Dispatches showed how ‘corporate capture’ led to Palestine Action ban

Channel 4‘s Dispatches programme has looked at the UK government’s highly controversial ban of non-violent direct-action group Palestine Action. And through basic journalistic scrutiny that the rest of mainstream media have largely avoided, it laid out how central ‘corporate capture’ of our politicians was to the politically repressive decision.

Palestine Action and the corporate capture of UK government

Journalist Jonathan Cook summed up the Dispatches episode by saying:

What the programme made clear was that Starmer’s government made the unprecedented decision to declare Palestine Action a terrorist organisation not because the group is a terrorist organisation but because large corporations – arms firms like Elbit – have captured the UK government.

One parliamentary stooge Dispatches interviewed was John Woodcock (‘Lord Walney’) – who’s among the clearest examples of corporate capture in UK politics. He has long lobbied on behalf of dodgy industries and repressive foreign states. And he has a particularly close connection to the Israeli apartheid state.

As Cook explained, Woodcock clearly “struggled through his interview”:

It was only too clear that his views on the subject had nothing to do with the public good but were shaped by his ties to the arms industries and his role as an Israel lobbyist.

Having long fought to repress freedom of speech and protest on behalf of Israeli settler-colonialism, Woodcock gave a particularly revealing response when interviewer Matt Shea questioned if public outrage over Israel’s genocide in Gaza justified regular protests:

In C4's 'Palestine Action, The Truth behind the ban' Israel friend & arms lobbyists Lord Walney attacks regular pro Palestine marches

The reporter points out the organisers may say opposing the slaughter of civilians on this scale demands regular protests. Watch his reaction pic.twitter.com/WUqm2YbHvv

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) February 10, 2026

The UK’s political establishment, with its deep links to the pro-Israel lobby, has long sought to repress dissent on Israel’s war crimes. From the Conservatives to Labour and Reform, protection of Israeli interests is non-negotiable.

As Cook outlined, the ban on Palestine Action was:

done at the behest of Elbit Systems – the Israeli arms firm making killer drones used in Gaza targeted by Palestine Action.

Alongside regular government meetings with Elbit before the proscription, the government had also been considering how to:

Reassure Elbit Systems UK and the wider sector affected by Palestine Action that the government cares about the harm the group is causing the private sector [arms industries].

The Palestine Action ban was “wrong”

Apart from the corporate capture of government that led to the ban, Dispatches also noted the:

widespread belief among Home Office staff that the government was “wrong” to proscribe Palestine Action, and there was “disquiet”  that the government was using Palestine Action as a way to curtail rights to protest and speech more generally.

The Labour government of Keir Starmer has been consistently intensifying the efforts of his Conservative predecessors to crack down on dissent.

The government’s own adviser, meanwhile, revealed how nonsensical the cynical attempt to link Palestine Action with Iran had been:

GOVERNMENT LIES

A clip from last night’s C4 Despatches shows that the government’s own advisor saw no evidence on claims used by Labour to proscribe Palestine Action.

Jonathan Hall KC slams the phoney accusations of an ‘Iran link’ as “nudge nudge, wink wink”.

Lift The Ban NOW pic.twitter.com/rXv5j5SScB

— Defend Our Juries (@DefendOurJuries) February 10, 2026

Dispatches also looked at why the Palestine Action ban was so dangerous:

Lord Hain was there when the Terrorism Act was introduced, he has publicly condemned the use of this act against Palestine Action.

He fears it could be used on “all sorts of protestors” and the likes of the Suffragettes and Anti-Apartheid protesters.

“That cannot be justified”. pic.twitter.com/ZSllZPQRKV

— Defend Our Juries (@DefendOurJuries) February 10, 2026

Even good mainstream journalism has holes, though

Perhaps Dispatches felt it had to tread very carefully around this issue, but it seemed at points to be way too deferential to government talking points, possibly to show ‘impartiality’. It also overused ominous music when interviewing people from Palestine Action, and asked them questions it didn’t ask of pro-Israel voices:

Nearly two and a half years into Israels genocide and people are still being asked, do you condemn Hamas?

The journalist asking the question is Matt Shea and the the clip is from Channel 4's Dispatches program 'Palestine Action, The Truth behind the ban' pic.twitter.com/yDDJ2ylcsE

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) February 10, 2026

‘The reason I did this was because I oppose killing innocent lives.’ @Matt_A_Shea speaks to Palestine Action activist Ellie Kamio immediately after she was granted bail and found not guilty of aggravated burglary. The jury failed to reach a verdict on her other charges. pic.twitter.com/ifBclgCcEZ

— Channel 4 Dispatches (@C4Dispatches) February 9, 2026

Asks a Palestinian "Is Hamas guilty of killing innocent civilians on oc7 & should we condemn that?"
*doesn't get the right answer*
"it should be simple to condemn the killing of innocent Israelis."

Never asks Falter, Hall or Walney to condemn Israel.

— Özen (@Iridescent1985) February 10, 2026

And if Dispatches was going to look at the claim of foreign links to Palestine Action, it would have seemed completely appropriate to look at the prominent role of the Israel lobby in parliament too.

Pretty good but surprisingly never mentioned the Israeli lobbying in UK which was the main reason for Palestine Action being proscribed in the first place

— Mike (@mwally_mike) February 10, 2026

Dispatches will surely have made some people think more carefully about the reasons behind the Palestine Action ban, though. And if it helped even slightly to mainstream the debate over the corporate capture of our political system, that’s something we should all be thankful for.

Featured image via the Canary