Thousands of pro-Palestinian supporters are set to take to the streets to defy terror laws in a bid to overwhelm the police.
Campaigners have planned a demonstration, due to take place on Saturday, to declare support for the recently banned terror group, Palestine Action.
Since the ban came into effect on July 5, over 200 people have been arrested under the Terrorist Act 2000 for showing support for the group, who are responsible for over 385 acts of criminal damage since their establishment in 2020.
However, one of the group’s founding members won the right to challenge the ban’s legality last week.
Activists from the banned group are set to take the criminal justice system head on in a plot to test whether the law could be enforced if thousands violate it when protesters take to the streets of London.
With chronic shortages of prison spaces and the courts dealing with a backlog of around 77,000 cases, the move could create an intensely difficult situation for Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer.
While protests are organised across the UK, the main event will take place in Westminster with the crowd being urged to violate the terror legislation.
The plot is being hatched by a variety of organised groups, including Defend Our Juries and Cage International.
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Over 200 people have been arrested under the Terrorist Act 2000 since July 5 for showing support for Palestine Action
During a meeting organised by Cage International last week, former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Moazzam Begg urged members of the Muslim community to flout the terror laws and declare their support for Palestine Action.
Begg said: “I would urge everybody to join the action of the 9th of August. That is the first step to take for the resistance.
“Those from the Muslim community, we have a massive presence in this city, and we must engage our leaders, our Imams, our habibs, those in positions of power, to join, there is strength in numbers, stop being a coward, cowards never win battles.”
Angie Zelter, from Defend Our Juries, joined in the calls during the meeting, declaring: “Together we can and must face down the rising tide of fascism in Britain.”
The activist also said that that people are beginning to see “an arrest for terrorism as a badge of honour”.
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Palestine Action are responsible for over 385 acts of criminal damage since their establishment in 2020
In a drafted document from Defend Our Juries, seen by The Telegraph, activists thinking about getting involved were warned that “joining this campaign comes with risk”.
The document also said: “It would be practically and politically difficult for the state to respond to an action on this scale.
“Even assuming it had the physical capacity to arrest so many people on the same day, the political fallout from such an operation would be incalculable, causing irreparable damage to the reputation of the Government and the police.
“Our assessment is that an action on this scale could be enough for the ban to be lifted.”
Retired Metropolitan Police officer, Graham Wettone, said: “There are a limited number of custody cell spaces available in London and as we saw a couple of years ago with Just Stop Oil, these can fill up quickly.
“The Met may seek to take some of those arrested outside of the capital but there is no doubt that if thousands of people turn up and take part it will test the system to the limit.”
A judicial review of the group’s legal status is set to take place in the Autumn, which may see the ban overturned.
None of the 200 people arrested on suspicion of showing support to Palestine Action have been charged – it is believed that prosecutors will wait for the legal challenge’s outcome.
