Friday briefing: How Palestine Action ​arrests ​expose a ​new ​authoritarian ​edge​ to UK police

<p>In today’s newsletter: From peaceful demonstrations to political strategy, recent arrests reveal how the battle for key voters ​seems to be the biggest influence on the way the law is enforced</p><p></p><p>Good morning. An award-winning poet, a decorated army officer, and a retired head teacher are handcuffed together in the back of a police van ... It’s not the start of a terrible joke, but a representation of just some of the eyebrow-raising arrests the police have made in recent weeks.</p><p>These eminently establishment figures are just a few of the 700 arrested for showing support for Palestine Action after it was proscribed as a terrorist organisation. Many were in their seventies or older, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/aug/10/police-arrest-hundreds-london-protest-over-palestine-action-ban">video footage</a> made one of the mass arrests look like a giant garden party gone sour.</p><p><em><strong>Ukraine </strong></em>| Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelenskyy have hailed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/14/keir-starmer-to-meet-volodymyr-zelenskyy-in-downing-street">“a visible chance for peace”</a> in Ukraine, as long as Vladimir Putin proves he is serious about ending the war when he meets Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday.</p><p><em><strong>Education </strong></em>| Students in England gained <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/aug/14/record-a-level-students-top-grades-england">record levels of top grades</a> in this year’s A-level exams, driven by young men producing their strongest performances outside the pandemic years.</p><p><em><strong>Gaza </strong></em>| More than 100 aid organisations working in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank have accused Israel of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/14/aid-groups-say-israel-new-registration-rules-are-weaponising-aid">“weaponising aid”</a> in its application of rules for groups involved in delivering humanitarian assistance.</p><p><em><strong>Climate crisis </strong></em>| UK firefighters have warned that 2025 is on track to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/14/2025-on-track-to-beat-uk-record-for-wildfires-warn-firefighters">beat the national record for wildfires</a>, with frontline staff “pushed to their limits”.</p><p><em><strong>US news </strong></em>| Donald Trump cold-called Norway’s finance minister last month to ask about a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/14/trump-nobel-prize-norway">nomination for the Nobel peace prize</a>, Norwegian press reported.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/15/friday-briefing-how-palestine-action-arrests-expose-a-new-authoritarian-edge-to-uk-police">Continue reading...</a>