Palestine Action to be banned after RAF base break in
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Plan to ban group behind RAF base vandalism making membership criminal offence
The Home Secretary is preparing to ban Palestine Action. She will have to lay an order in Parliament, which must then be debated. The decision comes after the group posted footage online showing two people inside the base at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
The Home Secretary is preparing to ban Palestine Action following the group’s vandalism of two planes at an RAF base, the PA news agency reports.
Yvette Cooper has decided to proscribe the group, making it a criminal offence to belong to or support Palestine Action.
The decision comes after the group posted footage online showing two people inside the base at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
The clip shows one person riding an electric scooter up to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker and appearing to spray paint into its jet engine.
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The incident is being also investigated by counter-terror police.
The Home Secretary has the power to proscribe an organisation under the Terrorism Act of 2000 if she believes it is “concerned in terrorism”.
Proscription will require Ms Cooper to lay an order in Parliament, which must then be debated and approved by both MPs and peers.
Palestine Action expected to be banned after vandalism of planes at RAF base
Yvette Cooper is planning to proscribe Palestine Action, effectively branding it a terrorist organisation. She is preparing a written ministerial statement that will be placed before parliament on Monday. If passed, it will make becoming a member of the group illegal. The decision comes as a security review begins at military bases across the UK, after activists broke into the RAF base in Oxfordshire and sprayed two military planes with red paint. Palestine Action released a short video on Friday morning showing two people driving electric scooters unimpeded inside the airbase at night. The group said it had targeted RAF Voyager aircraft used for transport and refuelling, and that “activists have interrupted Britain’s direct participation in the commission of genocide and war crimes across the Middle East”
Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, is planning to proscribe Palestine Action, effectively branding it a terrorist organisation.
She is preparing a written ministerial statement that will be placed before parliament on Monday, a Whitehall source confirmed. It will then need to be enacted through new legislation. If passed, it will make becoming a member of the group illegal.
The decision comes as a security review begins at military bases across the UK, after activists broke into the RAF base in Oxfordshire and sprayed two military planes with red paint.
Palestine Action released a short video on Friday morning showing two people driving electric scooters unimpeded inside the airbase at night, in an embarrassing breach of Ministry of Defence (MoD) security at a site that holds transport planes used by the king and prime minister.
The group said it had targeted RAF Voyager aircraft used for transport and refuelling, and that “activists have interrupted Britain’s direct participation in the commission of genocide and war crimes across the Middle East”.
Footage posted online showed two people inside the airbase in darkness, with one riding on a scooter up to an Airbus Voyager and spraying paint into its jet engine.
After sharing the footage, a Palestine Action spokesperson said: “Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US and Israeli fighter jets.”
The group claimed its activists had evaded security and had put the air-to-air refuelling tankers “out of service”.
However, RAF engineers have been assessing the damage, with a defence source earlier telling the BBC that they did not expect the incident would affect operations.
Keir Starmer, the prime minister, condemned the action as “disgraceful” describing it as an “act of vandalism”.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating the incident alongside Thames Valley police and the MoD.
RAF Brize Norton serves as the hub for UK strategic air transport and refuelling, including flights to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. The air force has conducted reconnaissance flights over Gaza out of the Cyprus base.
Other groups that have been recently proscribed in the UK include Hizb ut-Tahrir, a Sunni Islamist organisation with a goal to establish a caliphate under sharia law. It was banned last year by the Tory government. The Wagner group, the Russian private military company, was banned in 2023.
After reports of the impending ban emerged, Palestine Action wrote on X: “We represent every person who stands for Palestinian liberation. If they want to ban us, they ban us all.”
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign wrote on the same platform that it was “outrageous” that the government was banning “a non-violent direct action group”.
Palestine Action was founded in 2020 by Huda Ammori, whose father is Palestinian, and Richard Barnard, a leftwing activist.
The organisation, which focuses its campaigns on multinational arms dealers and corporate banks, recently targeted a factory in Shenstone claiming it made drones for the Israeli army.
“Using disruptive tactics, Palestine Action targets corporate enablers of the Israeli military-industrial complex,” it says on its website. “Palestine Action takes strategic, sustained and focused direct action against key targets.”
Palestine Action to be banned after break-in at RAF base
Yvette Cooper has decided to proscribe the group, making it a criminal offence to belong to or support Palestine Action. Decision comes after the group posted footage online showing two people inside the base at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. Clip shows one person riding an electric scooter up to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker and appearing to spray paint into its jet engine.
The decision comes after the group posted footage online showing two people inside the base at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
The clip shows one person riding an electric scooter up to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker and appearing to spray paint into its jet engine.
The incident is being also investigated by counter terror police.
The Home Secretary has the power to proscribe an organisation under the Terrorism Act of 2000 if she believes it is “concerned in terrorism”.
Proscription will require Ms Cooper to lay an order in Parliament, which must then be debated and approved by both MPs and peers.
Specialist counter terrorism officers are working closely with officers from Thames Valley Police and the Ministry of Defence Police.
Enquiries are ongoing to establish the exact circumstances.
Anyone with information which could assist the investigation should call Counter Terrorism Policing South East via Thames Valley Police’s non-emergency number 101, quoting reference 43250305575.
A spokesman for Palestine Action said: “Despite publicly condemning the Israeli Government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US/Israeli fighter jets.
“Britain isn’t just complicit, it’s an active participant in the Gaza genocide and war crimes across the Middle East.
“By decommissioning two military planes, Palestine Action have directly intervened in the genocide and prevented crimes against the Palestinian people.”
