London, United Kingdom - September 07, 2025 An estimated 1,500 people gathered in one of the largest acts of civil disobedience in modern British history, protesting the government’s ban on Palestine Action. The Metropolitan police arrested more than half of them, a move described as a “huge embarrassment” for commissioner Sir Mark Rowley. The demonstration began at 1pm on Saturday, when over 1,300 people, many over 60 and some visibly disabled, sat down in Parliament Square. They held cardboard signs declaring: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine action.” By 9:15pm, the Met reported that “more than 425” had been arrested, insisting its operational plans were “effective” despite failing to detain everyone as promised. By Sunday afternoon, the Met confirmed 857 arrests for supporting a proscribed organisation, with 890 in total, including 33 for assaults on officers and other public order offences. The action, organised by Defend Our Juries, remained calm throughout the day. Protesters sat quietly on the ground or in camping chairs for hours, while Novara Media documented squads of 20 or more officers arresting single elderly participants one at a time. By 6pm, the Met stated 150 had been detained. Among them were Steve, a disabled RAF veteran using a walker, Mike Higgins, a 62-year-old blind and disabled man, an NHS midwife, a retired doctor in her 80s, two mental health nurses, and 83-year-old Anglican priest Reverend Sue Parfitt. Parfitt had sat with her sign for more than six hours before being arrested on Saturday night. She had already been detained at the first protest against the ban on July 5 and admitted to knowingly breaching bail conditions. “We might be getting nearer to the goal,” she told Novara Media. “Which is to get Palestine Action not proscribed as a terrorist organisation – because it isn’t a terrorist organisation. And that’s a good signal to our brothers and sisters who are suffering so terribly in Gaza and Palestine… I want to be sure I am absolutely on their side.” As arrests continued, crowds of bystanders condemned police actions, shouting “shame on the Met police” and reminding officers: “That could be your grandfather.”