Andrew Stevenson: Proscription laws risk blurring line between terrorism and protest

Andrew Stevenson

The discomfort is augmented where there is an element of the ludicrous, exemplified by the image of TV’s clay puppet Morph accompanying the words “Plasticine Action”.

Those of us who grew up in the 1970s will remember the relentless carnage inflicted within the UK by the Provisional IRA and other terrorists. The Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1974 to 1989 were quite simple pieces of legislation. Under the section headed “Proscribed organisations” they forbade membership of and support for such groups, listed in Schedule 1.

Initially there was one entry in the schedule (the IRA), although, subject to safeguards, the Secretary of State could, and did, add to that list, as long as the terrorism occurred in the UK and was “connected with Northern Irish affairs”.

Section 9 of the 1974 Act essentially defined terrorism as “the use of violence for political ends”. Notably, however, because proscription was limited by Schedule 1, the Act had no effect on unlisted groups which, by the Section 9 test alone, were terrorist, such as the African National Congress, Palestine Liberation Organisation and many others.

The 1989 Act was repealed by and replaced by the Terrorism Act 2000. This legislation is far messier than its predecessors. One of its chief problems is that it targets foreign groups or factions whose direct “terrorist” threat to the UK or UK citizens or interests must be incidental or negligible.

In effect, the UK may take sides in foreign conflicts or disputes with the disfavoured protagonist being deemed not merely criminal but terrorist. The 2000 Act includes Schedule 2 of proscribed organisations. The IRA is still first on the list, but there then follows around over 80 other groups, such as the Baluchistan Liberation Army, which violently seeks the secession of that province from Pakistan. There is no doubt the ANC would be on the list if white rule still prevailed in South Africa.

Palestine Action was listed in July 2025 by the Home Secretary, at the same time as two neo-fascist groups named Russian Imperial Movement and the Maniacs’ Murder Cult. Palestine Action has carried out acts of trespass and vandalism including one at a factory in Glasgow three years ago when pyrotechnics and smoke bombs were thrown, to the distress of staff.

The trigger for the group’s proscription seems, however, to have been an incident where members broke into RAF Brize Norton and threw paint at a warplane. This highlights another feature of the 2000 Act; its definition of terrorism is far wider than its 1974-89 predecessors and encompasses action which “involves serious damage to property”.

However, although the protest group Just Stop Oil staged a number of incidents in which protesters glued themselves to prominent works of art, it was never proscribed. Extinction Rebellion is unlisted too. Instead, individuals have been prosecuted for criminal damage.

This area of law is currently chaotic and likely to have a chilling effect on protest. Would it be an infringement of anti-terrorism laws to walk along Sauchiehall Street wearing a baseball cap bearing the words “Palestine Faction”, for example? Putting this to the test is not recommended.

Andrew Stevenson is secretary of Scottish Law Agents Society. This article first appeared in The Scotsman.