Photo credit: Sharon Alagna

According to NME, Massive Attack have criticized the government following the arrest of “peaceful citizens” during a Palestine Action rally in London. More than 500 individuals were taken into custody at a large-scale demonstration held in central London on Saturday, August 9. 

The protest was organized by the campaign group Defend Our Juries and showed strong backing for Palestine Action, a direct action group that the UK government has designated as a terrorist organization. Due to its classification under the Terrorism Act 2000, membership in or open support for Palestine Action constitutes a criminal offence, potentially leading to a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

On August 10, Primal Scream condemned the arrests, and Massive Attack’s Robert del Naja also expressed his outrage through an extensive post on Instagram. He began by stating, “UK civil liberties are trapped in a deeply cynical, manufactured crisis.”

He critiqued how people who are peaceful and morally driven — including vulnerable groups like the elderly, disabled and even a retired army colonel — are being labelled as terrorists by a government now controlled by someone who was once a human rights lawyer but has become authoritarian. 

He further wrote, “The ultimate truth though is that this is not really about silent, crouched citizens surrounded by packs of 10 burly British police men & women & thrown in caged vans, nor the politicians with the masks of corporate lobbying & genocide complicity torn from their faces”

“It’s about trying to fill with distractions the vast & expanding gulf between the horror of the British public – of more than 2 years of the citizens of Gaza, burning alive in tents, being shot dead in food queues, or dropping dead where they stand from starvation – and the duplicitous, arrogant & cowardly complicity of their government,” he wrote.

He also criticized Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, saying, “On Saturday, 521 distressed citizens peacefully & reluctantly wasted police time; because wasting police time is now the official policy of Yvetter Cooper; a Home Secretary who views your civil liberties as a useful political device.”

“Those 521 people are willing to pay with their liberty for the vindictive shame of those they elected to power. I hope none of us repeat that mistake at future elections.”

Separately, Massive Attack recently revealed a coalition of musicians united in speaking out about Gaza, standing firm against “intimidations from within” the music business.

Refugee charity Choose Love, alongside celebrities such as Dua Lipa, Riz Ahmed, Primal Scream, and Benedict Cumberbatch, responded critically to Starmer’s stance, demanding an end to “UK complicity in Gaza” and stating, “We need action not words.”