British government will use antiterrorism laws to ban campaign organisation in the wake of damage to planes by activists.

The British government has said it will deploy antiterrorism laws to ban Palestine Action, a prominent campaign organisation that has protested against Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza and the United Kingdom’s role in supporting it, in the wake of its activists damaging two military planes.

Protesters clashed with police in London’s Trafalgar Square on Monday at a demonstration in solidarity with Palestine Action. The crowd moved towards police when officers tried to detain someone, while protesters chanted “let them go”.

The government’s move will make it a criminal offence to belong to the pro-Palestinian group and effectively place them in the same category as Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda or ISIL (ISIS) under British law.

It would be illegal for anyone to promote Palestine Action or be a member. Those who breach the ban could face up to 14 years in prison.

Activists from the group broke into a Royal Air Force (RAF) base in central England last week and claimed to have damaged two military aircraft to protest against the UK government’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza.

Palestine Action said two of its members entered the RAF Brize Norton military base in Oxfordshire, spraying paint into the engines of the Voyager aircraft and attacking them with crowbars.

“Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel U.S./Israeli fighter jets,” the group said in a statement on Friday, posting a video of the incident on X.

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The group said the red paint “symbolising Palestinian bloodshed was also sprayed across the runway and a Palestine flag was left on the scene”.

It said the activists were able to exit the military facility undetected and avoid arrest.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the “vandalism” as “disgraceful”.

There has been condemnation of the government’s move on Monday. Labour Party MP Apsana Begum said: “Proscribing Palestine Action as ‘terrorists’ while continuing to send arms to a state that is committing the gravest of crimes against humanity in Gaza is not just unjustifiable, it is chilling. The ongoing crackdown on the right to protest is a threat to us all.”

Palestine Action called the police response to the solidarity protest “draconian”.

Draconian response by the police at the protest in solidarity with Palestine Action. They want to ban us, they banned our protest at parliament and now they attack us. The people will not be intimidated. WE ARE ALL PALESTINE ACTION. pic.twitter.com/CsmebIriek — Palestine Action (@Pal_action) June 23, 2025

Weekly protests in the UK have drawn tens of thousands of people opposed to Israel’s war on Gaza and its besieged and bombarded population, as well as Britain’s supply of weapons to the Israeli military, which the government says it has suspended but still continues.

NGO Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) found the UK increased its licences to Israel for military equipment after the government announced a temporary arms suspension in September 2024.

The government also refused to suspend the shipment of components of F-35 fighters, arguing it would cause a “profound impact on international peace and security”.

The UK said on Monday that it will ban the campaign group Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws after its activists broke into a military base and vandalised two planes.

The measure means it will be a criminal offence to belong to or support the group, with a maximum of 14 years in prison.

Two of the group’s members entered the Royal Air Force base in Brize Norton, central England, on Wednesday and damaged two planes with red paint.

The group released a video appearing to show the activists spraying paint into a jet’s turbine engines and damaging them with crowbars.

“The disgraceful attack on Brize Norton … is the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action,” UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said in a written statement to parliament.

Cooper said the group’s recent actions, including an attack against a defence factory in Glasgow in 2022, have resulted in damage that runs into millions of pounds.

“The UK’s defence enterprise is vital to the nation’s national security and this government will not tolerate those that put that security at risk,” she added.

Cooper’s announcement came as protesters in support of Palestine Action clashed with police during a demonstration in central London.

Palestine Action described the ban as “an unhinged reaction” that it intends to challenge.

Planes from RAF Brize Norton regularly fly to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, Britain’s main air base for operations in the Middle East.

The UK has sent more Typhoon fighter jets and Voyager tankers to Cyprus since the Israel-Iran conflict started a week ago for what Starmer called “contingency support”.

The government said a draft order will be laid in parliament next week, and lawmakers still need to approve it. The UK list of banned organisations includes about 80 groups, including Hamas and al-Qaida, and domestic far-right groups such as National Action.

