Police arrest 40 more supporters of banned Palestine Action

London's police force said on Saturday that officers had arrested 41 people who had expressed support for the banned group Palestine Action at a protest outside parliament.

British lawmakers proscribed the group under anti-terrorism legislation earlier this month after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes in protest against Britain's support for Israel.

"Officers have made 41 arrests for showing support for a proscribed organisation. One person has been arrested for common assault," London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement on social media about the demonstration.

Footage showed police moving in on a small group of protesters displaying signs supporting Palestine Action who had gathered at lunchtime at the steps of the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament Square.

Campaign group Defend Our Juries, which had announced it would hold rallies Saturday in several UK cities "to defy" the ban, criticised the response.

"The Metropolitan Police were out in force again today, arresting more than 40 people in Parliament Square for holding signs opposed to genocide and supporting Palestine Action," a spokesperson told AFP.

"Who do the police think they are serving in this?" the spokesperson added, calling the ban "Orwellian".

After a similar protest in London last week, police arrested 29 people.

Police also made arrests at a demonstration in support of Palestine Action in Manchester. Other protests took place in Cardiff and in Northern Ireland.

Before Saturday's arrests in London, close to 50 protesters had gathered with placards saying "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action" near a statue of former South African President Nelson Mandela outside the British parliament.

The British government's decision to classify Palestine Action as a terrorist group places it in the same category as Hamas, al-Qaeda and ISIS. Membership now carries a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

Opponents of the ban say using anti-terrorism laws is inappropriate against a group focused on civil disobedience.

Palestine Action generally targeted Israeli and Israel-linked businesses in Britain, such as defence company Elbit Systems, often spraying red paint, blocking entrances or damaging equipment.

In an unsuccessful court appeal against the ban, a lawyer for Palestine Action said the government ban was the first time Britain had proscribed a group which undertook this type of direct action.