UK watchdog says counterterrorism law could hit protests, free speech

Britain's terrorism watchdog on Wednesday said the government risked stretching counterterrorism laws beyond their original purpose by using such powers against activist groups, blurring the ‌line between protests and national security threats. In his annual report examining the use of Britain's terrorism legislation during 2024, independent reviewer Jonathan Hall said the subsequent banning of pro-Palestine group Palestine Action had exposed "real uncertainty" over whether serious damage to property alone should qualify ‌as terrorism. The law's broad wording could without clearer limits risk pulling protest activity into terrorism policing, even where there ‌is no intent to harm people, Hall said.

"There is no legal authority on what 'serious damage to property' means," Hall wrote, saying the definition could extend beyond violent attacks to acts such as criminal damage, depending on how courts interpret the threshold. While he said it was unthinkable to remove ⁠property damage entirely ​from the legal definition of ⁠terrorism, he suggested lawmakers could narrow the test, for example by requiring a risk to life, a national security dimension or exclusion for non-violent protest. His ⁠report comes as the government appeals a High Court ruling that found the banning of Palestine Action unlawful on the grounds of free ​speech. The ban, imposed in July 2025, remains in force pending the outcome of the appeal. UN Human ⁠Rights Chief Volker Turk warned at the time that using counterterrorism legislation to implement the ban on Palestine Action risked "hindering the legitimate exercise of fundamental ⁠freedoms across ​the UK".

Hall's report also highlighted growing reliance on counterterrorism laws to police online propaganda and political expression. The independent reviewer also looked at the 2024 banning of Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir and the extreme right-wing online Terrorgram network, describing both as ⁠cases where organisations were banned primarily for online rhetoric rather than operational violence.

Terrorism offences linked to proscribed organisations rose in 2024, ⁠driven in part by arrests ⁠following Britain's ban on Hamas after its October 2023 attack on Israel, with Hall saying that prosecution numbers would rise further after Palestine Action's ban in 2025. Interior minister Shabana Mahmood said ‌in a statement ‌that she would review Hall's recommendations before responding.

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