Multiple arrests as hundreds of pro-Palestine Action demonstrators gather outside Labour conference

Two demonstrators have been arrested by police outside the Labour Party conference during a protest in support of Palestine Action.

Over 200 protesters gathered outside the conference in Liverpool, with many holding homemade banners reading: "I support Palestine Action," the proscribed organisation.

Dozens of officers monitored the scene before stepping in to arrest an elderly man sitting under a tree.

Police executed another arrest after informing a demonstrator he was holding a banner supporting a banned group, leading him away after asking whether he planned to continue holding it.

Further protesters are expected to occupy the same spot as those who were taken into custody.

A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries, which organised the demonstration, said: "We had hoped the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, would do the sensible thing and bin the ban on Palestine Action given the weight of public pressure to do so and the escalating amount of resources required in enforcing it.

"Continuing the charade of the proscription of Palestine Action is illogical, unsustainable and immoral.

"Hundreds of people, from professions including teachers, pensioners, and healthcare workers, are willing to be arrested today to let Andy Burnham know that it is not enough just to say that Israel is committing war crimes including ethnic cleansing in Gaza, he must take meaningful action to end UK complicity with Israel’s crimes.

"The first step the PM could do today, from the podium of his inaugural party conference is to commit to ending the prosecution and jailing of people as terrorists just for standing up against war crimes and genocide."

Arrests persisted throughout the afternoon as officers targeted individuals carrying banners stating: "I support Palestine. I oppose genocide."

Demonstrators cheered each time someone was carried away by police, chanting "free, free Palestine".

The total number of arrests reached double figures an hour after police intervention commenced.