Palestine Action activists have clashed with police in ugly scenes during a mass protest in London as the Government moves to proscribe the group as a terrorist organisation.

Hundreds of protesters waving Palestinian flags and holding placards gathered at Trafalgar Square today as the group’s leaders called for an ’emergency mobilisation’ in response to the Government’s plans.

The Palestine Action protest comes just days after two of its members broke into RAF Brize Norton and damaged two military planes in a stunt condemned by MPs including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.

It is feared one engine of a plane targeted at Britain’s largest RAF base is damaged beyond repair and could cost £25million to replace.

The group, whose Brize Norton ambush is being treated by counter-terrorism police, have conducted 356 attacks on sites across the UK in the last five years – with Ms Cooper revealing the damage caused is ‘running into the millions of pounds’.

Monday’s demonstration was initially due to be staged outside Parliament but protesters were forced to descend on Trafalgar Square instead after the Metropolitan Police imposed an exclusion zone.

Protesters, some wearing black face coverings or Palestinian keffiyehs, were seen scuffling with police and shouting up close into their faces, with officers forced to drag activists out of the crowds.

Officers were seen surging into the crowd to detain masked protesters, prompting activists to respond by pushing back, throwing water and chanting at police.

Ugly scenes break out as protesters and police clash in Trafalgar Square this afternoon

Police officers line up in front of pro-Palestine protesters who gathered in Trafalgar Square

Ugly scenes broke out on Monday afternoon as protesters and police clashed on the floor

An activist clashes with a police officer who can be seen filming him amid the protest

Police officers try to take control of a protest that spilled out of control in Trafalgar Square

Protesters were seen scuffling with officers as they scrambled to get the demo under control

Pro-Palestine protesters also clashed with a small group of pro-Israeli counter-demonstrators who were swiftly escorted out to the sound of jeers.

The Met has been forced to deploy more than 100 officers to the rally which started at midday but quickly spilled into chaotic scenes. At least three protesters were arrested – two for obstruction and a third for a racially aggravated public order offence.

Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said he was ‘shocked’ by the protest and described Palestine Action as an ‘organised extremist criminal group’.

As the protest was going on, Ms Cooper announced she has decided to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group and will lay an order before Parliament next week to make membership and support for the them illegal.

The proscription of Palestine Action puts the group on a par with Hamas, al-Qaeda or ISIS under British law, banning anyone from promoting the group, arranging meetings or carrying its logo in public.

Those breaching the rules could face up to 14 years in jail.

Dozens of Palestinian flags have adorned Trafalgar Square as music from the pro-Palestinian northern-irish rap group ‘Kneecap’ was blasted from speakers.

A flurry of placards say: ‘Hands off Palestine Action’.

One man at the protest is seen being removed from it by police responding to today’s rally

A second male is also seen being removed from the rally in London on Monday afternoon

Protesters, some wearing black face coverings or Palestinian keffiyehs, were seen at the event

Police officers were seen surrounding one woman during the protest in London today

Another man, who was covering his face with his shirt, was seen apparently being shepherded away by officers

While officers here are seen carrying one male away from the scene of the rally

By 1.30pm, protesters completely blocked the corner of Trafalgar Square going off to Duncannon Street.

Police officers made a blockade leading down the exit and all traffic grounded to a halt.

Officers received a barrage of verbal abuse from the crowds, with some shouting ‘f*** you’ and ‘who do you serve?’. Other chants include ‘oink oink piggy, we’re going to make your lives s****y’.

One demonstrator said: ‘We will cause mayhem today. We’re here to break and smash the system. The police will get it. We don’t care.’

Scotland Yard said the protest had to be finished by 3pm but demonstrators have vowed to stay ‘well beyond’.

One said: ‘They’ll have to arrest us to get rid of us. We’re not leaving. This is just the start.’

However, three hours after the disorder exploded onto the capital’s streets, the protest had ended.

The Met has since been accused of ‘two-tier’ policing by one Jewish man, who was reportedly forced onto a double-decker bus by police after waving an Israel flag at today’s rally.

