CPS Warned Cooper Her Palestine Action Op-Ed Risked Prejudicing Trial

Overview

• An unsealed pre-trial ruling records that prosecutors warned Yvette Cooper last August that publishing her Observer column could prejudice an ongoing case involving Palestine Action activists, and she proceeded anyway.
• Defense lawyers asked the court to halt the case for abuse of process, but Mr Justice Johnson found a fair trial was still possible, kept any finding of a “terrorist connection” from the jury, and limited what evidence the defendants could present.
• Cooper’s column justified proscribing Palestine Action by citing intelligence and described an escalating campaign involving intimidation, weapons, violence, and serious injuries, even as court reporting on terrorism-related elements was restricted at the time.
• A retrial at Woolwich Crown Court earlier this month found four activists guilty of criminal damage over a 2024 raid on Elbit Systems’ Bristol site, with one also convicted of grievous bodily harm, and sentencing is set for 12 June.
• The group’s July proscription as a terrorist organization was ruled unlawful by the High Court in February, and the government has signaled an appeal, underscoring ongoing legal and political fights over protest, national security, and fair-trial rights.