Private Eye editor Ian Hislop has described the terrorism arrest of a 67-year-old retired teacher at a Gaza demonstration as "mind-boggling" after the man was detained for displaying a cartoon from the satirical magazine.
Jon Farley was seized by officers during a silent protest in Leeds on Saturday whilst carrying a placard featuring a Private Eye cartoon that satirised the government's ban on Palestine Action.
The Leeds resident was held for six hours under the Terrorism Act before being freed without charge on Monday.
Both Hislop and Farley are demanding an apology from West Yorkshire Police over what Farley called a "pretty terrifying and upsetting experience" that has left him "frustrated and angry".
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|Ian Hislop is the editor of Private Eye
Officers seized Farley from the demonstration and forced him to sit on the pavement before placing him in handcuffs, despite his attempts to explain the placard's origin.
"[Police officers] picked me up, grabbed me, and took me to the side, and I ended up sitting on the pavement," the 67-year-old recounted.
He told officers: "Well, it's a cartoon from Private Eye. I can show you. I've got the magazine in my bag," but they were already restraining him.
The arrest was made under section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which criminalises supporting banned organisations.
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|Private Eye put out a post on a X about the arrest
"There's been no apology, no explanation. It's this murky lack of clarity," he said, expressing particular concern about "the whole atmosphere of intimidation" surrounding peaceful protest.
Speaking from Private Eye's London headquarters, Hislop characterised the cartoon as "quite blatantly an example of freedom of speech on the subject of a government policy".
"I did think it was mind-boggling. I mean, ludicrous. He obviously couldn't believe it, and the immediate response in the office was that someone said: 'Well, the jokes have been criminal for ages,'" the editor of the 63-year-old publication remarked.
He described the cartoon as "actually a very neat and funny little encapsulation about what is and isn't acceptable, and it's a joke about – I mean, it's quite a black joke – but about the hypocrisies of government approach to any sort of action in Gaza."
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|Ian Hislop has branded the arrest as "mind-boggling"
"So it's not difficult to understand. It's critical, but it is quite clearly a joke. Seems to me absolutely extraordinary that someone could be arrested for holding it up."
Hislop expressed disappointment that the arresting officers appeared unfamiliar with Private Eye, joking: "That's really depressing, isn't it? That's probably the most appalling thing."
Witnesses reported that one bystander challenged police, pointing out that Private Eye was available in a newsagent adjacent to the police van and asking whether they intended to arrest Hislop himself.
Officers allegedly claimed that whilst the cartoon was acceptable in print, displaying it at demonstrations was illegal - a distinction Farley dismissed as "the police making up the law."
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|Ian Hislop is best known for his roles at Private Eye and Have I Got News For You
West Yorkshire Police offered a limited response: "We are sorry that the man involved is unhappy with the circumstances of this arrest.
"As this is a new proscribed organisation, West Yorkshire police is considering any individual or organisational learning from this incident."