At least five journalists were briefly arrested while covering a pro-Palestine Action protest in Leicester on Thursday.
The journalists arrested included two reporters for local publication Leicester Gazette and three freelance photojournalists.
They were held on the scene for around two hours by Leicestershire Police before being de-arrested.
Some 35 protesters were arrested and taken into custody after gathering outside a drone factory owned by Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems in the Meridian Business Park, Braunstone. They have since been released on bail.
The journalists were caught up as everyone at the scene was arrested and only allowed to leave after they shared identifying details to prove they were there in their capacity as journalists.
The arrests, including those made of the journalists, came under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which makes it an offence to wear clothing or display an article in a way that arouses reasonable suspicion that a person is a member or supporter of a proscribed organisation.
Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK in July 2025, making it a criminal offence to belong to the group or “recklessly express support for them”.
Journalists were allegedly accused by police of livestreaming the event but Press Gazette understands the Leicester Gazette reporters were not doing so.
Leicester Gazette, which has chosen not to name its journalists who were affected, has taken legal advice and plans to submit a formal complaint to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Emma Guy, membership editor at Leicester Gazette, said: “The freedom to report is not optional. Our journalists were clearly identified as members of the press and were doing their jobs. We will challenge what happened and work to ensure reporters can cover matters of public interest without fear of arrest.”
Freelance photojournalist Just Barold, who posts on social media under this name, claimed seven journalists were arrested.
Sharing a video of himself questioning why he needed to give his details to a police officer when he had already shown his NUJ press card, Barold wrote: “Multiple journalists including myself were arrested under section 13 of the Terrorism Act for going to work.
“An officer told me that I would be de-arrested as soon as I gave my details despite identifying myself as a journalist with a press card.
“Our arresting officer was unable to articulate what caused the suspicion but it did instantly vanish when they got my name address and date of birth and I have now been de-arrested however several local journalists are still being held under suspicion in the cordon.”
He later wrote that seven journalists and a legal observer were arrested along with the rest of the people present but that they were let go after “protracted wrangling” and agreeing to share their personal information.
Barold claimed he was told “one of the functions of the arrests was to ascertain everyone’s identity”.
A spokesperson for Leicestershire Police said: “A number of people identifying themselves as journalists were at the scene of protest activity yesterday in Meridian Way, Braunstone.
“To affect a thorough investigation, due to the circumstances and number of people at the scene, everyone was placed under arrest and told to remain in the area.
“Once these individuals had been spoken to, details provided to officers and it was established that no offences had been committed, they were de-arrested. These people were not taken to into custody.”
NUJ: ‘Chilling effect’ on free press
Laura Davison, National Union of Journalists (NUJ) general secretary, said the union is “seeking further details”.
“As the union made clear following the UK government’s decision to ban the organisation last year, covering Palestine Action protests and taking photographs or videos of the group’s placards does not in of itself constitute support for the group. We reiterate that bona fide newsgatherers have a right to report – including at protests and other public order events,” she added.
“Any obstruction of this right not only has a chilling effect on free speech and a free press, it also undermines the public’s right to know. These rights have come under increasing attack in recent years with the introduction of restrictive legislation around protests and strikes, the detention of journalists under the Terrorism Act, and increasing intimidation and physical assaults against journalists from members of the public.
“The NUJ will robustly defend its members when counter-terror legislation is abused to obstruct the right to report in the public interest. We will continue to raise such issues directly with the UK government as well as through our ongoing engagement with police bodies, and as part of the National Committee for the Safety of Journalists. We also point members to our guidance on reporting on proscribed organisations.”
Reporters Without Borders said in a statement it was “deeply concerned to hear of the arrest of journalists covering a protest in Leicester, particularly given they had identified themselves as such to police.
“No journalist should have to weigh the risk of arrest against their duty to inform the public. If reporters cannot cover protests freely, the public is left in the dark about events it has a right to know about. Policing and Government must ensure that journalists are free to do their jobs without interference.”
The arrests came after police-media guidelines for England and Wales were updated in February.
The guidance encourages officers to interact with journalists at all levels, allow for off-the-record briefings and explicitly protect the right of journalists to cover public incidents without interferences.
In March a new Policing and Media Charter for England and Wales was published that included clauses to improve press-media relations. Both updates follow years of a decline in trust between police and journalists in the wake of the Leveson Inquiry.
In November 2022 four journalists – LBC reporter Charlotte Lynch, documentary maker Rich Felgate and photographers Tom Bowles and Ben Cawthra – were arrested in the space of two days by Hertfordshire Police while covering Just Stop Oil protests on the M25. A review found their arrests may have constituted “unlawful interference” in their freedom of expression.
Photographer Peter Macdiarmid received a payout from Surrey Police last month after he was handcuffed and detained for several hours while covering a Just Stop Oil protest at an M25 petrol station in August 2022.
A MyLondon reporter spent seven hours in police custody two days later after being arrested covering a petrol station protest in Hammersmith.
And in 2024 the Metropolitan Police settled with three journalists who were detained and stopped from covering a Black Lives Matter protest in London in 2014.
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