Half of arrests at Palestine Action ban protest were 60 or over, data shows (Guardian, 2025-08-10)
>> A total of 532 people were arrested at the largest demonstration relating to the group since it was proscribed last month. All but 10 were under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act for displaying supportive placards or signs.
>> An age breakdown released by the Metropolitan police on Sunday revealed that nearly 100 of those detained were in their 70s and 15 were in their 80s. Of the 519 arrested people with confirmed dates of birth, 49.9% were 60 or older…
Is this surprising? That’s the age group least likely to be spending the weekend caring for a child, while also having the disposable income to turn up and fewer have work on Monday.
Retired people don’t need jobs.
This is evidence of the chilling effect on protests of these fascist laws.
If I get arrested on false “terrorist charges” I probably lose me job. If not that I’ll never get promoted.
Even if I’m willing to take the social cost of publicly protesting against the genocide, I genuinely can’t afford the financial cost.
A sacrifice that puts me back into poverty might be a moral choice I should make but it’s not one I will.
Those on the bottom rung financially, or the top rung, have less to lose than anyone in the middle of working age.
Should we be really paying a state pension to terrorists… Not my opinion, but a possible thought process.