The Court of Appeal in England has upheld the government’s decision to ban Palestine Action as a proscribed terrorist organisation, saying the group’s threats and covert activity were central to the lawful decision-making process. Baroness Carr said the home secretary was best placed to assess the impact of those threats, particularly because the group had clandestinely organised actions aimed at lawful businesses, including defence firms involved in UK national defence and support for Ukraine.
The ruling is a setback for Ammori, who challenged the ban on the grounds that then Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had not followed her own internal rules and that the proscription seriously interfered with the rights to protest and freedom of expression. The High Court had previously found that the home secretary’s policy was intended to limit discretion and had ruled that the government acted unlawfully in proscribing Palestine Action due to the significant impact on peaceful assembly and speech rights. But the Court of Appeal disagreed, accepting the government’s argument that ministers were entitled to weigh the benefits of using terrorism laws to target and disrupt the group.
The appeal court said national security decisions involve complex judgments in which the government generally has better access to intelligence and context than the courts. While judges remain the final legal arbiters, they said ministers must be given a wide margin of discretion in such cases. The panel of five judges noted that the case was legally complex, but they did not certify it for a further automatic review, meaning Palestine Action will first need permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.
A barrister specialising in government decision-making said the judgment suggested the High Court had not given enough weight to the government’s discretion in national security matters. He added that, because the ruling came from a five-judge panel including the Lady Chief Justice and other senior judges, the Supreme Court may decide the legal issues have already been adequately addressed.
Palestine Action said it was surprised by the outcome and vowed to continue its legal fight. Ammori described the ban as one of the most extreme attacks on free speech and the right to protest in modern British history.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood welcomed the ruling, saying it did not affect lawful protest in support of the Palestinian cause. She said Palestine Action’s conduct was not consistent with democratic values or the rule of law, describing the group as one that had carried out acts of terrorism, praised those involved, and promoted violence rather than ordinary protest or civil disobedience.
