86 arrested after breaching London prison grounds in support of Palestine Action
Police say activists blocked staff from moving at Wormwood Scrubs while demonstrating for hunger striker held over alleged crimes linked to banned anti-Israel group
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LONDON — Eighty-six people were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass after protesters breached the grounds of a London prison in support of an anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian hunger striker, UK police said Sunday.
The group was “protesting in support of a Palestine Action prisoner on a hunger strike” late Saturday and then refused to leave the prison grounds when ordered to do so, London’s Metropolitan Police said on X.
“They allegedly blocked prison staff from entering and leaving, threatened police officers, and a number managed to get inside a staff entrance area of a prison building,” police said, adding “all those involved” were detained.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson described the incident as “deeply concerning.”
The incident took place outside HMP Wormwood Scrubs in West London, where a man named Muhammad Umer Khalid is being held and has been on hunger strike for over two weeks, according to the campaign group Prisoners for Palestine.
He is one of several people who have been on hunger strike at various points in recent months as they await trial for an alleged break-in and criminal damage on behalf of the Palestine Action campaign group before it was banned under anti-terrorism laws.
Palestine Action supporters are at HMP Wormwood Scrubs. They are supporting hunger striker Mohammed Umer Khalid, who is accused of conspiracy to commit criminal damage.
After causing an affray, some are arrested.pic.twitter.com/5L3cndQ4XE
— David Atherton (@DaveAtherton20) January 25, 2026
Khalid and the others deny those charges and have called for them to be dropped.
Palestine Action was founded in 2020 and gained prominence with protests targeting Israeli defense companies and British firms linked to them. It stepped up its actions during the Gaza war, sparked by the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023. It accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza, an allegation rejected by Israel.
The group was proscribed as a terrorist organization in July 2025, making it a crime to be a member, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. More than 2,700 people have since been arrested for holding signs in support of Palestine Action, according to protest organizers Defend Our Juries.
The Times of Israel Community.