Almost 90 arrested over mass trespass at prison in support of hunger striker

Almost 90 people who ‘breached prison grounds’ at HMP Wormwood Scrubs have been arrested, the Met Police have said.

Eighty-six members of the group were detained on suspicion of aggravated trespass after they allegedly got inside a staff entrance area of the prison.

The activists were demonstrating last night in support of 22-year-old Umer Khalid, an alleged Palestine Action prisoner, who is on the second day of a thirst strike after restarting his hunger strike 15 days ago.

The Met Police said protestors ‘refused to leave the grounds’ of HMP Wormwood Scrubs when ordered to do so and ‘threatened police officers’.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said that ‘at no point was prison security compromised’ and called the action an ‘escalation’ that was ‘completely unacceptable’.

They added: ‘While we support the right to peacefully protest, reports of trespassing and threats being made to staff and police officers are deeply concerning.’

Members of the group also allegedly blocked prison staff from entering and leaving.

Khalid, who is one of the group imprisoned since July 2025 allegedly in connection to events at RAF Brize Norton, is on an ‘extremely dangerous’ thirst strike, Prisoners for Palestine said.

This is a breaking news story and is being updated.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Comments Add as preferred source