Isaac Grand, 22, a trainee barrister, was escorted away by officers as pro-Palestinian protesters chanted ‘Zionist scum’.

‘A young man from the crowd grabbed the flag,’ he told the Telegraph. ‘We held onto it, they surrounded us, pushing and pushing us. One was covering my entire face with a Palestine flag. Some would say that is assault and harassment.

‘I was exercising my right to protest, which seems to be a two-tier system. For some reason the pro-Palestinian protesters are able to commit crimes of assault and harassment against us and the police won’t do anything about it.

‘But for some reason when we exercise our rights to wave a flag or say, “We support Britain”, that seems to be treated by the Met Police as some assault on them. It’s a perverse system of justice.’

Calls have been growing for Palestine Action to be proscribed amid the group committing acts of serious damage to property with the aim of progressing its political cause and influencing the Government.

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This is one of the RAF air-to-air military planes that was sprayed with red paint at Brize Norton

A protester, wearing what appears to be a Holocaust victim outfit, holds a sign reading ‘We are all Palestine Action’

Police try to restore order as the pro-Palestine protest spilled out of control on Monday

Protesters moved to Trafalgar Square after they were banned from gathering outside Parliament

Police officers remove a protester during a demonstration in support of Palestine Action in Trafalgar Square

Protesters were seen being dragged away through the crowds as the demo turned hostile

Pro-Palestine protesters were seen holding up placards condemning the war in Gaza

An activist sits on the floor in front of police officers during the protest on Monday

On Friday morning, 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. They managed to infiltrate the base and escape without being caught.

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 US President Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire.

The seriousness of these attacks includes the extent and nature of damage caused, including to targets affecting UK national security, and the impact on innocent members of the public fleeing for safety and subjected to violence.

The extent of damage across these three attacks alone, spreading the length and breadth of the UK, runs into the millions of pounds.

The Home Secretary has confirmed she is launching the process that will make it a criminal offence to belong to or support the group. She said the government ‘will not tolerate those that put that security at risk’.

‘I have decided to proscribe Palestine Action under section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000. A draft proscription order will be laid in Parliament on Monday 30 June. If passed, it will make it illegal to be a member of, or invite support for, Palestine Action.

Police hold a person taking part in a demonstration at Trafalgar Square

More than a hundred police officers had to be deployed to the protest

Police remove a person taking part in a demonstration at Trafalgar Square in London

Police officers scramble to keep protesters back as ugly scenes broke out in central London

Police are seen speaking with pro-Palestine protesters in Trafalgar Square

Police officers remove a protester during a demonstration in support of Palestine Action

Police remove a small contingent of pro-Israeli supporters from a demonstration at Trafalgar Square in London

A pro-Israel protester wearing a cap reading ‘Make America Great Again’ and a t-shirt reading ‘Zionist’ (R) faces a pro-Palestinian protester

‘This decision is specific to Palestine Action and does not affect lawful protest groups and other organisations campaigning on issues around Palestine or the Middle East.

‘The disgraceful attack on Brize Norton in the early hours of the morning on Friday 20 June is the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action.’

Ms Cooper added: ‘Since its inception in 2020, Palestine Action has orchestrated a nationwide campaign of direct criminal action against businesses and institutions, including key national infrastructure and defence firms that provide services and supplies to support Ukraine, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), ‘Five Eyes’ allies and the UK defence enterprise.

‘Its activity has increased in frequency and severity since the start of 2024 and its methods have become more aggressive, with its members demonstrating a willingness to use violence.

‘Palestine Action has also broadened its targets from the defence industry to include financial firms, charities, universities and government buildings. Its activities meet the threshold set out in the statutory tests established under the Terrorism Act 2000.

‘This has been assessed through a robust evidence-based process, by a wide range of experts from across government, the police and the Security Services.’

Ms Cooper said that the group had caused damage ‘running into the millions of pounds’.

