The government's banning of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation has the hallmarks of an authoritarian "abuse of power", the High Court has heard.

The banning of protest group Palestine Action has made the UK government an “international outlier” when it comes to political protest, lawyers representing one of its co-founders told the High Court in London on Monday.

The co-founder of a pro-Palestinian campaign group sought on Monday to challenge the British government's decision to ban the group under anti-terrorism laws, a move her lawyers said had "the hallmarks of an authoritarian and blatant abuse of power".