US EditionTop UK Screenwriter Laverty Arrested at Pro-Palestine Protest
Paul Laverty, aged 68, was arrested at a pro-Palestine protest for supporting Palestine Action, a banned group linked to RAF base vandalism, amid over 700 related arrests since July, police said.
- On Monday, 25 August 2025, Police Scotland arrested Paul Laverty, Scottish screenwriter, under the Terrorism Act 2000 in Edinburgh, and he is held at St Leonard's Police Station after a protest.
- The UK proscribed Palestine Action in July after members damaged an RAF base, making support a criminal offence under the Terrorism Act 2000 punishable by up to 14 years, with over 700 arrests since.
- Witnesses said officers arrested Paul Laverty in the Summerhall courtyard and told bystanders to delete video or face terror charges; authorities say he faces a terrorism charge for wearing a T‑shirt stating "Genocide in Palestine, time to take action."
- Sixteen Films' X account confirmed Laverty's arrest on Monday; he had joined last week's protest supporting Moira McFarlane, charged under terror laws for wearing the T-shirt.
- Amid last week's mass arrests at protests, the case sharpens civil liberties questions as UN high commissioner Volker Turk called the UK's proscription 'disproportionate and unnecessary' and witness claims highlight tensions during Edinburgh festivals policing and the 11 August protest.
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screenwriter Paul Laverty arrested for wearing shirt with “Palestine” and “Action” separately
Award-winner targeted by authoritarian policing Double Palme d’Or winning screenwriter (and lawyer) Paul Laverty was arrested on Monday, a day on which Israel twice bombed a Gaza hospital in order to slaughter journalists and rescue workers, for supposedly supporting Palestine Action, the non-violent direct action group banned as terrorists – at the behest of pro-Israel groups and despite condemnation from UN and human rights legal experts – by …
Solidarity with Palestine Action!
In July, the solidarity group Palestine Action was “proscribed” — banned — by the British government for allegedly violating the Terrorism Act, passed by Parliament in 2000. The Act prohibits “serious damage to property” even when no human beings are hurt. In the case of Palestine Action, the fact that . . . Continue reading Solidarity with Palestine Action! at Workers.org
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Top UK screenwriter Laverty arrested at pro-Palestine protest
Screenwriter Paul Laverty, best known for his collaborations with director Ken Loach including on the award-winning "I, Daniel Blake," was arrested Monday at a pro-Palestine protest for supporting a banned organisation, Scottish police said.
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