Ed Miliband suggested the Government may revisit the ban on Palestine Action, while stressing that a Supreme Court case should run its course. His remarks followed arrests at a protest outside Labour’s conference and a confrontation with activists while he was having dinner; he said the Government had not intended to criminalise elderly protesters and others who support the group.

Palestine Action was proscribed after activists broke into RAF Brize Norton, and members have been convicted over other attacks, including one that left a police officer seriously injured. The Court of Appeal upheld the ban in June as a proportionate restriction on freedom of expression, overturning a High Court ruling; the group’s co-founder has said she will appeal to the Supreme Court. Police arrested 82 people at Sunday’s Liverpool protest and reported another 79 for summons.