As the UK government continues to stifle dissent, the influence of Israeli arms corporations on UK government policy becomes glaringly obvious.
London, 9 August 2025: Miles Pickering, an engineer from Brighton, was arrested at a protest while wearing a satirical “Plasticine Action: We oppose AI-generated animation” T-shirt—police mistook it for support for the banned group Palestine Action. He was released shortly thereafter. The incident echoes the case of Jon Farley, a retired teacher from Leeds, who was arrested on July 19, 2025, for holding a placard featuring a satirical Private Eye cartoon mocking the proscription of Palestine Action. According to Farley, the police didn’t know what Private Eye was. It is not clear whether the police arresting Miles Pickering knew what plasticine was.
Palestine Action activists known as the Filton 24, arrested for spray painting an RAF plane used to support IDF actions in Gaza, have now been held in prison for a year without trial. It is likely the activists will be in custody for two years before any trials begin. Although arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000, none have been charged with terrorism-related offences.
The main target of Palestine Action protests has been an Israeli weapons company called Elbit, which is a major supplier to the UK military, with contracts for for digital battlefield systems, optical gear, and electronic warfare worth hundreds of millions of pounds. Politically, Elbit holds privileged access within the government. Communications and meetings have shown coordinated efforts between the Home Office and law enforcement to target activism against Elbit. The UK government is on the verge of signing a £2 billion contract with Elbit for providing training for the British army — a task traditionally carried out by the British army. The success of Elbit’s bid was put in doubt by the targeting of Elbit’s UK facilities by Palestine Action through peaceful protests, but that doubt was removed when Palestine Action was designated a terrorist organisation. The money being handed to Elbit for military contracts is, of course, UK taxpayer money. In recent polls, only 12% of the UK public showed approval for Starmer’s Gaza policies, and within the Labour party, 71% say it was wrong to designate Palestine Action a terrorist organisation.
Irish novelist Sally Rooney, renowned for Normal People and Conversations with Friends, has declared that she will donate royalties from her British book sales and BBC adaptations to Palestine Action. Experts have warned that her actions could violate Section 15 of the UK’s Terrorism Act 2000, which prohibits providing support to proscribed organisations. This could even lead to her being arrested without a warrant. The UK government and groups like Campaign Against Antisemitism have put pressure on the BBC and Rooney’s publisher Faber & Faber to sever ties. Rooney has criticised the criminalisation of peaceful protest and spoken out against what she describes as the suppression of dissent in the UK. She asserts that while her actions may be criminalised there, they stand as a moral necessity against genocide.
“If this makes me a ‘supporter of terror’ under UK law, so be it,” she told the Irish Times.
Led By Donkeys, the activist group known for its satirical political stunts, are facing trial after a July 2025 protest outside Labour HQ. The group unfurled a giant banner showing Gaza’s devastation with the slogan “Protesting this isn’t terrorism”, condemning Labour’s support for Israel and the government’s proscription of Palestine Action. Two members were arrested at the time and are now due in court. In early August 2025, Greenpeace activists plastered London bus shelters with the slogan “Protesting genocide is not terrorism”, challenging the conflation of Palestinian solidarity with criminality.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is investigating pro-Israel lawyers linked to UK Lawyers for Israel over claims they used legal threats to stifle support for Palestine. Targets have included charities such as Medical Aid for Palestinians, campaign groups like War on Want, as well as universities and cultural events. Musician Paul Weller is suing his former accountants after they dropped him, citing his public support for Palestinian rights and criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza. He claims this constitutes unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 and plans to donate any damages to humanitarian relief in Gaza.
Between August 18 and August 24, 2025, Gaza experienced continued heavy casualties and humanitarian devastation amid the ongoing Israeli offensive. During this week, over 170 Palestinians were killed by the IDF, including civilians sheltering in tents or seeking aid. The overall Palestinian death toll since the start of the conflict in October 2023 now exceeds 62,000, with more than 156,000 injured. The Israeli military has estimated that 83% of Palestinian casualties are civilians. The UN has declared famine conditions in Gaza City, warning that nearly half a million people face catastrophic hunger. More than a million residents have been ordered to evacuate as Israel prepares for a full-scale military takeover. Aid deliveries at the Zikim crossing have been chaotic, with reports of shootings and fatalities among those attempting to access food, water, and medical supplies. Militarily, Israel has begun the first stages of its assault on Gaza City, calling up tens of thousands of reservists for the operation.
Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke defending his government’s opposition to Israeli aggression, said, “Strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many children you can leave hungry.”
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