890 people were arrested in London on Saturday during a protest opposing the government’s ban on the group Palestine Action.

Five members of the Radnor Palestine Links group, who have been organising fortnightly demonstrations in Knighton, Presteigne, Craven Arms, and Ludlow over the last 23 months, were among those arrested under the Terrorism Act.

The protest took place at Parliament Square as part of the “Lift the Ban” campaign, which challenges the proscription of Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000. Supporting or being a member of the group is now a criminal offence, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. An estimated 1,500 people took part.

The Metropolitan Police said 857 of the arrests were for showing support for Palestine Action, while 33 were made for other offences, including 17 for assaults on police officers.

Members of the Radnor Palestine Links group said they were peacefully protesting.

Angie Zelter, peace and environmental campaigner from Knucklas, 74, said: “Defying the monstrous proscription of a peaceful disarmament group who have managed to close down some of the Israeli Elbit factories in the UK is necessary and legitimate. Palestine Action were only doing what the government itself should have been doing to stop the genocide.”

Michael Callaghan, grandfather-of-four from Bleddfa, 71, said: “I joined the protest because I cannot stand by while our government twists truth in order to ban a group whose entire aim was to prevent that same government from supporting the genocidal attack on Gaza by Israel.”

Camilla Saunders, musician and composer from Knucklas, 72, said: “I am sickened by my government’s complicity in genocide. I mourn the deaths of all life, especially of those poets, artists and musicians whose creativity and cultures have been despised and destroyed in Gaza and the West Bank.”

The Metropolitan Police said officers had been “punched, kicked, spat on, and had objects thrown at them” and described the violence as “coordinated” by masked individuals.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Claire Smart, who led the policing operation, said: “The contrast between this demonstration and the other protests we policed yesterday, including the Palestine Coalition march attended by around 20,000 people, was stark.

“You can express your support for a cause without committing an offence under the Terrorism Act or descending into violence and disorder, and many thousands of people do that in London every week.

“We have a duty to enforce the law without fear or favour. If you advertise that you are intending to commit a crime, we have no option but to respond accordingly.”

Defend Our Juries, which organised the rally, said officers had "violently assault[ed] peaceful protesters including the elderly, in order to try and arrest over a thousand people for holding cardboard signs".

They said the demonstration showed the Palestine Action ban was "impossible to enforce and a preposterous waste of resources.”