and Dr Rahmeh Aladwan who has been suspended and arrested at least four times. Almost 3,000 people, including several Cambridge residents, have been arrested at Defend Our Juries protests.

Huda Ammori described the ruling as "a monumental victory both for our fundamental freedoms here in Britain and in the struggle for freedom for the Palestinian people".

We endorse this assessment and salute Huda for her tenacity and bravery.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign