The Chief Constable of Kent Police has issued a formal apology and agreed to pay damages to Ms Laura Murton, after she was threatened with arrest under the Terrorism Act and wrongly accused by the force of protesting in support of the proscribed group ‘Palestine Action’.
On 14 July 2025, Ms Murton took part in a single-person protest in support of the Palestinian people and in opposition to the Israeli government’s genocide being perpetrated against them. She held signs which read “Free Gaza” and “Israel is committing genocide.” Neither of her signs referred to Palestine Action, and when questioned by police, she made clear that she did not support any proscribed organisation. Despite this, she was detained and threatened with arrest under the Terrorism Act 2000.
In response to a judicial review letter of claim sent to Kent Police by Bhatt Murphy on 8 August 2025, the force has now accepted that the decision to detain and threaten Ms Murton with arrest, and to prohibit her from engaging in the protest, breached her rights under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (freedom of expression) and her common law rights to free speech.
Kent Police have also admitted that processing Ms Murton’s personal data in connection with the incident breached the Data Protection Act 2018 and Article 8 ECHR (right to respect for private and family life), and that its actions were inconsistent with national Counter Terrorism Policing Guidance on policing the proscription of Palestine Action.
The force also confirmed that any materially similar protest in the future would not give rise to reasonable grounds to suspect a Terrorism Act offence.
Ms Murton said: “People should continue to exercise their lawful right to protest in support of Palestinian people despite the proscription of Palestine Action. I hope this case serves as a reminder to chief constables across the country that there should be no unlawful interference with those protest rights.”
Shamik Dutta at Bhatt Murphy, who represented Ms Murton, said “This is the first time a Chief Constable has been compelled to pay damages and offer an apology arising from the unlawful policing of the proscription of Palestine Action. Regrettably, Ms Murton’s experience is not unique and given the national failure of police forces to respect rights to free speech in this context, her case is unlikely to be the last.”
Ms Murton is represented by Shamik Dutta, Caleb Simpson and Rachel Cope-Thompson of Bhatt Murphy.
See Guardian newspaper reports of 13 October 2025 here, 8 August 2025 here and 17 July 2025 here.
See the full written apology on behalf of the Chief Constable of Kent Police here.
