A new Banksy artwork has appeared in London, challenging the
UK’s protest crackdown after 890 arrests at a demonstration against a ban on
Palestine Action.
The artwork, which depicts a judge brandishing a gavel over a demonstrator on the ground with a blood-splattered placard, was shared by the artist on his Instagram profile.
Since then, two metal barriers and black plastic sheets have been placed over the job.
It came after 890 people were taken into custody during a protest in London on Saturday over the ban on the activist group Palestine Action.
According to a representative of the Defend Our Juries organization that coordinated the demonstration, the artwork "powerfully depicts the brutality unleashed" by the government's ban.
"Since the dystopian ban came into force, over 1,600 people have been arrested under the Terrorism Act for holding cardboard signs with seven words, 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action',"
the spokesperson added.
"When the law is used as a tool to crush civil liberties, it does not extinguish dissent — it strengthens it."
In the UK, free speech has become a contentious issue, with people of all political persuasions claiming that the legislation is overly restrictive.
Last week, the subject made news throughout the world when comedian Graham Linehan was arrested for demeaning transgender individuals in remarks on X.
What legal arguments were used to proscribe Palestine Action?
The Home Secretary exercised powers under Section 3 of the
Terrorism Act 2000 to proscribe Palestine Action as an organisation
"concerned in terrorism."
The government emphasized a number of acts of criminal damage committed by Palestine Action activists against arms manufacturers and other military-related sites, including the much-publicised incident in June 2025, during which activists sprayed red paint on two RAF jets when the aircraft were on the Brize Norton air base, incurring millions of pounds of damage.
The justification for the proscription relied on the acts being designed to incite government policy by 'disrupting the military supply chain to Israel', which the Home Secretary considered to be terrorism under the definitions within the Act.