Police arrested 117 people outside the Royal Courts of Justice on Monday after judges ruled a government ban on Palestine Action was lawful.

Protesters were seen holding signs reading 'I support Palestine Action' as the arrests on suspicion of expressing support for a proscribed group were made.

The Home Office had won its bid to ban the group after judges said Palestine Action 'overtly promotes unlawful violence amounting to terrorism'.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: 'We acknowledge the Court of Appeal's judgment that the Home Secretary's decision to proscribe Palestine Action was lawful.

'This means that expressing support for the organisation remains a criminal offence and officers will arrest those who break the law.

'Officers policing a protest outside the Royal Courts of Justice today, Monday, June 15, arrested 117 people on suspicion of expressing support for a proscribed organisation.

'A further two people were arrested by colleagues in the City of London Police at a protest outside the Old Bailey.

'Since the organisation was proscribed, the Met has arrested over 3,000 people on suspicion of expressing support for Palestine Action.'

Monday's ruling marked a victory for the Government as it successfully challenged a High Court ruling made in February which found then-Home Secretary Yvette Cooper acted unlawfully in proscribing the group under terror laws.

The ban, which began on July 5 last year, made membership of, or support for, the direct action group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison, and has remained in force as the Home Office has attempted to challenge the ruling.

Announcing that the decision to ban Palestine Action as a terror organisation was lawful, The Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr said: 'We are satisfied the proscription decision was justified and proportionate.'

She added proscription 'struck a fair balance' between freedom of expression and national security.

Baroness Carr said comparisons with groups such as the Suffragettes were 'seriously flawed'.

Supporters outside the court wept as the ruling filtered through, while Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: 'We will always take the strongest possible action to protect our national security and keep the public safe.'

Among those arrested after Palestine Action's proscription were more than 100 who turned up to see four activists sentenced for breaking into an Israeli-linked weapons factory at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday last week.