UK terrorism case exposes exactly the speech laws New Zealand must avoid

21 February 2026 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

UK terrorism case exposes exactly the speech laws New Zealand must avoid  

“The Free Speech Union says our government should be grateful to the Union, and the thousands of New Zealanders who helped persuade our politicians not to pass ‘hate speech’ law, and who stood up for our long proud tradition of not jumping to ban unwelcome arguments and protests. 

“Last week's UK High Court ruling against the British government’s enforcement of its ban on the activist group Palestine Action again shows the folly of trying to suppress hostile and offensive agitation that does not reach the threshold of incitement to violence,” says Stephen Franks, Chair of the Free Speech Union.   

“This is not necessarily about whether a group should be designated as a terrorist entity, but about what happens when "support" for such a group is defined so broadly that it criminalises people peacefully endorsing its cause.  

“Under the UK ban, nearly 3,000 people were arrested, not for acts of violence or material assistance, but for holding signs, wearing T-shirts, and posting online. Expressing support for a proscribed organisation carried up to 14 years in prison. The High Court found this caused a "very significant interference" with freedom of expression and association. 

"The question of whether Palestine Action should or shouldn't have been proscribed is for the UK," says Franks, “though we think it is generally dumb to ban any kinds of argument without knowing exactly how you will enforce it without trashing free speech principles.".  

"What concerns us is how absurdly broad the definition of 'support' became. Holding a placard. Wearing a shirt. That's not terrorism. That's political expression. 

“This matters for New Zealand because the Ministry of Justice is currently developing amendments to the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002. The proposals under consideration include new offences for "expressions of support" for designated entities, criminalising the display of insignia, and broadening the definition of "material support." 

"These are the same vague, sweeping terms that just blew up in the UK's face," says Franks. "Terms like 'support', 'praise', 'endorsing', and 'promoting' might sound nice to zealots who expect they will only be used against their enemies. And attractive to politicians who don’t face hard media questions if they claim to be well intentioned and to oppose horrible people.  “In practice, such words drag the Police into looking politically partisan. Even if we could be confident that they are resolutely neutral on political issues in the first place.  

“Criminalising journalism, academic research, satire, and peaceful protest just guarantees that extremists of all stripes will find it much more vital that they and their cronies can wield the levers of power, and get their opponents locked up." 

“The FSU met with the Ministry of Justice in September 2025 and raised these concerns directly. We don’t apologise for an “I told you so”. The Coalition should have dumped the New Zealand project last year, or at least given fresh instructions that freedom of speech was non-negotiable.  

“The UK experience shows in real time what recklessly pious drafting looks like when it steers enforcement - thousands of arrests for peaceful expression, followed by a High Court ruling that it was unlawful. 

"New Zealand defeated dangerous hate speech laws because they would have criminalised speech, not conduct," says Franks. "We cannot allow terrorism legislation to achieve the same result through the back door, by defining 'support' so broadly that it captures everything from a protest sign to an opinion piece. Any reform that comes out of the current project needs an absolute over-ride that protects freedom of peaceful speech." 

ENDS 

Notes to editor: 

The UK High Court ruling was handed down on 13 February 2026. The ban remains in place pending a government appeal. 

FSU August 2025 media release: https://www.fsu.nz/blog/record-breaking-mass-protester-arrests-in-uk-should-ring-alarm-bells-for-terrorism-law-reform-in-nz 

The Ministry of Justice review follows recommendations from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch mosque attack.