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Dozens arrested at pro-Palestine protest on Sunday outside Labour conference

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Cite

Weaver, M. (2026, September 28). Dozens arrested at pro-Palestine protest on Sunday outside Labour conference. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/sep/28/dozens-arrested-pro-palestine-protest-labour-conference

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Guardian · collected 2026-09-28 · by Matthew Weaver

Quick Summary

At a pro-Palestine protest outside the Labour party conference in Liverpool on Sunday, more than 160 people were either arrested or reported for summons by police. Specifically, 82 individuals were detained for allegedly supporting Palestine Action, which is banned under UK law. The number of arrests this year exceeds those from last year’s similar event. Protesters criticized the Labour party and called out Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband regarding the arrests, with some activists confronting him during a meal in Pizza Express.
Written by AI on 2026-09-28, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On Sunday during the Labour Party conference in Liverpool led by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, over 250 pro-Palestine protesters gathered to show support for Palestine Action, a group banned as "terrorist" since July 2025. The protest included demonstrators holding homemade banners reading “I support Palestine Action,” and chanting slogans like "free, free Palestine." Prominent figures such as Robert Del Naja from the band Massive Attack and 94-year-old human rights barrister Margaret Owen were among those arrested by police under the Terrorism Act for displaying banned group materials. Over 3,600 people have been arrested since the ban was implemented due to similar protests. Amnesty International UK’s chief executive Kerry Moscogiuri criticized the arrests as a "shameful attack on free speech," calling for reforms that protect communities' right to demonstrate peacefully.

Written for “Pro-Palestine Protests Arrests” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 9 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Pro-Palestine Protests Arrests
Politics · 10 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this Hedges 4 of 31 claims Outlet record 60/100
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 60/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 10 claims Outlet record 65/100
Evening Standard
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 12 claims Outlet record 65/100
“Article A describes plans for a march on October 7th anniversary, while Article B reports arrests at a pro-Palestine protest outside Labour conference on Sunday.”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 3 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles describe different protests on separate dates and locations.”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 60/100
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A covers multiple arrests during a larger protest, while Article B focuses on a single arrest of a 94-year-old Jewish barrister at a later time.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 0 of 19 claims Outlet record 68/100
“While both articles describe pro-Palestinian protests and arrests during the Labour party conference, Article A specifically mentions Ed Miliband being confronted by activists at a Pizza Express restaurant, which is not mentioned in Article B.”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 14 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles report different numbers of arrests and specify distinct charges for those arrested.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
10
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-28 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 2764 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Matthew Weaver
10 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 “Merseyside police respects the right to protest, but where offences are committed, proportionate action will be taken.”
🔮 I would hope everyone else would do the same, whether or not they are wearing a cape or a cowl.”
Also by Matthew Weaver
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 10 articles by Matthew Weaver →

Topics

Defend Our Juries Labour Liverpool Merseyside Palestine Action

Subjects

Merseyside GPE · 5× Labour ORG · 4× Defend Our Juries ORG · 2× Ed Miliband PERSON · 2× Gaza GPE · 2× Liverpool ORG · 2× Miliband PERSON · 2× Palestine Action ORG · 2× Peter Clark PERSON · 1× Pizza Express ORG · 1×

Narrative

Supt Peter Clark of force operations at Merseyside police said: “We have a comprehensive policing plan in place to deal with incidents, and have been working closely with partners including Liverpool Experience Campus, event organisers and security providers to ensure the smooth and safe running of the Labour party conference.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-28
🔮 “Merseyside police respects the right to protest, but where offences are committed, proportionate action will be taken.”

Claims (18 extracted, 1 hedged)

More than 160 people were arrested or reported for summons at a pro-Palestine demonstration outside the Labour party conference on Sunday, police have said. asserted
police → arrest → Sunday
Officers arrested 82 people on suspicion of wearing or carrying an article supporting a proscribed organisation, according to the Merseyside force. uncertain
Officers → arrest → force
They were taken into police custody before being released on bail. asserted
They → take → bail
A further 79 people were reported for summons. asserted
people → report → summons
In a protest organised by Defend Our Juries, scores of people sat outside the conference centre in Liverpool, many holding handmade banners saying they supported the banned group Palestine Action. asserted
they → organise → group
In a statement, Merseyside police said it estimated 180 people attended, and that “not everyone present was committing a criminal offence”. asserted
everyone → say → offence
Two activists also confronted the foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, during a meal in Pizza Express in the city centre where he was challenged about the arrests. asserted
he → confront → arrests
Video of the incident showed one of the protesters urging Miliband to declare a genocide in Gaza and de-proscribe Palestine Action. asserted
one → show → Action
Miliband said he was happy to discuss the issue but at another time, before the protesters were ushered out. asserted
protesters → say → time
The number of arrests this year is 16 more than were arrested at a similar pro-Palestine demonstration on the first day of Labour’s conference last year in Liverpool. asserted
number → arrest → Liverpool
A police statement said: “Merseyside police respects everyone’s rights to protest lawfully, while also aiming to keep the peace and ensure the public are safe. asserted
public → say → peace
“The force makes detailed and coordinated plans ahead of such events to ensure it can apply this consistently, fairly and proportionately.” asserted
it → make → this
Supt Peter Clark of force operations at Merseyside police said: “We have a comprehensive policing plan in place to deal with incidents, and have been working closely with partners including Liverpool Experience Campus, event organisers and security providers to ensure the smooth and safe running of the Labour party conference. asserted
We → say → conference
“Merseyside police respects the right to protest, but where offences are committed, proportionate action will be taken.” asserted
action → respect → right
Defend Our Juries claimed more than 200 people took part in the protest. asserted
people → claim → protest
It said: “Inside the Labour party conference today, Ed Miliband will tell campaigners and party members that they were right to build political pressure over Gaza with their protests. asserted
they → say → protests
If he means what he says, why are those taking a principled stand against genocide still being arrested as terrorists?” asserted
those → mean → terrorists
The group said one of those arrested was the 94-year-old human rights barrister Margaret Owen. asserted
one → say → those
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