UK police arrest Ken Loach screenwriter Paul Laverty for anti-genocide t-shirt

Police in Scotland have arrested I, Daniel Blake actor and veteran screenwriter Paul Laverty for a t-shirt, which read, "Genocide in Palestine, time to take action".

The arrest took place in Scottish capital Edinburgh during a protest against the UK government's support for Israel during the course of its genocide in Gaza.

An account on X representing I, Daniel Blake director Ken Loach and his production company Sixteen Films, confirmed Laverty's arrest on Monday.

"Paul Laverty currently being held in custody at St Leonard's Police Station Edinburgh... assumed to be for supporting PA," the account wrote on the social media platform.

In July, the UK proscribed Palestine Action, a protest group that had allegedly targeted arms manufacturers and military equipment in a series of direct action events.

Expressing or inviting support for Palestine Action is a criminal offence in the UK, punishable by up to 14 years in prison under the Terrorism Act 2000.

More than 500 people were arrested on 11 August, most of them over the age of 50, for alleged support of the group while attending a protest demanding the government lift the ban. Dozens of others have been arrested in other protests around the country.

Police briefly stopped a man in Scotland for wearing a T-shirt reading “Plasticine Action" after mistaking it for a “Palestine Action” shirt.

The UK outlawed the direct action group Palestine Action in July, after members broke into an RAF base and spray painted two airplanes. pic.twitter.com/A79vImYwF8

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) August 19, 2025

Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said in July that the UK’s decision to proscribe the campaign group as a terrorist organisation was “disproportionate and unnecessary” and called for the designation to be rescinded. 

He said: “UK domestic counter-terrorism legislation defines terrorist acts broadly to include ‘serious damage to property’.

"But, according to international standards, terrorist acts should be confined to criminal acts intended to cause death or serious injury or to the taking of hostages, for purpose of intimidating a population or to compel a government to take a certain action or not.

“It misuses the gravity and impact of terrorism to expand it beyond those clear boundaries, to encompass further conduct that is already criminal under the law.”