Deborah Hinton had been left in ‘a state of trauma’. ‘I was shaking uncontrollably,’ the 81-year-old former magistrate explained as she reclined in her stylish armchair in her home in Gorran Haven, Cornwall. The police who had arrested her had the temerity to confiscate ‘my handbag, my watch, and I was also wearing my miniature OBE, and they took that too’, she recalled.
Ms Hinton’s only crime? Well, it was actually quite a serious one. She was arrested for supporting a proscribed terrorist organisation, an offence which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. As she would have been aware, given she’s also a former member of the National Parole Board.
And seemingly abreast of the potential consequences of her actions. The great-great-great-granddaughter of Sir Richard Hussey Vivian, who commanded the 6th Cavalry Brigade at the Battle of Waterloo, was ‘ready to go to prison on the principle of the right to protest’, she insisted.
Nor is she alone. Last week more than 500 protesters were arrested following a coordinated demonstration promoting the recently banned activist group Palestine Action. A response which has led to charges Britain is becoming a totalitarian state. The actions of the Metropolitan Police were ‘disproportionate to the point of absurdity’, raged civil liberties group Amnesty.
But unfortunately for Deborah Hinton and her friends, they weren’t. The definition of a terror group – as defined by the Terrorism Act – has stood for a quarter of a century. Those perpetrating an act of terror must engage in ‘serious violence against a person’, ‘serious damage to property’ or be ‘creating a serious risk to the health or safety of the public or a section of the public’. They must also do so in a manner designed to ‘influence the government’ and in a way that is ‘for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, racial or ideological cause’.
Palestine Action has regularly engaged in intimidation, threats and direct attacks against dozens of defence contractors and military establishments, targeting thousands of working men and women whose prime role is ensuring the safety and security of the United Kingdom.
Deborah Hinton, fourth from left, was arrested last month in Truro, Cornwall, for supporting Palestine Action
According to the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, the group has conducted three sperate and overt terror attacks within the UK. Legal proceedings, involving serious acts of violence, are ongoing. And the group is entirely open about how these acts are perpetrated in any attempt to influence government policy and promote the pro-Palestinian cause.
So the case for proscription is open and shut. Which is why Palestine Action’s supporters are now attempting to shift the goalposts and focus intention on the prosecution of those protesting against that proscription. And claiming this is itself a gratuitous assault on free speech.
But again, it isn’t. No one who was arrested in Trafalgar Square last week, or at any of the other protests, was prevented from expressing support for the Palestinians. Or attacking the Government’s stance on Gaza. They were entirely free to march, entirely free to chant ‘Viva Palestina!’, entirely free to carry their placards demanding Palestinian liberty from oppression, entirely free to don keffiyehs and indulge in their freedom-fighter cosplay.
The problem is that Palestine Action didn’t want to practise free speech, or peaceful protest. Instead, they opted to engage in deliberate acts of violence against British defence contractors and the British military, at a time when the nation is already facing a campaign of violent sabotage from foreign state actors.
One of the main responses to Palestine Action’s proscription, and the arrest of those who continue to promote and support them, has been to compare them to other banned groups, primarily Al-Qaeda and Islamic State. ‘There has been no suggestion that Palestine Action carries out, or advocates, similar kinds or levels of violence,’ stated the International Bar Association.
Protesters sit with placards supporting Palestine Action in Parliament Square earlier this month
An 89-year-old protester is arrested during the ‘Lift the Ban’ demonstration in London
But by that standard, neither do other banned groups, such as National Socialist Order, National Action or the Maniacs Murder Cult. It’s not the point. The issue is not whether a group is a genocidal organisation capable of regional destabilisation. It’s whether it meets the tightly defined legal classification of a terror group. And Palestine Action does.
Another strategy has been to highlight the background of those arrested. Some are teachers. Another a priest. A number were pensioners, we have been told, apparently in mitigation. Well, so was Jamshed Javeed, who taught chemistry to 11-year-olds in Bolton, just before being sentenced to six years in jail for plotting terror attacks in Syria. And Father Patrick O’Brien, who finally admitted in 2019 to being one of the IRA’s most prolific quartermasters. Along with the 179 people over the age of 60 referred to Prevent for far-Right terror connections over the past decade.
In the wake of the acquittal of Labour councillor Ricky Jones, social media has again been awash with accusations of two-tier justice. Wrongly. Jones was found not guilty by a jury of his peers. A process that has been the bedrock of our legal system for over 1,000 years. But those being arrested in support of Palestine Action do believe in two-tier justice. They literally think that by dint of their class and social status – predominately white, liberal and affluent – they have a right to observe different laws to all the rest of us.
Last week, having expressed support for the Palestine Action protesters, Amnesty International signed a letter produced by the organisation Together With Refugees. It was aimed at a different group – and demographic – of campaigner. Those who have been peacefully picketing outside the asylum hotels that have been springing up around the country.
Addressed to Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage, it stated: ‘The pernicious and insidious currents of racism and hatred underlying these protests are glaring evidence of a failing system. The responsibility to end the divisive politics, racist rhetoric and demonising language of the past is yours.’
The reality is that to the supporters of Palestine Action, the right to free speech is entirely dependent on who is trying to exercise it. If you’re a middle-class, self-styled progressive, defiance of the law in pursuit of your beliefs is a birth-right. If you’re a working-class mother concerned about the safety of your daughter following an attack by an illegal migrant – not so much. Engage in entirely legal, peaceful protest and you stand accused of peddling ‘division’ and ‘hate’.
Which is why if ministers want to counter the two-tier justice narrative they need to continue to hold the line on Palestine Action. Because the issue isn’t Gaza. Or even the terror threat. It’s about whether class now gives you a get-out-of-jail free card.
Deborah Hinton and her friends wish to become martyrs to the Palestinian cause. Let’s oblige them.
