'This isn't the Britain I grew up in': The activists raided by police over Palestine Action videos

Marji Mansfield, a 70-year-old grandmother of seven, has been waiting for British counterterrorism police to show up at her door.

The anxiety sharpens between five and seven in the morning, when police usually conduct dawn raids, particularly if she has her grandchildren stay overnight.

“It’s been really, really quite scary not knowing when there's going to be the knock at the door,” Mansfield told Middle East Eye.

“This isn't the Britain that I thought I grew up in at all. We've been scared enough to go and sleep elsewhere.”

Mansfield is among scores of activists, many of them elderly, who are awaiting dawn raids from counterterrorism police after publishing videos of themselves inviting support for the banned direct action group Palestine Action.

Since the government proscribed the organisation in July 2025, over 3,000 people have been arrested under the Terrorism Act for participating in silent vigils in support of Palestine Action.

But in June, after the Court of Appeal quashed a High Court ruling and found the ban to be lawful, Defend Our Juries (DOJ) - the group helming the campaign to reverse the ban - called for an "escalation" in activism.

This involved activists inviting support for the group rather than simply expressing support, an offence that can carry a 14-year sentence under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act. So far, most activists have been arrested under the lesser charge of Section 13.