New Banksy Mural on UK Court Depicts Judge Beating Nonviolent Protester With Gavel

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Original article by Jon Queally republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

A photographed, posted by the artist himself, of a new Banksy mural that appeared outside the High Court in London on Monday, September 9, 2025.
 (Photo: Banksy)

“When the law is used as a tool to crush civil liberties, it does not extinguish dissent—it strengthens it,” said the group who faced nearly 900 arrests over the weekend for peaceful protest.

A mural by the world-renowned street artist Banksy depicting a judge magistrate beating a bloodied demonstrator on the ground with his gavel appeared Monday morning outside the Royal Courts of Justice building in London—a piece of commentary on the ongoing controversy surrounding the right to free speech in the UK when it comes to Palestinian rights.

The new artwork, which the artist confirmed was his in an Instagram post, comes amid uproar over a UK government law that has been used to ban individuals and entire groups from protesting under anti-terrorism laws.

On Saturday, nearly 900 people were arrested during a protest led by a group called Defend Our Juries, which has been calling for the lifting of a blanket ban on a separate group, the nonviolent Palestine Action, deemed a terrorist supporter in relation to its advocacy of Palestinian rights and a demand for an end to the genocide in Gaza.

The Met Police reported that 890 people were arrested in total on Saturday. Of those, 857 were arrested for the sole offense of voicing their support for Palestine Action, now a crime in the UK. The other 33 arrests were for various infractions, including 17 for assault of police officers.

Banksy’s artwork was seen as a keen commentary on the subject.

London-based journalist Barry Malone called the piece “extremely powerful,” especially given the context. “The timing, the placement,” he said. “It’s perfect.”

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A post shared by Banksy (@banksy)

In a statement Sunday about the weekend’s arrest, Amnesty International’s director of campaigns and communications, Kerry Mascogiuri, said the “staggering number of arrests” by police at a “peaceful protest marks a new low for protest rights in this country.”

“It’s completely ridiculous for police to be targeting and arresting people for sitting down, quietly holding a sign,” Mascogiuri said.

She said observers from Amnesty witnessed how the crowd was “entirely peaceful,” despite some people hurling insults at officers. She said it was a misrepresentation to say that protesters became violent, though some did try to prevent those targeted for arrest from being carried away.

“Police officers, on a number of occasions, were aggressive towards supporters of the protest,” Mascogiuri added. “This included violently shoving people away and pulling out batons to make space whilst protesters were arrested and hauled into police vans.

“Peaceful protest is a fundamental right,” she concluded. “The scenes yesterday were a shocking demonstration of how the UK’s overly broad terrorism laws are being used to suppress free speech.”

Meanwhile, outside the High Court in London on Monday, security guards and metal barriers were promptly dispatched to cover up the mural.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Defend Our Juries said the work by Banksy “powerfully depicts the brutality unleashed” on peaceful protesters by the former Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who led the prohibition against Palestine Action.

“When the law is used as a tool to crush civil liberties, it does not extinguish dissent–it strengthens it,” the spokesperson continued.

“As Banksy’s artwork shows, the state can try to strip away our civil liberties, but we are too many in number and our resolve to stand against injustice cannot be beaten—our movement against the ban is unstoppable and growing every day,” they said. “We hope everyone who is moved by Banksy’s inspiring work of art will join our next action, which will be announced soon.”

Original article by Jon Queally republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine 'Private Eye'.
Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine ‘Private Eye’.
Keir "I support Zionism without Qualification" Starmer supporting genocide.
Keir “I support Zionism without Qualification” Starmer supporting genocide.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
Vote Labour for Genocide.

Continue ReadingNew Banksy Mural on UK Court Depicts Judge Beating Nonviolent Protester With Gavel

‘Something is going very wrong here in the UK’

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/something-going-very-wrong-here-uk

 Police officers detain a protester as demonstrators take part in a Lift the Ban on Palestine Action protest organised by Defend our Juries in Parliament Square in London, September 6, 2025

Campaigners urge new Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to drop ‘unenforceable’ ban on Palestine Action

NEW Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is facing growing pressure to scrap the “impossible to enforce” Palestine Action ban after nearly 900 people were arrested in London this weekend.

An estimated 1,500 took part in the 11-hour Lift The Ban rally in Parliament Square on Saturday, as they sat and held signs reading: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action,” with hundreds of others taking part in Scotland.

