Roger Waters, Pink Floyd’s singer and songwriter, has publicly supported the direct action group Palestine Action, defying the UK’s recent designation of the group as a terrorist organisation.
In a video recorded on July 5, 2025, shortly after the ban took effect at midnight, Waters condemned the UK government’s controversial decision.
In the video, the bassist and singer-songwriter can be seen making a sign from a piece of cardboard.
“This says, Roger Waters supports Palestine Action. Parliament has been corrupted by agents of a genocidal foreign power. Stand up and be counted. It’s now… This is the moment. I am Spartacus,” the musician read out.
He continued: “This is Independence Day, July 5th, 2025… I declare my independence from the government of the UK, who’ve just designated Palestine Action a terrorist, proscribed terrorist organisation.”
The 81-year-old musician also criticised British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, accusing him of being “corrupted by agents of a genocidal foreign power,” alluding to Israel.
“We will not be rolled over by this appalling Labour government in the United Kingdom,” he said.
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The pro-Israel Jewish pressure group Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) has threatened legal action if authorities do not respond to Waters’ video.
“Campaign Against Antisemitism is preparing a criminal prosecution, which would require the consent of the director of public prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson,” a CAA spokesperson was quoted by The Telegraph as saying.
The CAA, led by Zionist Jewish activist Gideon Falter, has been vocal on the issue. Authorities have not yet commented on Waters’ video.
On the same day, 27 individuals were arrested in central London for showing solidarity with Palestine Action and protesting the government’s decision to proscribe it as a terrorist group.
Under the new law, membership in or support for Palestine Action carries a potential prison sentence of up to 14 years. Activists, rights groups, musicians, politicians and journalists of various persuasions have criticised the ban as an assault on the right to protest.
Before the ban, Palestine Action had conducted numerous direct action protests across the UK, primarily targeting companies linked to Israel and its military, such as Israeli arms firm Elbit Systems.
The push to ban the group intensified after two activists entered the Royal Air Force (RAF) base Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and sprayed two military planes with red paint to protest the UK’s continued support for Israel.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action on June 23, stating that the vandalism of the two aircrafts was “disgraceful” and that the group had a “long history of unacceptable criminal damage”.
MPs in the Commons voted 385 to 26, a majority of 359, in favour of proscribing the group on July 2, before the House of Lords backed the move without a vote last Thursday.
Four people – Amy Gardiner-Gibson, 29, Jony Cink, 24, Daniel Jeronymides-Norie, 36, and Lewis Chiaramello, 22 – have all been charged in connection with the incident at Brize Norton and are currently in remand.
They appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on July 3, after being charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the United Kingdom, and conspiracy to commit criminal damage, under the Criminal Law Act 1976.
