The Defend Our Juries group, which organized the demonstration, advised protesters to passively resist arrest and refuse to give police their names and addresses, to force officers to take them into custody.

Six people accused of organizing Defend Our Juries meetings were arrested hours before a scheduled news conference on Tuesday and charged with encouraging support for Palestine Action, an offense for which those found guilty can be sentenced to up to 14 years in prison.

When the rescheduled news conference took place without them on Wednesday, Defend Our Juries supporters accused the British government and the police of attacking free speech and the right to protest.