{"id":77639,"date":"2025-08-19T11:34:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T11:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/77639\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T11:34:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T11:34:09","slug":"ex-riba-president-slams-government-after-palestine-action-arrests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/77639\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-RIBA president slams government after Palestine Action arrests"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brady, RIBA president from 2011 to 2013, has spoken out following the arrest of architects on 9 August<\/a> for displaying messages in support of UK-designated terrorist group Palestine Action.<\/p>\n

The architect described the arrests as not only undermining the concern for human rights in Gaza, but also as a threat to freedom of speech in the UK.<\/p>\n

She told the AJ: \u2018As an architect, former president of RIBA and member of Architects for Gaza, but foremost, as a citizen, I am compelled to flag the oppression of liberty, humanity and agency.<\/p>\n

\u2018We [Architects for Gaza] call for the immediate de-proscription of Palestine Action and the dropping of all charges against those supporters of Palestine, including many of our architectural colleagues, who should be freed from the threat of jail, criminal records and fines.<\/p>\n

\u2018They stood up for humanity, justice and freedom and our human rights. The government, with its narrow vision, needs to recognise this.\u2019<\/p>\n

The protest saw hundreds gather in the streets of London to reveal items displaying support for Palestine Action in a coordinated demonstration. The Met Police then went into the crowds and arrested over 500 people, including architects Steve Fox and Nick Newman as well as former chair of the RIBA Procurement Reform Group Walter Menteth, and well-known academic Jeremy Till.<\/p>\n

Those four have since hit out at what they call an \u2018assault on democratic rights\u2019 by the government.<\/p>\n

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced that Palestine Action would be proscribed as a terrorist group in June, days after members of the organisation broke into RAF Brize Norton<\/a> in Oxfordshire to spray two military planes in red paint, causing around \u00a37 million of damage. Parliament overwhelmingly backed the classification in July.<\/p>\n

The amendment to the Terrorism Act 2000 makes it illegal to be a member of Palestine Action, express support for the group, or arouse suspicion of supporting it.<\/p>\n

Following the mass arrests, Cooper said: \u2018Palestine Action was proscribed based on strong security advice following serious attacks the group has committed, involving violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage.<\/p>\n

\u2018Many people may not yet know the reality of this organisation, but the assessments are very clear \u2013 this is not a non-violent organisation. UK national security and public safety must always be our top priority.\u2019<\/p>\n

At a meeting of Labour\u2019s National Executive Committee, prime minster Keir Starmer is reported to have said that the group had a history of \u2018break-ins, sabotage and targeting Jewish-owned businesses\u2019, and that the decision to proscribe them as terrorists was not intended to stifle debate.<\/p>\n

However, Brady called the proscription of Palestine Action a \u2018grave error\u2019 on the part of a government, which, she said, is \u2018looking in the wrong direction\u2019 and not \u2018listening to their own people or to the world, who stand in outcry\u2019 at the situation in Gaza.<\/p>\n

The former RIBA president pointed to statements made by United Nations human rights experts expressing concern at what they called the \u2018unjustified labelling of a political protest movement as terrorist\u2019.<\/p>\n

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, speaking to BBC Breakfast, today called for the government to review terrorism legislation to \u2018try to see if there are changes that can be made\u2019 in order to avoid what he described as people being arrested \u2018en masse\u2019.<\/p>\n

Encouraging people to speak out on the issues, Brady said: \u2018Silence is not an option and nor is silencing the people who stand up for what is right.<\/p>\n

\u2018This is particularly painful for those of us committed to architecture: a profession bound to imagine and create a better world.\u2019<\/p>\n

Brady also reiterated a list of demands for the RIBA. These were first published in June in a letter she co-authored for the campaign group Architects for Gaza, which was signed by over 775 architects and supporters.<\/p>\n

The letter called on the RIBA to \u2018publicly condemn\u2019 Israel for its actions in Gaza, \u2018adopt a boycott position\u2019 against UK firms and institutions operating in \u2018occupied territories\u2019, and refuse to collaborate with Israeli state institutions.<\/p>\n

The RIBA issued a response to these demands in June, which read: \u2018It [the RIBA] is required to adopt an apolitical stance on topics not relating to the furtherance of its charitable objectives \u2013 of the advancement of architecture.<\/p>\n

\u2018This means it is unable to comment, offer support, whether financially, or professionally through communications regarding the Israel-Gaza conflict. We can recommend that the best action for architects who wish to influence opinions on this subject is to do so through a non-charitable association.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Jeremy Till at the Palestine Action demonstration on 9 August<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brady, RIBA president from 2011 to 2013, has spoken out following the arrest of architects on 9 August…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":77640,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-77639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}