A Catholic parish priest has been arrested in London after publicly supporting Palestine Action, recently designated a terrorist organisation by the UK Government.

Fr John McGowan, a Carmelite and parish priest of St Joseph’s in Chalfont St Peter, travelled to Parliament Square “determined” to be arrested.

Holding a placard reading “I support Palestine Action”, he quietly asked a police officer to detain him.

“I set out from my parish determined to get arrested,” he said, adding it was the first arrest of his life.

The priest, who lived in Jerusalem for five years, told Independent Catholic News that the UK is “not doing enough to stop the massacre of the people in Gaza” and criticised the decision to label the activist group as terrorists.

“The last straw was to call PalestineAction a terrorist group,” he explained.

Under the Terrorism Act 2000, displaying items that suggest support for a proscribed organisation can be a criminal offence.

The government added Palestine Action to the list on 7th August.

Fr McGowan likened the group’s actions to those of the suffragettes and anti-apartheid campaigners, saying they caused damage without being branded terrorists.

He is due to appear at Poplar Police Station in September and says he is “prepared for anything, even going to prison. I have no regrets about what I did. My conscience is clear.”