A human wall of trade unionists and anti-war activists surrounded sign-holders in the action and outside the Westminster government offices in Edinburgh in a “Witness Circle.”

A total of 890 people were arrested in London, with 857 arrests made for showing support for a proscribed group, while 33 people were arrested for allegedly assaulting police officers and other public order offences.

The Met Police condemned the “intolerable abuse” it claims its officers suffered during the protest

The protest saw officers drawing their batons, forcing their way through crowds, carrying arrested protesters — including one wheelchair-using veteran — and having screaming arguments with demonstrators.

One protester was seen with blood streaming down his face.

Organisers Defend Our Juries (DOJ) called on Ms Mahmood to drop the “unenforceable” ban.

A spokesperson said: “The fact that 857 out of 1,500 were arrested and that this took 11 hours, makes a mockery of the ban on Palestine Action and shows once again that it is impossible to enforce.

“Rather than arrest thousands more ordinary citizens … the new Home Secretary must rethink what is becoming Labour’s poll tax moment, which is making the UK the subject of condemnation and ridicule around the world.

“Regarding the Met’s false claims smearing the protesters, this is simply a desperate attempt to deflect from the embarrassment caused to Sir Mark Rowley after he pledged the Met would arrest every person who held [the signs].”

Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/something-going-very-wrong-here-uk

Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine 'Private Eye'.
Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine ‘Private Eye’.
Keir "I support Zionism without Qualification" Starmer supporting genocide.
Keir “I support Zionism without Qualification” Starmer supporting genocide.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
Continue Reading‘Something is going very wrong here in the UK’

On a Quiet Day EXCLUSIVE: Memo to UK Labour Party members and MPs.

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7/9/25 I am republishing this article with a few amendments. The claims that I make in this article are easily confirmed [9.29am ed: verified]. The implications? For a start, a huge amount of BS, corruption, deceit and subversion, etc is exposed.

5/9/25 There’s a part missing from this post i.e.it has been edited by someone else (to the benefit of the UK Labour Party and government).

In the original post I said that JCD uses an alternative reference while Rayner’s remarks use the normal, conventional reference.

Ed: That’s quite an achievement since I’ve got 2 Factor Authorisation (2FA) enabled, I would expect that my host must have been directed to edit it (i.e. by order of a government).

Later ed: And of course nothing is resolved by Rayner’s resignation. JCd was still murdered because of his name.
5/9/25 ENDS

I’ll be doing a message to Labour Party members and MPs explaining why I am so opposed to them, why I hold them responsible for Starmer’s actions (re: support, active participation and complicity in Israel’s Gaza genocide, attacks on the poor and vulnerable), how I intend to continue to oppose the UK Labour party, etc.

so here it is.

Keir "I support Zionism without Qualification" Starmer supporting genocide.
Keir “I support Zionism without Qualification” Starmer supporting genocide.

I started my first blog way back in 1998/99. While one of the earliest blogs, it was occasional and not particularly active. I did some politics and there is reason to believe that it was noticed by the UK Labour Party.

In 2002 I started opposing Tony Blair and Dubya Bush’s then intended Iraq war in NNTP newsgroups. I was active opposing that war and later moved on to opposing Tony Blair and his then Labour government.

Blair and his supporters started attacking me personally while hiding behind words and phrases i.e. words and phrases conveyed a different, deeper meaning apart from their obvious, superficial meaning to those that understood them e.g. Blair’s Home Secretary Cnut John Reid. Blair’s Home Secretaries were all cnuts and I helped despatch some of them.

So I was participating in the political process which is a perfectly legitimate and correct thing to do and the Labour party has started attacking me personally using nasty, dirty tactics, attacking me while hiding really.

Then along came Blair’s butler Ian Blair with so much shit, again attacking me personally while hiding. That whole terrorism shitshow and the murder of JCd with 1-3-7 bullets. JCd was murdered because of his name. His name identified a person by his location.

Deputy Labour Party Leader Angela Rayner calls for police to kill and harass innocent people.
Deputy Labour Party Leader Angela Rayner calls for police to kill and harass innocent people.

Just recently UK Labour Party Deputy Leader Angela Rayner invoked the memory of JCd 137 to again identify a person by his location. I am forced to defend myself.

