Four individuals, including “a man who blocked the gates of Downing Street with his mobility scooter”, have been arrested after a protest by Palestine Action in Westminster, according to the Metropolitan Police.
The demonstration occurred outside Parliament as MPs approved the Government’s decision to outlaw Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation.
The Commons voted overwhelmingly in favour of proscribing the group under the Terrorism Act 2000, with 385 votes to 26, a majority of 359.
This move, which also requires approval from the House of Lords, would criminalise membership or support of the non-violent direct action group, punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment.
In response to the protest, police enforced Public Order Act conditions to confine the demonstration to an area off Whitehall.
“Public Order Act conditions had been imposed to prevent serious disruption, requiring anyone taking part in the protest to assemble on Richmond Terrace, off Whitehall,” a spokesperson for the force stated.
One woman, identifying herself as Emma Kamio to the PA news agency, seemed to employ the protest technique known as “locking on” to create an obstruction outside Carriage Gates, one of the entrances to the parliamentary estate.
Her daughter Leona Kamio was among a group of pro-Palestine protesters who appeared in court denying charges of breaking into the UK site of an Israel-based defence firm with sledgehammers, causing £1 million worth of damage.
Ms Kamio found herself in trouble with the law as she sat on the pavement outside Parliament, her arm firmly inside what seemed to be a suitcase.
A Met spokesperson detailed the four arrests, including a woman “who locked herself onto a suitcase outside the gates of Parliament” for “breaching the conditions and for being in possession of articles intended for locking on”.
The spokesperson continued, stating that “A man who was with her and refused to move to the conditioned area was arrested for breaching the conditions,”.
“A man who blocked the gates of Downing Street with his mobility scooter and refused to move to the conditioned area was arrested for breaching the conditions.”
Another individual, a fourth man, was taken into custody for “breaching conditions” related to the protest, the Met confirmed.
An unusually high number of Met officers were spotted around the Houses of Parliament as the voting got underway.
The Met explained the “significant policing presence in the vicinity of Parliament” was due to their “responsibility to take action to prevent serious disruption to the life of the community”, which includes ensuring MPs “can go about their business free from intimidation or unreasonable interference”.