Massive Attack's Robert Del Naja Arrested Again at Pro-Palestine Protest
Robert Del Naja — known as 3D, frontman of Massive Attack — was arrested outside the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool on September 26, according to NME. Police detained him on suspicion of supporting Palestine Action, a group proscribed as a terrorist organization under the UK's Terrorism Act 2000. It was the second time he has been arrested over the same issue. At the time, Del Naja was staging a sit-in with a placard opposing genocide and voicing support for Palestine Action.
How the arrest unfolded
Footage released by the activist group Defend Our Juries shows an officer approaching Del Naja to tell him that displaying the placard constituted an offense, and asking whether he would leave voluntarily. Del Naja replied, "I don't recognise the offence," arguing that under UK law, assisting or abetting individuals or companies involved in war crimes including genocide is itself a criminal act. After the officer reiterated that Palestine Action is a proscribed organization, Del Naja said he did not accept the ban — and was arrested shortly after on suspicion of supporting a proscribed group.
The legal battle over the ban
Palestine Action was proscribed by the UK government in July 2025, with officials arguing the group's activities — including serious property damage targeting defense contractors and the RAF Brize Norton air base — crossed the threshold into terrorism. The ban has since faced repeated legal challenges: in February, the High Court ruled the proscription unlawful and disproportionate, a decision Massive Attack publicly welcomed; in June, the Court of Appeal overturned that ruling and found the ban lawful. The Supreme Court has since granted limited permission for a further appeal, with the case scheduled to be heard in November.
Shortly before his arrest, Del Naja appeared in a video alongside Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori and human rights barrister Michael Mansfield KC, calling on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to remove the group from the proscribed list. This year's conference was Burnham's first Labour Party conference since he took office in Downing Street in July. The two had previously appeared together in 2025 in support of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, with Burnham signing on behalf of Greater Manchester. Del Naja and other Massive Attack members have also recently joined more than 200 musicians — including Thom Yorke, Robert Smith and Brian Eno — in signing a letter urging the UK government to reject the Rosebank oil field development.
A long-standing position
Massive Attack has publicly supported Palestine for decades, refusing to perform in Israel since 1999. This past summer, the band said its entire touring crew was detained in Singapore after Del Naja and Grant Marshall displayed the Palestinian flag onstage; two members were later barred from re-entering the country.
The band has also joined hundreds of other artists, including Fontaines D.C. and Amyl & The Sniffers, in backing the No Music For Genocide campaign, and previously criticized the decision to drop Macklemore from Ed Sheeran's US tour over his pro-Palestinian comments.