Two men who supported a direct action protest by a pro-Palestine campaign at an arms factory have been arrested on suspicion of being part of an organised crime group.

Police swooped on the pair last week over the roles they played in a Palestine Action protest two months ago. It is believed to be the first use of organised crime laws against protesters in the UK.

Lawyers criticised the arrests. Raj Chada of Hodge Jones & Allen one of the UK’s leading protest lawyers who has represented Palestine Action, Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion supporters in court, called them “a very concerning development”.

Seven protesters broke into the Instro Precision factory in Sandwich, Kent, in June. Activists say the facility makes targeting equipment for the Israeli military.

Once inside they smashed equipment, doused the walls with red paint and barricaded the doors before waited for police to arrive. All were arrested on suspicion of aggravated burglary.

Kent police said: “Two people have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary and suspicion of participating in the activities of an organised crime group following a report of a protest at Discovery Park, Sandwich, on Monday 17 June 2024.

“The two men, a 24-year-old from Liverpool, and a 51-year-old from Glossop, Derbyshire, were arrested on 1 and 2 August respectively. They have both been released on bail pending further inquiries. A total of 10 arrests have now been made as part of the investigation.”

In response to the original arrests, Instro Precision said it would work with the authorities to “prosecute any person or group threatening the safety of our staff or their important work”.

A company spokesperson said: “This facility is designed to meet the requirements of the UK armed forces and in particular support the British army with a range of state-of-the-art electro optics and night vision systems.

“It is highly irresponsible to sabotage this work, particularly during a period of global instability.”

Made an offence under section 45 of the Serious Crime Act 2015, participating in the activities of organised crime was originally intended to target individuals on the periphery of criminal gangs, such as accountants and lawyers, who stood to gain or benefit from their criminal activities.

The Home Office suggested at the time that the offence would target groups involved in activities such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, organised illegal immigration, firearms offences, fraud, child sexual exploitation and cybercrime.

Such powers are not thought to have been used against protest groups in the UK before, but in Germany five members of Letzte Generation, a climate protest group, were charged in May with “forming a criminal organisation”. Amnesty International described the move as taking “the criminalisation of climate protest in Germany [to] a new level of escalation”.

Chada said: “The rhetorical language of politicians and the manner in which police have investigated protest groups is beginning to resemble the investigation of organised crime or terrorist groups. That is not acceptable in a democracy.”

Tim Crosland, the director of the climate law group Plan B, said the UK’s organised crime laws were never intended for use against protest groups, and that he believed it would not stand up in court.

“I was still working as a government lawyer when the Serious Crime Act 2015 was being drafted and understand the intention for s.45 because I worked on it personally,” he said.

“The legislation was designed to target the corrupt lawyers, accountants and bankers providing services, for personal gain, to organised crime groups trafficking illegally in people, arms and drugs.

“It’s totally inconsistent with the legislation to use it against people trying to stop the supply of arms to prevent violations of international humanitarian law, who far from being motivated by personal gain are undertaking substantial personal risk.”

Palestine Action organises in a similar way to Just Stop Oil, XR and other direct action groups, raising the prospect that similar powers could be used against climate protesters.

A spokesperson for Just Stop Oil said: “It is imperative all of us resist this creeping authoritarianism, because when they are finished with those taking action against genocide in Gaza, they will come for the rest of us.”