‘Labour more interested in silencing protest than maintaining policing by consent’
Liz Saville Roberts says lumping Palestine Action in with two foreign extremist organisations was ‘calculated, cynical and disproportionate’
Today (Monday 8 September) Plaid Cymru’s Westminster Leader, Liz Saville Roberts MP, called on the UK Government to admit that Labour “looks more interested in silencing protest than maintaining policing by consent”.
On 23 June 2025, the Home Secretary at the time, Yvette Cooper, announced the UK Government’s plans to proscribe Palestine Action under section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which would make it illegal to be a member of, or to invite support for the group.
This was put to the House of Commons in a vote on 2 July, in which the UK Government grouped Palestine Action with two foreign extremist organisations, namely Maniacs Murder Club and Russian Imperial Movement. Plaid Cymru, together with the SNP, abstained to this vote due to the UK Government making it impossible to amend the order put to a vote.
Ms Saville Roberts said that lumping Palestine Action in with the Maniacs Murder Club and the Russian Imperial Movement was “calculated, cynical and disproportionate” and said that this has led to the arrest of hundreds of protesters.
On Saturday (6 September), 890 people were arrested in London at a demonstration against the ban on Palestine Action.
On this day in 1936, eighty-nine years ago, the RAF bombing school at Penyberth was set on fire, leading to the arrest of three Plaid Cymru founding members. In the House of Commons, Ms Saville Roberts stated that they and all their supporters “would likely be branded terrorists” today for non-violent direct action.
Speaking in the chamber, Liz Saville Roberts MP said:
“On this day, eighty-nine years ago, three founding members of Plaid Cymru handed themselves in after burning the RAF bombing school at Penyberth.
“Today, they and all their supporters would likely be branded terrorists for non-violent direct action.
“Lumping Palestine Action in with Maniacs Murder Club and Russian Imperial Movement was calculated, cynical and disproportionate. It has led to the arrest of hundreds, if not thousands, of protesters.
“What does he think will be the consequences now that his government looks more interested in silencing protest than maintaining policing by consent?”
Minister of State at the Home Office, Dan Jarvis, responded by stating that Palestine Action was not grouped with Maniacs Murder Club and the Russian Imperial Movement for the reasons claimed by Ms Saville Roberts, but rather because “this is a government that has a busy legislative agenda, and we need to be efficient with precious parliamentary time,” and that “this government doesn’t look at the ideological origin of the threat; we will do what we need to do to keep the public safe, regardless of where the threat comes from.”