Most of the 532 people arrested in London on Saturday at a protest in support of Palestine Action, recently outlawed as a terrorist group, are out on bail. So what? It was still one of the biggest mass arrests in modern British history and could pave the way for more acts of civil disobedience.

Police say the majority of arrests were for displaying placards in support of the banned group.

It was no ordinary break-in. On June 20, under the cover of darkness, two activists entered what should have been one of Britain’s most secure military bases, RAF Brize Norton, and vandalised two Voyager planes.