Yvette Cooper defends decision to outlaw Palestine Action as terrorist group

Yvette Cooper defended her decision to ban Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, insisting it was 'not a normal protest group'. Judges ruled that a decision she made when home secretary was unlawful, with implications for thousands of people arrested for supporting the group at protests across the country. The ban remains in place ahead of an appeal against the High Court ruling but the Metropolitan Police has indicated officers were unlikely to arrest people simply for showing support for Palestine Action until the legal situation was clarified. Following the decision, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood swore to 'fight this judgment in the Court of Appeal', although a group of Labour backbenchers has urged her to drop the action.