Shabana Mahmood

UK Palestine Action ban ruled unlawful, in humiliating blow for ministers

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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/13/uk-ban-palestine-action-unlawful-high-court-judges-rule

Thousands arrested for supporting group since proscription are now in legal limbo as Mahmood says she will appeal

Three senior judges have ruled that the ban on the direct action group Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws was disproportionate and unlawful, handing the home secretary a humiliating defeat.

Shabana Mahmood was urged to respect the court’s decision after the judges said the ban, introduced by her predecessor Yvette Cooper, impinged on the right to protest and should be quashed.

However, the fate of more than 2,500 people, arrested for supporting Palestine Action since proscription, remained in limbo after Mahmood said she would appeal against the ban. Additionally, the three judges, led by the president of the king’s bench division, Dame Victoria Sharp, said the banning order would not be quashed until both sides had been allowed to make representations.

In the meantime, the Met police said they would stop arresting people immediately for showing support for Palestine Action after the high court ruling but would gather evidence for potential future prosecution.

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The judges allowed the challenge on two of four grounds. They were that there was “a very significant interference” with the rights to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly and that the then home secretary, Cooper’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action was not consistent with her own policy, which required her to take into account factors including the nature and scale of the organisation’s activities, and the specific threat that it posed to the UK.

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See the original article at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/13/uk-ban-palestine-action-unlawful-high-court-judges-rule

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.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.

Continue ReadingUK Palestine Action ban ruled unlawful, in humiliating blow for ministers

Campaigners pledge to fight Mahmood police plan

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/campaigners-pledge-fight-mahmood-police-plan

 Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood during a tour of the Lambeth Central Communications Command Centre, south London, January 22, 2026

CIVIL liberty campaigners pledged to fight plans to roll out facial recognition technology to all police forces across England and Wales.

Overriding concerns, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood claimed that the technology would cut crime, despite often being entirely inaccurate.

Boosting camera vans from 10 to 50, Ms Mahmood claimed: “New technology has the ability to help us go after criminals and bring more people to justice.

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Liberty slammed the government for announcing the rollout while supposedly still in the midst of a public consultation.

External relations director Ruth Ehrlich said that “rolling out powerful surveillance tools while a consultation is still under way undermines public trust and shows disregard for our fundamental rights,” adding: “The government must halt the rapid rollout of facial recognition technology, ensure safeguards are in place to protect each of us, and prioritise our rights.”

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See the original article at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/campaigners-pledge-fight-mahmood-police-plan

Shabana Mahmood says that she wants a panopticon surveillance system using AI and other powerful technology.
Continue ReadingCampaigners pledge to fight Mahmood police plan

Shabana Mahmood wants the ‘eyes of the state’ on everyone, all the time

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https://www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2026/01/20/shabana-mahmood-panopticon/

UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has shared her vision for the state’s use of AI and technology on the public. Inspired by 18th-century philosopher Bentham’s ‘Panopticon’, Mahmood says she wants constant state surveillance over UK citizens.

Shabana Mahmood and a police state

Mahmood’s controversial and authoritarian comments came in a Telegraph article, in which she said she’s aiming for ‘Minority Report-style’ policing. This should strike fear in the hearts of every citizen, as our Home Secretary appears to suggest that the advance prediction of crime is the goal, rather than to tackle crimes that have actually been committed.

Philosopher Jeremy Bentham attempted to introduce the ‘panopticon’ prison system in the late 18th century, arguing it was the ‘perfect’ prison. With prison guards at its centre, the prisoners would surround them providing a 360-degree view for ‘monitoring’ behaviour. However, it’s very design would have had such an impact on prisoners’ psychological wellbeing that Bentham was never able to realise his ambition of the ultimate ‘surveillance prison’.

This X post exposes Bentham’s history, showing that his ideas were seen as a step too far even in an era of limited citizen rights:

Article continues at https://www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2026/01/20/shabana-mahmood-panopticon/

Image of the original Fascists Mussolini and Hitler.
The original Fascists Mussolini and Hitler
Continue ReadingShabana Mahmood wants the ‘eyes of the state’ on everyone, all the time

‘Draconian crackdown on our rights’

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/draconian-crackdown-our-rights

 Elizabeth Tower, part of the Palace of Westminster, is seen between two Metropolitan Police officers in Parliament Square, London

More than 45 civil society groups oppose plans to give police sweeping new powers

MORE than 45 civil society groups including the TUC and Palestine Solidarity Campaign today opposed “extreme” and “dangerous” government plans to give police sweeping new powers to restrict protests in England and Wales.

Greenpeace, Amnesty International UK, Liberty, Quakers in Britain and unions also denounced the “draconian crackdown on our rights to freedom of expression and assembly.”

Police will be required to consider the “cumulative impact” of repeated protests in the same area when imposing conditions on demonstrations under an amendment in the Crime and Policing Bill introduced in the House of Lords.

The size of an area is not specified and police would not be required to take into account whether the protests are for the same cause or involve the same people, the statement warned.

“Although government statements make clear these powers have been brought forward in response to the mass national marches for Palestinian rights, the impact of this change of law would be wide-ranging,” it said.

“An anti-racist march could be blocked from Whitehall because of a previous farmers’ protest, or a Pride march restricted because a far-right demonstration was recently held in the same town.

“Clamping down on peaceful protests will not protect anyone’s rights or safety, and we reject cynical attempts by government to present this repressive proposal as protection for vulnerable groups.”

It said that the Suffragette and anti-apartheid movements in South Africa all relied on the “cumulative” impact of protests in an area.

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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/draconian-crackdown-our-rights

Image of the original Fascists Mussolini and Hitler.
The original Fascists Mussolini and Hitler
Continue Reading‘Draconian crackdown on our rights’