I have proved myself to be a formidable adversary capable of damaging the UK Labour Party under Tony Blair and now under fellow Zionist Keir “I support Zionism without qualification” Starmer. There are 2 reasons to it: to protect myself and to participate in the political process – to defend the poor and vulnerable like Palestinians suffering Israel’s genocide and the poor, sick and disabled in UK and to protect the planet from Capitalism / Neo-Liberalism.

Part of it is that I have repeatedly proved my analysis to be accurate and correct. I am intending to hurt the labour party in the months before the next general election although tbh it looks like Starmer is destroying the UK Labour Party and that there is no need. I admit that I sometimes don’t achieve all the projects that I set out to do but at least I have given myself enough time.

Starmer & Co are being hugely confrontational to the UK electorate atm. It’s dangerous because it can’t be maintained.

Starmer has captured the Labour Party to support his own narrow interests – to support Israel’s genocide. He’s said so hasn’t he? “I support genocide Zionism without qualification.”

I want international law upheld, that Starmer and his accomplices are prosecuted and imprisoned for war crimes.

UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel's Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don't do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.

I intended to delete the following before publication, Oh well.

 

defend myself from personal attacks by prominent Labourists,

I am capable adversary

but have to continue

to defend myself

I have enough of an effect to significantly damage the Labour party

- it is actually what should happen in a democratic society, being active, participating in politics

why

a response to being

personally attackad by the whole Labour party

Ian Blair

glad that Fascnut is dead

John Reid

many Labour Home Secretaries

Angela Rayner - how should that be interpreted if not addressed personally and hostile, the relationship to JCd, that JCd was also killed to identify an individuals address. Why? The obvious answer is so that individual to be murdered. Huge double standards of course, politicians would hate for their home addresses to be published. Why should there be that double standard?


Starmer has captured teh Labour party to pursue his own interests - to support Israel's genocide

Starmer is being very confrontational against the majority of his electorate, can't maintain that 3 or 4 years until the next election

- support of Israel's genocide, use of terrorism laws against legitimate political opponents, protesters
- attacks on the poor, sick and disabled



22/7/25 6.15pm

Uncertain if I made “… why I hold them responsible for Starmer’s actions … ” clear. Labour members and MPs are held responsible because they are facilitating Starmer & Co and it is done in their name.

25/7/25 Wants some hints?

JCd: There were 2 bakers on LC then.

JCd: Addresses nearby Rd/Road give you 6s and 7

Continue ReadingOn a Quiet Day EXCLUSIVE: Memo to UK Labour Party members and MPs.

Plans to ‘maximise extraction’ of North Sea oil and gas would soon run into geological limits

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North Sea oil is in its geological twilight. James Jones Jr / shutterstock

Mark Ireland, Newcastle University

“We are going to get all our oil and gas out of the North Sea”, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said recently. Her promise to “maximise extraction” sets up a clash between political ambitions, economic reality and geological limits.

Reform UK has also said drilling for more oil and gas in the North Sea would be a “day one” priority. But even if the Conservatives or Reform were to be elected and lifted the current moratorium on new exploration licenses, there might not be the promised prizes of oil and gas under the seabed – or enough appetite from investors – to deliver on that promise.

BP, in those days British Petroleum, first extracted gas from under the North Sea in 1967. It marked the start of what was to become, for decades, one of the most valuable sectors of the UK economy, with more than 400 separate oil and gas fields developed to date.

But production peaked in 1999 and the North Sea now produces less than half as much as in its heyday.

It is now a “mature” basin: most of the biggest and easiest-to-develop fields have already been discovered and depleted. What remains are smaller, sometimes more remote, and often more technically challenging or expensive resources and reserves.

This is typical of ageing oil and gas provinces, where production declines even as operating costs rise. New projects must compete with oil and gas extracted from other parts of the world where it is easier and cheaper and more appealing to investors.

Finding oil and gas

Historically, only one in eight exploration wells in the North Sea led to a field producing oil and gas. That ratio has improved: between 2008 and 2017, a bit more than one in four wells led to a commercial success.

But far fewer wells are being drilled today. Even with the advances in technology, such as improved geophysical imaging which allows us to better define opportunities ahead of drilling, the big discoveries were probably made decades ago.

