In a sensible but hard-hitting judgment this morning, the Court of Appeal upheld the ban on Palestine Action, overturning the decision of the High Court made in February this year that their proscription had been unlawful. The result of the decision is that over 700 cases which had been pending in the criminal courts may now proceed to trial. Many activists who were arrested at demonstrations in the last year may also now face court.

In giving judgment, the Lady Chief Justice Sue Carr, sitting with four other senior judges, pulled no punches. She made clear that Palestine Action was a group which the Home Secretary had reasonably concluded was concerned in terrorism: it was not a civil disobedience protest group comparable to the suffragettes.

Palestine Action’s campaign was not pursued with restraint and there was a very real risk of injury to property and members of the public. She described the group as a ‘covert organisation’, operating with secret cells, and noted that its activities had accelerated in seriousness.

Unfortunately, much of the damage may already have been done

Unfortunately, much of the damage may already have been done

The court also accepted that the then Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had been advised by experts who had concluded that there was a risk of further escalation in Palestine Action’s activities. That assessment of future conduct was ‘highly material’. Palestine Action had already engaged in 158 direct action events, 28 of which had involved serious damage to property. Many of the issues considered by the Court of Appeal had not been adequately addressed by the........

© The Spectator