Palestine Action to be banned after break in at RAF base, Sky News understands
Palestine Action to be banned after break in at RAF base, Sky News understands. Home secretary Yvette Cooper is preparing a written ministerial statement. The statement is expected on Monday and will then need to be enacted through new legislation. It comes after pro-Palestinian activists targeted RAF Brize Norton and damaged two military aircraft – with Sir Keir Starmer describing their actions as “disgraceful” A security review has now been launched after the breach at the largest RAF station in Oxfordshire, with approximately 5,800 service personnel, 300 civilian staff and 1,200 contractors. In a video shared by Palestine Action on Friday morning, a person can be seen approaching an aircraft on a scooter as music is played. The person then sprays paint into one of the plane’s engines.
The home secretary is planning to proscribe the Palestine Action group, effectively branding them as a terrorist organisation, Sky News understands.
Yvette Cooper is preparing a written ministerial statement which would make becoming a member of the group illegal.
The statement is expected on Monday and will then need to be enacted through new legislation.
It comes after pro-Palestinian activists targeted RAF Brize Norton and damaged two military aircraft – with Sir Keir Starmer describing their actions as “disgraceful”.
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A security review has now been launched after the breach.
Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire, is the largest RAF station with approximately 5,800 service personnel, 300 civilian staff and 1,200 contractors.
In a video shared by Palestine Action on Friday morning, a person can be seen approaching an aircraft on a scooter as music is played. The person then sprays paint into one of the plane’s engines. Red paint can be seen on the ground.
Repurposed fire extinguishers were used to spray the paint into the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyagers, while further damage was made using crowbars.
The organisation – which focuses its campaigns on multinational arms dealers and has previously targeted corporate banks – said it had damaged two military planes at the base, where flights depart on a daily basis for RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
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The group said two activists “broke into the largest air force base in Britain and used electric scooters to swiftly manoeuvre towards the planes”.
They said they did so because “despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US/Israeli fighter jets”.
“Britain isn’t just complicit, it’s an active participant in the Gaza genocide and war crimes across the Middle East,” the group said in a statement.
“By decommissioning two military planes, Palestine Action have directly intervened in the genocide and prevented crimes against the Palestinian people.”
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However a senior RAF source told Sky News’s security and defence editor Deborah Haynes that the aircraft have nothing to do with Israel’s war in Gaza.
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After it emerged the government was planning to ban Palestine Action, the group wrote on X: “We represent every person who stands for Palestinian liberation. If they want to ban us, they ban us all.”
The two Voyagers – out of a fleet of 10 currently being used by the RAF – have been impounded while an investigation into the extent of the damage is carried out.
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On X, the prime minister condemned the “act of vandalism”, adding: “Our Armed Forces represent the very best of Britain and put their lives on the line for us every day. It is our responsibility to support those who defend us.”
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed it is “working closely with the police, who are investigating”.
A “proscribed organisation” is an organisation or group that is illegal to join or show support for, because it has been identified as being concerned in terrorism.
The home secretary has the powers to proscribe an organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000, if that organisation commits or participates in acts of terrorism, prepares for terrorism, promotes or encourages terrorism (including the unlawful glorification of terrorism); or is otherwise concerned in terrorism.
Palestine Action to be banned after break-in at RAF base
Yvette Cooper has decided to proscribe the group, making it a criminal offence to belong to or support Palestine Action. The decision comes after the group posted footage online showing two people inside the RAF base at Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. The clip shows one person riding an electric scooter up to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker and appearing to spray paint into its jet engine. The incident is being also investigated by counter terror police. A spokesperson for Palestine Action accused the UK of failing to meet its obligation to prevent or punish genocide.
The decision comes after the group posted footage online showing two people inside the base at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
The clip shows one person riding an electric scooter up to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker and appearing to spray paint into its jet engine.
The incident is being also investigated by counter terror police.
A spokesperson for Palestine Action accused the UK of failing to meet its obligation to prevent or punish genocide.
The spokesperson said: “When our government fails to uphold their moral and legal obligations, it is the responsibility of ordinary citizens to take direct action. The terrorists are the ones committing a genocide, not those who break the tools used to commit it.”
The Home Secretary has the power to proscribe an organisation under the Terrorism Act of 2000 if she believes it is “concerned in terrorism”.
Proscription will require Ms Cooper to lay an order in Parliament, which must then be debated and approved by both MPs and peers.
Some 81 organisations have been proscribed under the 2000 Act, including Islamist terrorist groups such as Hamas and al Qaida, far-right groups such as National Action, and Russian private military company Wagner Group.
Another 14 organisations connected with Northern Ireland are also banned under previous legislation, including the IRA and UDA.
Belonging to or expressing support for a proscribed organisation, along with a number of other actions, are criminal offences carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
Friday’s incident at Brize Norton, described by the Prime Minister as “disgraceful”, prompted calls for Palestine Action to be banned.
The group has staged a series of demonstrations in recent months, including spraying the London offices of Allianz Insurance with red paint over its alleged links to Israeli defence company Elbit, and vandalising Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) welcomed the news that Ms Cooper intended to proscribe the group, saying: “Nobody should be surprised that those who vandalised Jewish premises with impunity have now been emboldened to sabotage RAF jets.”
CAA chief executive Gideon Falter urged the Home Secretary to proscribe the Houthi rebel group and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, adding: “This country needs to clamp down on the domestic and foreign terrorists running amok on our soil.”
Former home secretary Suella Braverman said it was “absolutely the correct decision”.