Arrests at protest supporting Palestine Action near Labour conference

Police have made a number of arrests at a protest in support of Palestine Action outside the Labour party conference centre in Liverpool.

A group of around fifty people sat on the grass outside ACC Liverpool holding handwritten placards reading "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action".

Merseyside Police said officers "are in the process of making arrests on suspicion of wearing/carrying an article supporting a proscribed organisation." Several were arrested by the Wheel of Liverpool, one of the city's landmarks.

The government proscribed the group under the Terrorism Act in July, making membership of or support of the group a criminal offence, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Supporters clapped and cheered the arrestees, with some being carried off by multiple officers.

Defend Our Juries who organised the protest said: "Whilst the Labour party congregate at their annual conference, protestors are outside disobeying the unjust ban on Palestine Action."

The group added supporters were risking arrest under the Terrorism Act, for "silently holding cardboard signs which say 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action'."

It is calling for the proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist group by the UK government to be scrapped.

Keith Hackett, 71, said he was risking arrest because he was "deeply ashamed" of Labour's actions.

"If they want to start turning the party around and win back the support they have lost, they need to stop their complicity in this genocide and end the ban on Palestine Action."

Fellow protestor Tayo Aluko, 63, said: "This is a time for bravery, as was shown by people who went before us, so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have today, which are now under threat."

A group of about two hundred protestors, waving the union jack and St George's flags and carrying placards opposing the government's digital ID plans, had to be separated from the pro-Palestinian demonstrators by police.

Former Home Secretary Yvette Cooper banned the group under terrorism laws after paint was daubed on jets at RAF Brize Norton. Police said the act caused £7m of damage.

Earlier this month, the Home Office was given permission to challenge a ruling which allowed Palestine Action to appeal against its ban under terror legislation.

The group's co-founder, Huda Ammori, was granted permission to appeal in July after her lawyers argued the ban breached the right to free speech.

The judge refused an appeal to temporarily lift the ban and it remains proscribed before a full review at the High Court in November.

Cooper has previously defended the proscription by saying some supporters of Palestine Action "don't know the full nature" of the group.

Earlier this month, more than 425 people were arrested at a demonstration against the ban in Parliament Square in central London.