The BMJ’s former editor in chief, Fiona Godlee, was arrested this weekend alongside over a dozen other healthcare workers at a demonstration outside the Houses of Parliament in London while holding a sign reading, “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
The protest in Parliament Square on 6 September attracted an estimated crowd of 1500 to demonstrate against the genocide in Gaza,1 the UK’s continuing supply of arms to Israel, and the government’s proscription of the group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation.
In a video clip obtained by The BMJ Godlee is seen sitting at the protest holding a sign as six police officers approach (video 1). One then speaks to Godlee, telling her she is under arrest, before she is then taken away by two officers, with one confiscating her sign and a white flower she was also holding.
At this point Godlee, who did not resist, turns to her fellow protesters and is heard to say, “I am very proud to be here with all these people. I think the government has made a big mistake in doing what it’s doing.”
She was arrested just after 6 pm and bailed a few hours later at 9:30 pm.
The Metropolitan Police said it had arrested 890 people at the protest, 857 of whom were arrested under section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000 for showing support for Palestine Action.”2
Speaking to The BMJ after her release, Godlee said, “I’ve never been arrested before, so it was quite an experience to go to a protest with that as the sole intention.
“I did it because what is happening in Gaza is so clearly a genocide unfolding with the world to see, and our government’s only response is to try to silence its critics by using draconian antiterrorism laws. We have to show that the law proscribing Palestine Action is unenforceable and that arresting peaceful protestors is undemocratic and absurd.
“It also feels particularly essential for health professionals to take a stand against the killing, maiming, and starvation of civilians, but it’s a big ask for working doctors who risk losing their licence to practise. Retired doctors like me have little or nothing to lose, and I salute all of those who have been taking part.”
Godlee was editor in chief of The BMJ for more than 15 years (2005-21) and was the first woman to hold the position.
Her successor and current editor in chief, Kamran Abbasi, said, “I didn’t know that Fiona was attending this protest, but I do know that she is thoroughly decent, non-violent, and deeply concerned about injustice.
“She is a trailblazer as the first woman to be editor in chief of The BMJ—and a highly principled one she was too.
Health for XR
“The government has lost moral authority by arresting Fiona and hundreds of people like her, including many health professionals, for protesting against the UK’s complicity in Israel’s war crimes in Palestine.
“Keir Starmer, a human rights lawyer, will be damned by history as the UK prime minister who made peaceful protest against genocide a criminal act.”
When contacted by The BMJ, 10 Downing St said it did not wish to comment.
More than 63 000 people have been killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023, with a further 161 000 injured.3
Famine was declared on 22 August,4 after months of aid being blocked from entering the strip by Israel. At least 370 people, including 131 children, have died from acute hunger.5
Godlee’s arrest followed the government’s proscription of Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian direct action group in the UK that aims to end “global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime,” under the Terrorism Act 2000 earlier this year.
This made it a criminal offence to be a member of the group or to show support for it.
The government’s move came after members of the group broke into a Royal Air Force base and spraypainted two military planes in protest over the government’s sale of weapons to Israel.6
The proscription has been widely criticised, including by United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk, who deemed it “disproportionate and unnecessary.”7
The campaigning group Health for Extinction Rebellion (Health for XR), which attended the demonstration, said Godlee was one of at least 14 healthcare professionals who were arrested at the protest.
Eyewitnesses told The BMJ that as the arrests took place people chanted, “Don’t arrest our NHS,” with some shouting, “Please ask yourself, why are they doing this?”
“Health workers sat in solidarity with Gazan health workers, 1400 of whom have been killed since the current crisis began,” Health for XR said in a statement. “They sat behind a banner which read “Medical Duty > Terror law” and cited the Geneva Conventions and UN Security Council resolutions.
Health for XR
“After four hours the police moved in, selecting an individual placard holder and, in groups of 12 or more, surrounding and arresting them. All 14 current and retired health professionals were arrested in turn, including Fiona Godlee.”
Health for XR said the proscription of Palestine Action showed the government was “prioritising restrictive security measures at the expense of its international human rights obligations to both respect civil liberties domestically and to uphold international humanitarian law.”
Claire Smart, the Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner who led the policing operation, said, “Our role in the context of protest remains as it always has been: to police without fear or favour, to enforce the law, and to ensure those exercising their right to protest can do so safely.
“Where a group advertises that they intend to commit crimes, we have a duty to respond accordingly.”
A spokesperson for the Home Office said, “The proscription of Palestine Action does not affect the freedom to protest on Palestinian rights. It is about tackling a specific group linked to criminal damage and intimidation which has resulted in serious harm to individuals.
“We thank the police for their work and remain confident in the well-tested plans in place to deal with any public disorder, including action against those supporting a proscribed organisation.”
The Metropolitan Police said they could not comment on any specific arrests that took place at the protest.
Footnotes
- Editor’s note (8 September 2025): We have added comments by Fiona Godlee and the Home Office spokesperson and updated the number of people arrested.
References
- Phillips J, Bell G, Ambrose C. At least 425 arrests as police drag away Palestine Action protesters in Parliament Square. Standard. 6 Sep 2025. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/hundreds-arrested-palestine-action-protest-london-b1246383.html
- Metropolitan Police. More than 425 arrested during protest policing operation. 6 Sep 2025. https://news.met.police.uk/pressreleases/more-than-425-arrested-during-protest-policing-operation-3403163
- Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Humanitarian situation update #319: Gaza Strip. https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/humanitarian-situation-update-319-gaza-strip
- Mahase E. Gaza: Famine declared as Israel continues to “weaponise” food and clean water. BMJ2025;390:r1799. doi:10.1136/bmj.r1799 pmid:40846452 FREE Full Text Google Scholar
- Rada AG Gaza: Respiratory infections are spreading in overcrowded camps, doctors warn. BMJ2025;390:r1872. doi:10.1136/bmj.r1872 pmid:40912721FREE Full TextGoogle Scholar
- Comerford R, Beale J. Security review launched after activists break into RAF base. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx24nppdx0lo
- Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. UK: Palestine Action ban “disturbing” misuse of UK counter-terrorism legislation, Türk warns. 25 Jul 2025. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/07/uk-palestine-action-ban-disturbing-misuse-uk-counter-terrorism-legislation