Authorities are on the lookout for a Palestine Action activist who is believed to have gone into hiding after failing to appear for his bail conditions.

Sean Middleborough, a 32-year-old from Liverpool, was detained at HMP Wandsworth in south-west London. He was allowed temporary bail to attend his brother’s wedding.

While on bail, Mr. Middleborough participated in a Zoom interview with Declassified UK, a YouTube channel, where he discussed the possibility of returning to prison.

“I have 23 other co-defendants in prison,” he stated. “If I must return and engage in a hunger strike in solidarity with them and the movement, then that’s what I will do.”

However, according to reports from the Telegraph, the father-of-one did not go back to the prison as required.

Mr. Middleborough is reportedly affiliated with Palestine Action, a group that opposes Elbit UK, a company involved in manufacturing drones for Israel.

Earlier this year, he was charged with conspiracy to cause a public nuisance between November 1 last year and January 14.

Activists from the group Palestine Action were allegedly plotting to ‘target’ the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on the morning of January 15.

Sean Middleborough, 32, from Liverpool, was being held on remand at HMP Wandsworth

The father-of-one was granted bail to attend his brother’s wedding last weekend

Their intent was to target Elbit by causing disruption to the LSE by ‘locking on’ to stop the building opening for trading, the force said.

Mr Middleborough intended to spray red paint, fire fake bank notes covered in red paint in to the air and block access to the building, Wirral Magistrates’ Court heard.

In the interview with Declassified UK, Mr Middleborough revealed that, despite being held in prison since November 2024,  his young son thought he was in London ‘by request of the King’.

He explained: ‘I think I might come clean and tell my son I’m not just in London by request of the King but I am actually in London by request of the King’s Government to hold me in captivity.’

Since his alleged offence, Palestine Action has been proscribed under Section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000, making it a criminal offence to be a member of this group.

Being a member of or supporting Palestine Action now carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in jail. 

Palestine Action previously told the PA news agency: ‘The London Stock Exchange raise billions of pounds for apartheid Israel and trade shares in weapons manufacturers which arm Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people.

‘Whilst Britain remains complicit in the brutal colonisation of Palestine, our direct action campaign will not be deterred.’

Mr Middlebrough is the latest prisoner to go on the run following two mistaken releases from HMP Wandsworth (pictured) in the past two weeks

Algerian migrant Brahim Kaddour-Cherif (pictured) was accidentally freed from HMP Wandsworth on October 29

British national William Smith (pictured), who goes by Billy, was mistakenly freed from the scandal-hit prison on November 3

Mr Middlebrough (right) appears on the YouTube channel Declassified UK and speaks about returning to prison

Mr Middlebrough is the latest prisoner to go on the run following two mistaken releases from HMP Wandsworth in the past two weeks.

Both Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, and William ‘Billy’ Smith, 35, were released from the prison in south-west London after paperwork was incorrect or sent to the wrong jail.

Following their recaptures, David Lammy, the Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, tweeted: ‘We inherited a prison system in crisis and I’m appalled at the rate of releases in error this is causing.

‘That’s why I’ve ordered tough new release checks, launched an investigation, and started overhauling archaic prison systems.’

Professor Ian Acheson, a former prison governor, told the Telegraph: ‘This latest embarrassment shows a criminal justice system in disarray. 

‘It will leave the public in no doubt that we can’t control the risk of offenders and those accused either side of the prison walls.’

A spokesman for the government told the paper: ‘Absconding is a serious criminal offence, and any defendant who commits this crime could face longer behind bars. 

Palestine Action has been contacted for comment.