1) What just happened—and why it matters

London saw record mass arrests in early September 2025 during protests linked to the government’s proscription of Palestine Action. Reporting noted that those detained included elderly individuals, priests, healthcare workers, and veterans—a demographic spread that surprised many. The following day, a new Banksy mural at the Royal Courts of Justice—depicting a judge striking a protester—was swiftly covered by staff, symbolising the cultural backlash and the legal framing of dissent.

2) From “policing by consent” to “policing by law”

Britain’s traditional model emphasises policing by consent—legitimacy grounded in public approval. In recent years, laws like the Public Order Act 2023 and subsequent regulations have expanded offences and powers (e.g., protest-related restrictions, broadened stop-and-search, and Serious Disruption Prevention Orders). In practice, parliament narrows the space for disruption; police then operationalise those constraints.

Policy writes the script; policing performs it. The audience blames the actors they can see.

3) The generation pattern you noticed

Your observation tracks with the data: recent protest cohorts included many people in their 60s, 70s and 80s. That aligns with research showing that while certain cognitive aspects of empathy can decline, empathic concern often rises with age. Mortality awareness (“time is short”) can intensify prosocial responses—hence the raw, unfiltered empathy and tears you witnessed.

Older protesters aren’t naïve; many carry lived memories of state force, war, and political duplicity. Their empathy is earned, even when it clashes with today’s hard-edged legal environment.

4) How proscription shifts the ground

The Home Office’s proscription of a group under the Terrorism Act doesn’t just criminalise violent acts; it can criminalise support itself (e.g., words, symbols, expressions). That moves friction to the street level—officers confronting chants, banners, and statements—while the architecture of that criminalisation remains out of frame.

5) We’ve been here before: sideways conflict

• Poll Tax, 1990: mass disorder, later scrutiny of tactics; the tax fell, but accountability narratives remained muddled.
• Sarah Everard vigil, 2021: inspections dissected policing choices producing confrontational images despite intentions to keep order.
• Iraq War march, 2003: perhaps Britain’s largest protest didn’t stop the war—public conscience met insulated decision-making.
• Orgreave, 1984: decades on, only now moving toward fuller reckoning; strategic outcomes long pre-dated accountability.

Pattern: spectacle at street level; power at system level.

6) Police aren’t the enemy—but they are the interface

Officers are “citizens in uniform,” but modern statutes and proscription orders push them into a harder role. The public expects proportionate facilitation; the law may mandate pre-emptive restrictions. That expectation gap fuels lateral hostility—citizen vs. police—while policy-level accountability drifts off-stage.

7) The empathy paradox you witnessed

The tears on the pavement weren’t “blind empathy.” They were a lifetime of memory meeting a system designed to absorb public feeling without changing. In a media environment optimised for binaries (“lawful/unlawful,” “violent/peaceful”), empathy gets pitted against order instead of aligning with accountability.

Result: the public fights the police; the police enforce the law; power watches.

8) Execution playbook: how to respond

1. Name the level: In posts and conversations, lead with the policy locus (Home Office orders, statutory instruments, votes), then discuss tactics. This reroutes attention upwards.
2. Quote the law: Use one-liners from the Public Order Act 2023 and recent Home Office factsheets so arrests are seen as outcomes of legislation, not just “rowdy crowds.”
3. Cite credible critics: Link UN experts, Amnesty, and Commons Library briefings to keep debate on rights and proportionality.
4. Hold the empathy line: Reference aging-and-empathy research to validate elder protesters’ motives as a social asset.
5. Separate roles: “Police enforce; ministers design.” Repeat it. Reduce lateral hostility, increase vertical accountability.
6. Archive, then act: Build a public timeline (votes, orders, arrest data). Convert it into a living brief your readers can share.

9) Sources & further reading

Recent reporting

• Reuters — “Almost 900 people were arrested at London protest”: link
• Reuters — Banksy mural at Royal Courts of Justice: link
• The Guardian — Banksy image covered up: link

Law & frameworks

• Public Order Act 2023 — overview & analysis (UK Parliament / gov resources)
• Terrorism Act 2000 — proscription powers (Home Office factsheets)

Rights critiques

• UN Special Procedures — statements on protest and counter-terror law (various)
• Amnesty International UK — briefings on protest restrictions

Empathy & aging research

• Meta-analyses & population studies indicating increased empathic concern in older adulthood; mortality salience and prosocial behaviour literature (peer-reviewed sources).