Protesters With Palestine Action Placards Handed £100 Fines Rather Than Face Prosecution

Protesters in Scotland arrested for carrying signs in support of the proscribed group Palestine Action have been offered £100 fines instead of prosecution. Critics of PA’s proscription say this shows that the use of terrorism legislation on supporters of PA is “ridiculous”. 

Adam McGibbon was first arrested in October last year for holding up a sign which read “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” in protest at the designation of the direct action group as a terrorist organisation and their proscription under the Terrorism Act. He was arrested again on one other occasion and was charged four times under the Terrorism Act.

In late December, McGibbon and two other activists who spoke to Byline Times were sent letters with the offer of a £100 fine in lieu of prosecution for some of their offences in breach of section 13 by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. £100, they noted, is roughly equivalent to a parking fine. 

McGibbon, a seasoned climate activist, told Byline Times: “If supporting Palestine Action is so bad and so terrible like Dan Jarvis the security minister said it was in parliament in September, then how come you can get off for the same price as parking ticket?”. 

“I mean do the Islamic State get this offer?” he added. 

The proscription of Palestine Action has seen protests up and down the UK in defiance of the proscription with activists holding signs in support of the group. Police have made thousands of arrests since the proscription of PA in July 2025. 

Section 13 of the Terrorism Act makes it illegal to wear clothing or hold signs that might be reasonably understood as support for a proscribed terrorist organisation, meaning protesters showing their support for PA by holding signs risk a £5000 fine and six months imprisonment.

While theoretically a relatively serious offence under the Terrorism Act, the authorities in the devolved administrations in the UK appear to be less inclined to prosecute than the CPS in England. 

In Northern Ireland section 13 is rarely enforced because statements or items that could constitute support for Northern Irish paramilitaries are commonplace, and police powers are devolved to Stormont. 

Catherine Allen, another activist who was offered the penalty said that the fines and the comparatively gentle treatment of the Scottish protesters by law enforcement “could suggest that even the police don’t have their hearts in it given how ridiculous arresting peaceful protesters is, and that protesting genocide is not a crime”. 

McGibbon, Allen and another activist spoken to by Byline Times said they would be rejecting the offer of the fine. 

In a letter sent back to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, Allen and some of her fellow activists stated: “the offer of a fine equivalent to a parking ticket or a warning is both revealing and revolting. Revealing because it indicates that deep down the Procurator Fiscal Office in Scotland agrees that we are a million miles from being ‘terrorists’. Revolting because it offers a fine like a sweetie – accept this sweetie, the offer states, and then stop asking us to get a moral compass”. 

The group stated that they were demanding the Scottish police to stop arresting and charging them for their repeat protests.

The letter also stated that the group’s actions were part of a “campaign to lift the ban on Palestine Action because their bold and principled campaign of resistance to the Israeli war machine in Britain focussed on directly shutting down the production of Israeli weapons that are being used to bomb citizens including children in Gaza”.

McGibbon said: “I’m refusing because the charge in itself is completely ridiculous. Everybody knows it. The police who arrested me knew it. The public knew it. The MPs who voted for the prescription, they know it’s ridiculous in their hearts as well. The government knows it’s ridiculous. They’re doing it at the behest of a foreign power, the Israeli Government”. 

He added: “It’s horrific. People need to stand up against it. That’s why I’m doing it. And as well as that, the Palestinians need our solidarity right now. They need us to do more. This is the absolute least that I can do given what’s happening in Palestine and what’s still happening there despite the fact the media aren’t really talking about the genocide much anymore.”

The Crown Office and Fiscal Procurator Service cannot comment on individual cases but a spokesperson for the body said: “Where there is sufficient evidence in law, prosecutors will decide what prosecutorial action is required in the public interest. Effective and appropriate action is not limited to court proceedings and prosecutors have a number of Direct Measures at their disposal. Direct measures are penalties and ensure those who commit offences are dealt with swiftly, effectively and proportionately.”

A Home Office Spokesperson said: “Palestine Action has conducted an escalating campaign involving not just sustained criminal damage, including to Britain’s national security infrastructure, but also intimidation and alleged violence and serious injuries to individuals. That kind of activity puts the safety and security of the public at risk.”