BRITAIN’S terror laws are “not fit for purpose,” campaigners warned yesterday after official data found nearly half of all terror arrests since 9/11 have been in the past year.
Of the 6,539 terrorism arrests in Britain since the 2001 attacks on the twin towers, 3,021 have taken place in the year ending March 31 2026.
Home Offices figures showed the steep increase coincides with when the department banned the Palestine Action on July 5 last year, which led to thousands of arrests for alleged support of the direct action group.
Liberty director of external relations Ruth Ehrlich said this revealed the “urgent need to update the current definition of terrorism to enable current and future governments to uphold their duty to safeguard the public whilst protecting people’s rights and preventing overreach.
“The staggering increase in arrests over the past year is the clearest indicator that the UK’s counter-terror laws are not fit for purpose.
“The government’s current definition of terrorism is so wide-ranging it captures behaviour most people would never consider terrorism.”
The ban has been criticised by UN experts, non-governmental organisations, a former director of the security services and a former director of public prosecutions.
It has faced fierce opposition from the public, including from Defend Our Juries (DOJ) which organised mass demonstrations which saw people holding signs in support of the banned group.
Following DOJ’s Lift The Ban campaign, terrorism arrests were up 1,434 per cent in the year ending March 31, compared with the previous year.
Home Office data revealed there was also a 3,761 per cent increase in women and girls arrested and a 2,306 per cent increase in arrests of those aged 30 and over.
DOJ puts the number of those arrested on charges related to support for Palestine Action has risen to more than 3,600, which would be more than half of arrests since 9/11.
A spokesperson said the statistics “expose the true nature of how the British government uses terror laws” and that they serve “to silence those who speak and act against genocide.”
The Home Office said: “Showing support for a proscribed organisation is against the law. Decisions to arrest are operational matters for the police and are taken on the basis of the facts and circumstances of each case.”