A spokesman for Palestine Action responded to the Home Secretary’s decision by saying: ‘This is an unhinged reaction to an action spraying paint in protest the UK Government arming Israel’s slaughter of the Palestinian people.

Palestine Action protesters clash with police during the Monday protest

Two women are seen tussling with police officers as others watch on

A protester is hauled away by police officers during the Palestine Action protest

Activists are seen holding up placards saying ‘End this genocide’ in reference to the war in Gaza

Palestinian flags wave in the air as protesters gathered in central London

Scuffles were seen regularly breaking out as police scrambled to restore order

Hundreds of activists descended on Trafalgar Square after the original protest outside Parliament was banned

‘The real crime here is not red paint being sprayed on these war planes, but the war crimes that have been enabled with those planes because of the UK Government’s complicity in Israel’s genocide.

‘It also smacks of rank hypocrisy from Keir Starmer, who rightly defended protesters who broke into an RAF base in 2003 to stop US bombers heading to Iraq, with Starmer asserting that this protest as lawful because their intention was to prevent war crimes.

‘He is now cowing down to the pro-Israel groups and the private arms companies who have been lobbying government to stop Palestine Action because we have successfully hit the profits of these blood-soaked companies and disrupted Israel’s war machine.

‘We are teachers, nurses, students and parents who take part in actions disrupting the private companies who are arming Israel’s genocide, by spray painting or entering their factory premises. It is plainly preposterous to rank us with terrorist groups like ISIS, National Action and Boko Haram…’

Palestine Action group to be banned, home secretary confirms

Hundreds demonstrated in Trafalgar Square ahead of the announcement on Monday, after police blocked protesters from gathering outside Parliament

Cooper’s announcement came as Palestine Action held a protest in central London, with hundreds in attendance and thirteen arrested as scuffles broke out.

The move effectively brands the group a terrorist organisation and, if passed in Parliament, would make membership of and support of the group illegal.

It comes days after activists from the group broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and spray-painted two military planes red – an incident Cooper called “disgraceful”.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said she will proscribe Palestine Action under anti-terror law.

Announcing her intention to ban the group, Cooper said Palestine Action had a “long history of unacceptable criminal damage”.

“The UK’s defence enterprise is vital to the nation’s national security and this Government will not tolerate those that put that security at risk,” she added.

Counter-terrorism police are leading the investigation into Friday’s incident at Brize Norton.

In a statement, Palestine Action said: “The real crime here is not red paint being sprayed on these war planes, but the war crimes that have been enabled with those planes because of the UK Government’s complicity in Israel’s genocide.”

“We are teachers, nurses, students and parents who take part in actions disrupting the private companies who are arming Israel’s genocide, by spray painting or entering their factory premises. It is plainly preposterous to rank us with terrorist groups like ISIS, National Action and Boko Haram”, it said.

“We have instructed lawyers who are pursuing all avenues for legal challenge.”

Israel has strongly denied allegations of genocide relating to the ongoing war in Gaza.

Cooper will lay the draft order before Parliament next week.

If passed, the ban would make it a criminal offence to belong to or support the group, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Cooper said in a written statement: “This decision is specific to Palestine Action and does not affect lawful protest groups and other organisations campaigning on issues around Palestine or the Middle East.

“It is vitally important that those seeking to protest peacefully, including pro-Palestinian groups, those opposing the actions of the Israeli government, and those demanding changes in the UK’s foreign policy, can continue to do so.”

She added that the group had committed several acts of serious damage since it was created in 2020, costing more than £1m in damage.

In 2022, the group broke into Thales defence factory in Glasgow, setting off pyrotechnics and throwing a smoke bomb into an area where staff were being evacuated.

The damage at the site was estimated at £1,130,783.

Cooper also referenced two incidents last year, when seven Palestine Action members were arrested for aggravated burglary at the Instro Precision factory in Kent, while several others broke into the Bristol HQ of Elbit Systems UK.

“I have considered carefully the nature and scale of Palestine Action’s activity. Proscription represents a legitimate response to the threat posed by Palestine Action,” Cooper added.