Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja was arrested outside the Labour Party conference after holding a placard supporting Palestine Action, a group proscribed as a terrorist organisation under UK law.
by Paul Cashmere
Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja, also known as 3D, was arrested in Liverpool on Saturday after holding a placard stating “I OPPOSE GENOCIDE, I SUPPORT PALESTINE ACTION” outside the venue for the UK Labour Party conference. Police arrested Del Naja on suspicion of an offence relating to support for a proscribed organisation. In footage of the arrest, Del Naja can be heard saying he “doesn’t recognise the offence” before officers remove him from the protest.
The arrest highlights the unusual legal position created by the British government’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000 in July 2025. The legislation does not make support for Palestine illegal, nor does it prohibit peaceful opposition to the Israeli government. It does, however, make certain forms of support for Palestine Action a criminal offence.
Under the Act, it is an offence to invite support for a proscribed organisation, express an opinion or belief supportive of one in circumstances covered by the legislation, or publicly display an article in a way that creates reasonable suspicion of membership or support. The maximum penalty for some offences is 14 years’ imprisonment, while the section covering public display carries a maximum of six months.
Palestine Action was founded in 2020 as a direct-action campaign targeting companies it says are involved in supplying military equipment to Israel. Its methods have included occupations, blockades and serious criminal damage at defence-related sites.
The British Government says the group’s activities crossed the legal threshold for terrorism because some actions involved serious property damage intended to influence government policy. It cites attacks including a 2022 action at Thales in Glasgow and 2024 actions at Instro Precision in Kent and Elbit Systems UK in Bristol. The government has also pointed to the June 2025 break-in at RAF Brize Norton, where activists damaged military aircraft.
That distinction is central to the dispute. Palestine Action describes its activities as direct action against what it regards as British involvement in Israeli military operations. The government describes the same activities as politically motivated criminal damage that meets the statutory definition of terrorism.
The legal status of the ban is also more complicated than a simple government decision. In February 2026, the High Court quashed the proscription. The Court of Appeal subsequently overturned that decision in June, finding that the Home Secretary had been entitled to proscribe Palestine Action and that a fair balance had been struck between freedom of expression and association and national security. The UK Supreme Court has since granted permission for an appeal, with a hearing listed for November 2026.
The public response is not uniform. A More in Common study found that 46 per cent of the British public initially said they did not know whether proscribing Palestine Action was right or wrong. After respondents were given additional information about the events leading to the ban, 41 per cent supported proscription and 29 per cent opposed it. That does not establish a public consensus for either position, but it does show that the wider population cannot accurately be described as uniformly opposed to, or supportive of, the government’s decision.
Among Labour Party members, however, a Survation poll reported in August 2025 found 71 per cent disagreed with the proscription. That was a survey of Labour members, not the UK population as a whole.
There has also been a striking number of arrests. Home Office figures recorded 2,819 arrests linked to support for Palestine Action in Great Britain in the year to March 2026. Of those, 484 resulted in charges, while 2,287 people were bailed and released under investigation at that point.
Del Naja had already been arrested during an earlier protest in April. His latest arrest came after he joined Defend Our Juries’ campaign against the proscription and followed a video statement featuring Del Naja, Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori and human rights barrister Michael Mansfield KC calling for the group to be de-proscribed.
The arrest also carries a particular political irony. Del Naja and Andy Burnham, now Britain’s Prime Minister, previously appeared together in support of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, with Burnham praising the Massive Attack musician’s “clarity and leadership”.
For Massive Attack, support for Palestine has been part of the group’s public position for some time. The band has criticised Israel’s military actions in Gaza, supported Palestinian rights and joined other musicians in campaigning against censorship.
The Liverpool arrest therefore places one of Britain’s most politically outspoken musicians directly inside an unresolved legal argument: where lawful political expression ends and criminal support for a proscribed organisation begins. That question will remain before Britain’s highest court when the Supreme Court hears the Palestine Action case in November.
MASSIVE ATTACK MELBOURNE AUGUST 2026
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