UK exploration wells vs offshore fields by year:

Graph showing wells and oil fields by year
The number of exploration wells is down hugely from its peak in the 1980s and early 90s. Mark Ireland / NSTA

The UK government’s North Sea Transition Authority estimates there could still be around 3.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent in more than 400 undeveloped prospects. But most of these potential fields are small, isolated or technically complex. Developing them will require high oil and gas prices, fiscal stability, and a lot of investor confidence.

Politics vs geology

Even if a future government relaxes exploration licensing rules, geology will remain the bigger constraint. The North Sea is simply not as cheap as it was, and global fossil fuel giants have many other options. It is currently far cheaper to produce oil and gas in other regions, the Middle East or North Africa for example. Projects in these countries are all competing for the same capital.

Volatility in the energy sector will continue to make investors cautious. The 2015 oil price crash cut activity in the UK sector to its lowest level in decades, and it has never fully recovered. As fossil fuels are sold on the global market, political volatility, international and national, can lead to rapid shifts in investor confidence.

In the UK the introduction of a windfall tax in 2023 and changing requirements for environmental impact assessments are all making decision making on long-term projects riskier. And while the UK still needs considerable volumes of gas in future (and more modest amounts of oil) both are declining as our energy system evolves and renewable energy expand.

The UK’s mix of economic uncertainty, mature geology and smaller discoveries will make it harder to attract major international energy firms.

The future of the North Sea

That doesn’t mean the North Sea has finished as a source of oil and gas. For instance, undeveloped discoveries – where oil or gas has been confirmed but not yet produced – represent a lower-risk opportunity. But returns may be modest as many are relatively small and isolated from existing infrastructure.

New exploration licenses, if issued, might extend production modestly, but they are unlikely to deliver another game-changing discovery.

Some analysts argue that future licensing should be highly strategic, limited to projects with clear economic importance or climate compatibility. That approach could reduce reliance on imported gas, which tends to be more carbon-intensive than gas produced domestically. This would certainly make more sense than restarting fracking. But it would still not recreate the industry’s heyday.

Easy oil is over

The North Sea will still produce oil and gas for years to come, but its role will shrink. Even with friendlier policies, the era of big discoveries and rapid growth isn’t coming back.

Maximising extraction may sound appealing to politicians, but geology, economics and climate commitments all point to the North Sea’s best oil and gas days being behind it. The real challenge now is managing the investment during decline while investing in the cleaner solutions that will replace it.


Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?
Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

Mark Ireland, Senior Lecturer in Energy Geoscience, Newcastle University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch explains her reality that the Earth is flat, the Moon is made of cheese and that she was born from Unicorn horn dust
UK Conservative Party leader Kemi ‘not a genocide’ Badenoch explains her reality that the Earth is flat, the Moon is made of cheese and that she was born from Unicorn horn dust
Continue ReadingPlans to ‘maximise extraction’ of North Sea oil and gas would soon run into geological limits

London protests LIVE: Police warn of arrests as hundreds to defy Palestine Action ban at Westminster demo

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https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/palestine-action-protests-london-metropolitan-police-arrests-b1246313.html

Demonstrators are set to take action in London, Belfast and Edinburgh
PA Wire

Attendees are expected to refuse street bail, requiring more people to be taken into custody

Hundreds of people are expected to risk arrest in support of banned terror group Palestine Action during protests on Saturday.

Demonstrators are set to take action in London, Belfast and Edinburgh, holding signs saying: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”

But the Metropolitan Police has stated that anyone attending the demonstration in Westminster will be acting unlawfully and could face arrest.

Defend Our Juries (DOJ) said the action is planned on condition of at least 1,000 people pledging support, but hundreds more are said to be planning to take part, with a boost in support after a number of activists involved in organising the protests were arrested under terror laws.

Attendees are expected to refuse street bail, requiring more people to be taken into custody, and they plan to go “floppy”, forcing officers to physically carry them away.

Scotland Yard’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan warned that anyone showing support for Palestine Action would face arrest. He said the group was proscribed as a terrorist organisation and that police had the “officer numbers, custody capacity and all other resources to process as many people as is required.”

Article and updates continue at https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/palestine-action-protests-london-metropolitan-police-arrests-b1246313.html

Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine 'Private Eye'.
Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine ‘Private Eye’.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.

Continue ReadingLondon protests LIVE: Police warn of arrests as hundreds to defy Palestine Action ban at Westminster demo