Massive Attack frontman Robert Del Naja has been arrested on suspicion of showing support for a proscribed organisation after attending a mass protest against the ban on Palestine Action in central London on Saturday.
Del Naja, also known as 3D, was among hundreds of fellow demonstrators in Trafalgar Square on Saturday afternoon, holding a sign that read “I Oppose Genocide, I Support Palestine Action”.
In footage of his arrest, Del Naja can be seen being approached by police officers who tell him he is being put under arrest, before carrying him away from the demonstration as other protesters cheer and applaud.
As he is being carried away, a man can be heard asking Del Naja: “Can you tell us why you’re being arrested today?” The musician replied: “I’m being unlawfully arrested.”
Before his arrest, Del Naja told the Press Association he wanted to attend the protest despite the consequences a potential arrest could have on his music career.
“Being a musician, obviously, there was a lot of trepidation around how we might not be able to travel and get visas,” he said.
“But I thought ‘this is ridiculous’ and then the police making that U-turn to arrest people again, I thought that is even more ridiculous. So I’m going to hold a sign today.
“If I get arrested, I feel very confident that if I stand up in court with the right guidance and say, ‘This was an unlawful arrest and, therefore, I don’t accept it’.”
He added: “I think that the actions of Palestine Action were highly patriotic because they were pretty much protecting our country from getting involved in serious war crimes and breaking international law.
“How much more patriotic can you be than that?”
Massive Attack are due to begin a summer tour in Europe from 26 May until 8 June, starting in Helsinki, Finland, then performing in Rättvik, Sweden; Copenhagen in Denmark; Berlin in Germany; and Brussels in Belgium.
The English trip-hop band was formed in Bristol in 1988 by Del Naja, Grant “Daddy G” Marshall, Adrian “Tricky” Thaws and Andrew “Mushroom” Vowles. As of 2025, the group consists only of Del Naja and Marshall.
More than 500 people were arrested on Saturday as part of the first mass demonstration opposing the proscription of Palestine Action since the group’s ban was ruled unlawful by the high court in February.
The high court judgment said the government’s proscription of the direct action group was “disproportionate and unlawful” and that most of their activities had not reached the level, scale and persistence to be defined as terrorism.
After that judgment, the Met indicated its officers would be unlikely to continue arrests. But by March, it said it would resume arresting protesters for supporting Palestine Action.
More than 2,200 people have been arrested so far for allegedly expressing support for Palestine Action.
Defend Our Juries, who organised the demonstration on Saturday, said: “The Met are choosing to make arrests despite the government’s ban on the group being ruled unlawful by the high court, and leading lawyers warning that any arrests would be unlawful.”
A spokesperson for the group described the arrests as “truly surreal”, adding: “An already absurdly authoritarian measure has now descended even further into farce ahead of the court of appeal hearing this month.”
The Metropolitan police said 523 people had been arrested by midnight on 11 April, with their ages ranging from 18 to 87.
Del Naja later published a statement on social media. “In Britain in 2026 you can be arrested under the Terrorism Act for sitting in silence, holding a cardboard sign stating that you oppose genocide & support non-violent action to prevent it,” it reads in part.
“Of course, everyone knows this is total madness (including many of the police officers making these arrests, and the High Court judges who recently ruled them unlawful), and yet, somehow it continues. Everyone also knows that the sheer desperation of Palestine Action activists vandalising military equipment isn’t terrorism. No one actually believes that … The sense of madness can be overcome. We can demand that our government upholds international laws that previous generations sacrificed their lives for.”
Press Association contributed to this report
