Palestine Action ban is lawful, Court of Appeal rules

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Palestine Action ban is lawful, Court of Appeal rulesJust now Share Save Add as preferred on GooglePA MediaThe government's proscription of Palestine Action as a terror organisation is lawful, the Court of Appeal has ruled. In one of the most significant rulings on national security in recent years, five of the most senior judges in the country overturned an earlier decision from the High Court that the ban had breached the right to protest and had been incorrectly taken by ministers.

Palestine Action has remained banned since that ruling in February to allow for further legal arguments and give the government time to consider an appeal. But at a hearing on Monday, five Court of Appeal judges concluding the government's decision to proscribe the group "struck a fair balance".

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Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr said it was not a "sustainable proposition" to portray it as a non-violent protest group. She said: "Palestine Action overly promotes unlawful violence that amounts to terrorism… It is not like the Suffragettes.

"The proscription made it a criminal offence to belong to or support Palestine Action, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Thousands of people have been arrested at demonstrations in the months since the ban came into force in July last year.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.