LONDON: Police in the UK have apologized to a protester wrongly threatened with arrest under terrorism legislation.
Laura Murton, 43, had held signs saying “free Gaza” and “Israel is committing genocide” on July 14 in the English city of Canterbury.
She was accosted by armed officers who claimed she was supporting banned group Palestine Action, and who threatened to arrest her unless she provided her name and personal address.
Murton filmed the incident as it happened, during which an officer told her: “Mentioning freedom of Gaza, Israel, genocide, all of that all come under proscribed groups, which are terror groups that have been dictated by the government.”
The officer added that stating “free Gaza” was “supportive of Palestine Action” and that “to express an opinion or belief that is supportive of a proscribed organization, namely Palestine Action, is an offence under section 12(1A) of the Terrorism Act.”
Palestine Action was proscribed earlier this year after a series of incidents, including a break-in at a Royal Air Force base.
Subsequent protests across the UK have featured demonstrators holding signs explicitly stating their support for the group, which is a criminal offense.
Kent Police apologized to Murton, including for “unlawful false imprisonment” and processing of her personal data, and agreed to delete the data and pay her damages and legal costs.
Chief Constable Tim Smith admitted in a letter to Murton that his officers had breached her rights to free speech as well as national counterterrorism policing guidelines.
“The chief constable apologises for any distress you may have suffered as a result of this incident and confirms that any materially similar protest to that which you undertook on 14 July 2025 would not give rise to any grounds to suspect an offence under the Terrorism Act 2000,” the letter said.
Murton said she would donate any damages received to pro-Palestine causes. “People should continue to exercise their lawful right to protest in support of Palestinian people despite the proscription of Palestine Action,” she added.
“I hope this case serves as a reminder to chief constables across the country that there should be no unlawful interference with those protest rights.”
Her lawyer Shamik Dutta said: “This is the first time a chief constable has been compelled to pay damages and offer an apology arising from the unlawful policing of the proscription of Palestine Action.
“Regrettably, Ms Murton’s experience is not unique and given the national failure of police forces to respect rights to free speech in this context, her case is unlikely to be the last.”
