The decision to ban Palestine Action as a terrorist group was lawful, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
The ban, which came into force in July last year, made being a member of or expressing support for the protest group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
High Court judges had ruled in February that the decision to proscribe the group under the Terrorism Act 2000 was unlawful following a legal challenge brought by Huda Ammori, its co-founder.
The Home Office appealed the ruling, arguing that criminal sanctions for dealing with the group had become “insufficient” following an “escalation” in the scale and intensity of its actions.
On Monday, five senior judges agreed with the Government and ruled that the decision to ban the group was lawful.
In their ruling, the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, Sir Geoffrey Vos, Lord Justice Edis, Lord Justice Lewis and Lady Justice Whipple said Palestine Action was no “ordinary protest group”. Lady Carr said the group had engaged in a criminal campaign of direct action against “key national infrastructure and defence firms” that provided support to Ukraine and Nato. She said Palestine Action’s “campaign was escalating and was not being pursued with any restraint”. She continued: “It is not a direct action civil disobedience protest group operating transparently in the open. It is a covert organisation which avoids the detection and prosecution of those using violence to destroy property and cause injury.” Lady Carr added: “The proscription decision was consistent with the Home Secretary’s proscription policy and was proportionate. It was not unlawful.”