Dates for the diary: UK Labour Party Conference 2025
UK Labour Party conference is held in Liverpool 28th September to 1st October 2025.
‘The charade will be exposed’
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/charade-will-be-exposed
Defend Our Juries calls on supporters to skip street bail at next protest against Palestine Action ban
DEFEND our Juries has urged protesters to skip the “charade“ of street bail and withhold their details from police at the next mass demonstration against the Palestine Action ban.
The tactic aims to shift processing from the streets to police stations.
The protest group says the move will make it “practically impossible“ for police to arrest everyone, and opened up sign-ups today for a demonstration in London on September 6. Defend Our Juries said that it would only go ahead if 1,000 people had signed up. Over 2,500 people had already expressed interest in joining before the sign-ups opened.
Demonstrators will hold signs saying “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action,” in protest against the group’s ban following its designation as a terrorist organisation last month.
Membership of or support for the group is now a criminal offence, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Some 522 people were arrested at the last mass protest on August 9.
Defend Our Juries argues that this was only possible due to the use of “street bail,” which denies people access to immediate and free legal advice.
Spokesperson Tim Crosland said that if hundreds insist on their right to legal advice at a police station, “the charade will be exposed,” and it will be harder for officers to arrest all those taking part.
“Any law that is so obviously wrong that it meets mass public opposition quickly becomes unenforceable, as it was with the poll tax in 1990, and the government will have to scrap it,” he said.
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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/charade-will-be-exposed
Scottish, Wales and Irish MPs call on Starmer to recall Parliament and ‘impose sanctions’ on Israel
Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, August 16, 2025PRIME Minister Sir Keir Starmer was urged today to recall Parliament to “impose immediate sanctions” on Israel in a joint letter signed by politicians in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The appeal, backed by senior figures across multiple parties, calls on the Prime Minister to take decisive action to end the crisis in Gaza amid long-standing demands for sanctions against Israel, growing international outrage at the genocide, and anger over the government’s crackdown on pro-Palestine protests.
Campaigners have raised a contempt of court complaint against Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, claiming she misled the public by saying that Palestine Action had been proscribed due to violence against people, when legal documents show the decision was based on property damage.
Signatories to the letter include Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill, SDLP leader Claire Hanna, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth and Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader Liz Saville-Roberts.
The letter says: “The humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza is both man-made and avoidable.
“It is characterised not only by relentless bombardment and destruction, but by the deliberate creation of conditions that are starving a civilian population.
“The blocking of food, water and medical supplies has precipitated what UN agencies and humanitarian experts describe as a man-made famine; one that is rapidly claiming lives and inflicting irreparable harm on an already traumatised population.”
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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/scottish-wales-and-irish-mps-call-starmer-recall-parliament-and-impose-sanctions-israel
Yvette Cooper facing contempt of court allegations over Observer article
https://www.thecanary.co/uk/news/2025/08/18/yvette-cooper-observer-article
On Sunday 17 August, campaign group Defend Our Juries levelled a contempt of court complaint against the home secretary Yvette Cooper over an article in the Observer. Notably, this was after she made repeated insinuations that the government proscribed Palestine Action because of violence against people.
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In its letter to Attorney General, Defend Our Juries said of Yvette Cooper and her Observer column:
It is not only disingenuous to present this isolated case as characteristic of Palestine Action, it is a contempt of court that prevents fair trials of those who stand accused. Yvette Cooper’s comments have been widely publicised, such that it would be impossible to find a jury unaffected by them.
We are not naïve regarding the political obstacles to commencing contempt of court proceedings against the Home Secretary.
But if the rule of law means anything, it is that no-one is above the law, most particularly the rich and powerful, such as Elbit Systems UK and Yvette Cooper. It is particularly egregious for a Home Secretary to abuse their office in this way, to present a false and misleading picture of those who face serious criminal charges.
Cooper referred to Israel’s starvation and slaughter of the Palestinian people as “crimes against humanity” in her Observer article. She wrote that:
So anyone who wants to protest against the catastrophic humanitarian situation and crimes against humanity in Gaza, to oppose Israel’s military offensive, or to criticise the actions of any and every government, including our own, has the freedom to do so.
So far as Defend Our Juries are aware, this is the first time the government has formally recognised that Israel is committing crimes against humanity.
This recognition comes with profound consequences in terms of the legal obligations that ensue.
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Original article at https://www.thecanary.co/uk/news/2025/08/18/yvette-cooper-observer-article
‘The protests are now unstoppable’
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/protests-are-now-unstoppable
A woman is led away by police officers as supporters of Palestine Action take part in a mass action in Parliament Square, Westminster, central London, August 9, 2025Thousands expected to attend next protest against Palestine Action ban, organiser say
THOUSANDS of people are expected to attend the next protest against the banning of Palestine Action under terror laws.
Announced today and planned for September 6, organisers Defend Our Juries (DOJ) are hopeful that the demonstration could lead to the ban on the direct action group being lifted, with Yvette Cooper losing her job as home secretary.
At least 532 people — half aged over 60 — were arrested for holding signs in support of Palestine Action, after an estimated 1,000 took part last weekend.
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Today, a spokesman for DOJ said: “With all the real challenges facing the country, it is absurd that the Labour government has generated a political crisis over people quietly holding cardboard signs against genocide in Parliament Square. This won’t be forgiven or forgotten.
“In a desperate attempt to justify their position, Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper have resorted to lying to the public about Palestine Action, claiming it to be a violent organisation, which they know to be false.
“The political ineptitude is staggering. The only beneficiaries of this policy — the brain-child of Lord Walney, a paid lobbyist — are the Israeli government and Elbit Systems, the main manufacturer of the weapons of genocide, with factories across Britain.
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See the original article at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/protests-are-now-unstoppable