A UK remand prisoner, Sean Middleborough, 32, has failed to return to HMP Wandsworth after being temporarily released to attend his brother’s wedding. Middleborough is part of the ‘Filton 24,’ a group of Palestine Action activists arrested in August 2024 for targeting an Elbit Systems weapons facility. Although terrorism charges were dropped, the Crown Prosecution Service maintains that their actions have a ‘terrorism connection,’ potentially leading to harsher sentences. Many in the group have been held on remand for over a year, exceeding the legal six-month pre-trial custody limit. Middleborough’s arrest in November 2024 involved a dawn raid by counterterrorism police, during which he alleges excessive force was used, resulting in physical injuries. He now faces 18 months in prison and has described harsh conditions, including 23-hour lockdowns and overcrowded cells. Middleborough has vowed to join a rolling hunger strike initiated by other remand prisoners protesting ‘systematic abuse’ by prison authorities. Kamran Ahmed, 27, recently became the sixth prisoner to join the hunger strike, demanding immediate bail and the de-proscription of Palestine Action. Ahmed, also part of the Filton 24, was arrested in a similar raid and is set for trial in June 2026. Meanwhile, an independent commission is advising UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to redefine the government’s terrorism laws, citing overly broad definitions. The commission’s report, due for release, calls for stricter criteria and enhanced judicial oversight, likely influenced by criticism of the government’s handling of Palestine Action.