Alfred Enoch, the British actor best known for playing Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter films, was among demonstrators gathered outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday as Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori brought her legal challenge against the organisation’s ban to the UK’s highest court.
Mr Enoch, an Oxford University graduate who also starred in How to Get Away with Murder, carried a placard bearing the words “this is democracy, not terrorism.”
He was not detained by officers. However, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that 27 individuals were arrested on suspicion of expressing support for a proscribed organisation after more than 20 demonstrators assembled before the hearing began.
Under legislation passed during Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership, displaying support for Palestine Action constitutes a criminal offence under the Terrorism Act.
Speaking to the Press Association, Mr Enoch said he hoped the prohibition on Palestine Action would be overturned.
“You can see the chilling effect it’s had,” he said. “I think it’s part of a wider erosion of the rights of protest, which is fundamental to a democracy.
“People don’t even feel safe enough to come out and say that.”
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The actor has previously voiced his support for the Palestinian cause; in November 2025, he addressed a London demonstration opposing the proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation.
Mr Enoch also spoke to Novara Media about his motivations for attending. He said: “I’m here because democracy isn’t just putting an X on a piece of paper every four or five years. It’s something that we need to engage in, and that asks for our engagement constantly.
“And that’s part of what this is about. My ancestors were shipped across the world and forced to work in bondage. They were enslaved. And there was a law that apparently legitimised that. When people don’t do anything, injustices continue.
“I’m here to try and do something and to engage in my responsibility as a citizen of this country. Supposedly, the idea is to frighten people away out of engaging in their democratic rights. But that’s what I feel, and I think that’s what a lot of people feel.
“That’s why more people, I think, aren’t here. People would agree at least with the sign that I’m holding up, but people aren’t here because they’re frightened, and I’m frightened. And I think we’re in a situation where people are frightened of protesting, expressing their democratically enshrined – supposedly – convictions; then we’re in a bad place as a society.”
Ms Ammori’s legal battle has wound through multiple courts. In February, the High Court deemed the ban “disproportionate” and unlawful, but the Court of Appeal reversed that finding in June, ruling the proscription was lawful.
Her barrister, Raza Husain KC, argued before the justices that Palestine Action’s aims were “aligned with, rather than abhorrent to liberal democratic values.” He noted that of 385 actions carried out by the group over five years, the Home Secretary’s own advisers assessed just three, less than one per cent, as meeting the statutory definition of terrorism, and solely on the basis of “serious damage to property.”
Representing the Home Office, Sir James Eadie KC countered that serious property damage could constitute terrorism without any violence against individuals. He maintained that the ban does not restrict broader expressions of support for the Palestinian cause, only direct support for Palestine Action itself.
Since the law took effect in June 2025, more than 3,000 people have been arrested at demonstrations across the country.
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