A Scottish pro-Palestine group has had its bank accounts frozen for a year without explanation, adding to fears of a crackdown on voices supporting Gaza.
The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) said it had been blocked since last June from accessing more than £20,000 of funds.
Members have since met execs from their bank Unity Trust – known as a go-to bank for charities and unions – who suggested there was nothing they could do.
Mick Napier of SPSC said: “They were quite clear that no decision inside the bank could unfreeze our account
“They made it very clear it came from above their level, from somewhere in the government. We’ve never been accused of any crime whatsoever. To rub salt in the wounds, subsequent letters have said they’re conducting a review which hasn’t been completed yet.
View 3 ImagesScottish pro-Palestinian activist Mick Napier (Image: Daily Record)
“This ‘review’ has lasted over a year. It just doesn’t make any sense and clearly, there is no review. Nobody has provided any kind of rationale for freezing our bank account. It shows no signs of coming to an end so we’ve concluded it is pure harassment.”
The SPSC organises peaceful protests and vigils in support of Palestinians and accuses the Israeli state of apartheid, ethnic cleansing and occupation.
Napier said he believed the move to cut off their funds stemmed from a button that was on the SPSC’s website to donate to Palestine Action, the group which was controversially banned and proscribed as terrorists by the UK Government.
He said the link was removed from the website when Palestine Action was banned last July – but despite this, their account is still frozen more than a year later.
Being proscribed under anti-terror laws put Palestine Action – which describes itself as a direct action group – in the same category as Islamic State, al-Qaida and the far-right National Action.
The unprecedented move has seen more than 3000 arrested in the UK for showing support to the group through placards and t-shirts. It came after Palestine Action activists defaced RAF planes and broke into a weapons factory, injuring a police officer.
View 3 ImagesPalestine Action remains a proscribed organisation by the government.(Image: PA)
Another pro-Gaza group, Greater Manchester Friends for Palestine, had its Virgin Money account frozen last summer. Napier said the cash freeze “fitted into a wider pattern” of pro-Gaza voices being suppressed.
He said: “It’s shocking but not surprising. We’ve got many members who have been charged with the most bizarre terrorism charges for wearing a t-shirt.”
Campaigner Sean Clerkin, who is also a member of SPSC, said: “Britain is fast turning into an authoritarian police state under this Labour Government when it won’t allow peaceful dissenting groups access to its own funds.”
The death toll in Israel’s war on Gaza has risen to more than 73,000, including 20,000 kids. A UN commission of inquiry has described Israeli actions in Gaza as “genocide”.
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Israel launched the war in response to Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023 which killed more than 1200 Israelis.
A spokeswoman for Unity Trust Bank said: “There are a variety of reasons why we may be required to, or decide to, suspend or close an account in order to continue to comply with the legal and regulatory framework we operate in as a bank.”
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