Judicial campaigners associated with Palestine Action were arrested by counter-terrorism police in London.

Authorities detained five key representatives from Defend Our Juries in dawn raids on Tuesday, September 2.

The arrests came just hours before a planned press conference to announce a mass demonstration in Parliament Square against the Palestine Action ban on Saturday.

Tim Crosland, who was due to speak at the press event, was among those arrested. Law student Paddy Friend was also taken into custody after hosting a public Zoom call for the group, which police cited as justification for his detention.

Witnesses reported that officials specifically targeted hosts of these online meetings rather than participants.

The arrests were connected to the upcoming Lift the Ban protests and occurred despite the press conference being widely publicised.

Organisers intended to reveal that over 1,000 people had pledged to hold signs stating, 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.' with numbers expected to reach 1,500.

A spokesman for Defend Our Juries said: 'This is scandalous. Locking up our key spokespeople just hours before they were due to hold a press conference announcing more peaceful Lift the Ban protests constitutes an unprecedented assault on free speech in our country. The mass defiance of the unjust ban on Palestine Action is unstoppable.'

Other key figures remain available for interviews, and another public Zoom call is planned in preparation for Saturday's action.

The government enacted the ban on Palestine Action under counter-terrorism legislation following incidents in which paint was sprayed on aircraft at RAF Brize Norton.