UK Moves to Ban Palestine Action After RAF Aircraft Sabotage

Pro-Palestinian activists from the direct-action group Palestine Action breached security at RAF Brize Norton, Britain’s largest Royal Air Force station, in the early hours of 20 June. The pair rode electric scooters onto the Oxfordshire base and used crowbars and fire-extinguisher canisters filled with red paint to disable two Airbus A330 Voyager refuelling aircraft. The Ministry of Defence condemned the sabotage, and a security review of the airfield—which supports daily flights to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus—was opened.

Three days later Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said she would proscribe Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000, citing a “long history of unacceptable criminal damage” and warning that the group’s actions threaten national security. If Parliament approves the draft order scheduled for 30 June, it will become a criminal offence—punishable by up to 14 years in prison—to belong to, fund or publicly support the organisation. Prime Minister Keir Starmer branded the aircraft damage “disgraceful.”

Counter-terrorism officers arrested two men aged 24 and 36 and a 29-year-old woman on 27 June on suspicion of preparing or instigating acts of terrorism; a 41-year-old woman was held for allegedly assisting an offender. All remain in custody as detectives examine how the activists gained access to the heavily guarded base.

Palestine Action rejects the terrorism label, saying the paint attack was a protest against Britain’s military links to Israel. The group has begun High Court proceedings to block the ban, and a judge has granted an urgent hearing to consider a request for interim relief while the judicial review is prepared. Rights advocates including Amnesty International argue that using anti-terror powers to curb civil disobedience risks eroding freedoms of speech and assembly.