The Home Office has secured a legal victory allowing it to challenge a move by Palestine Action to have its proscription as a terrorist organisation overturned. The Court of Appeal ruled that Home Secretary Yvette Cooper can contest the decision to grant a judicial review of the ban, which was scheduled for November.
The ruling, issued on 21 August, grants permission to appeal. Lord Justice Underhill stated in his judgment: 'I believe that the appeal has a real prospect of success.' The hearing to challenge the judicial review will take place on 25 September.
Palestine Action was proscribed on 5 July after paint was daubed on jets at RAF Brize Norton, causing an estimated £7 million in damage. The ban makes membership or support for the group a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison. The government argues the ban is justified as it targets serious criminality.
On the same day as the ruling, six people appeared in court to deny terror offences related to plans for mass gatherings aimed at making the ban unenforceable. The charges involve meetings allegedly organised via Zoom in London, Cardiff, and Manchester. Among the accused is Tim Crosland, a former government lawyer, who co-founded the group Defend Our Juries, which is organising a protest on Saturday near the Houses of Parliament, with over 1,000 attendees expected.
