A co-founder of pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action asked a London court on Friday to pause a British government decision to ban it under anti-terrorism laws, a move her lawyers said was an "authoritarian abuse" of the law.

Banning Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation was considered by the Government months before the break-in at RAF Brize Norton, the High Court has heard. Huda Ammori, the group’s co-founder, has sought to bring a legal challenge against the Home Office because of Yvette Cooper’s decision to proscribe the group under the Terrorism Act 2000.

MPs backed the move to proscribe the group as a terrorist organisation, while some suggested they felt pressured to vote for the legislation