Scottish arrests test legality of UK's Palestine Action terror ban

Police Scotland may have breached human rights law in arresting activists under terrorism legislation following the UK Government’s proscription of Palestine Action, the Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has warned.

The intervention comes as several individuals in Scotland face charges under the Terrorism Act 2000, including a man arrested outside Glasgow's TRNSMT music festival in July for wearing a T-shirt that read "Genocide in Palestine, time to take action", according to The National.

The shirt, produced by the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, was reportedly deemed by officers to show support for a proscribed organisation.

The SHRC, a statutory body accountable to the Scottish Parliament, has raised concerns about what it describes as "disproportionate" restrictions on peaceful protest, as quoted by The National.

In a letter to the Lord Advocate and the Chief Constable of Police Scotland, SHRC chair Professor Angela O'Hagan warned that arrests based on the expression of political views may violate Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which protect freedom of expression and assembly.

"There is a difference between support for a proscribed organisation and support for a political or moral viewpoint," O’Hagan wrote. "Law enforcement that does not recognise this distinction is a risk to human rights."

The SHRC has urged Police Scotland to issue clear guidance to officers and to ensure strict oversight in operational decisions. Scotland's Justice Secretary Angela Constance has also been sent a copy of the letter.

Scotland is now poised to become a key legal battleground over the ban on Palestine Action, with legal experts suggesting that the challenge brought through Scottish courts could proceed more swiftly than the one already launched in England.

While the UK-wide proscription is being contested in the High Court in London, the Scottish legal system may allow for quicker scrutiny of how the law is being applied north of the border.

Palestine Action was designated a terrorist organisation by the Labour Government in June, making it a criminal offence to be a member of or express support for the group - an offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. The decision followed a sustained campaign of direct action by the group targeting weapons factories and arms dealers with alleged links to Israel.

However, critics say the ban has been applied in increasingly absurd ways. In addition to the T-shirt arrest in Glasgow, a 70-year-old woman was detained in Edinburgh under terrorism legislation following a Gaza solidarity march.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has also raised serious concerns about the proscription, warning it risks criminalising conduct "not terrorist in nature" and "hindering the legitimate exercise of fundamental freedoms across the UK".

Further scrutiny has now emerged over the lobbying that preceded the ban.

The Guardian revealed that former British Army chief Lord Richard Dannatt urged ministers to crack down on Palestine Action at the request of Teledyne, a US weapons manufacturer he advises. Internal documents show that a senior police officer warned Teledyne that Dannatt’s involvement could interfere with ongoing investigations.

The House of Lords is currently investigating whether Dannatt’s actions breached lobbying rules.

His intervention followed a 2022 protest in which Palestine Action activists caused over £1m in damage to Teledyne’s Welsh factory. Internal records show that a senior police officer privately warned Teledyne executives that Dannatt’s interventions could complicate an active criminal investigation.

While a judge later ruled there had been no interference in the trial, the episode has prompted a House of Lords investigation into whether he breached lobbying rules, and highlighted the influence a well-connected peer can wield in shaping government policy on protest movements.