Home Secretary to ban Palestine Action organisation
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.
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Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Terror cops probe RAF security bungle after pro-Palestine fanatics break into Britain's biggest air base
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) TERROR cops were last night probing a security shambles after pro-Palestine fanatics on scooters broke into Britain's biggest air base. The thugs hurled red paint into two planes' engines after cutting fencing at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 Red paint can be seen on and around the Airbus Voyager at RAF Brize Norton Credit: ITV News 7 A Palestine Action fanatic rides towards the plane on an electric scooter after evading security at the base Credit: x 7 The vandals' paint kit hangs from the scooter's handlebars Credit: x PM Keir Starmer called the attack 'disgraceful'. The group, Palestine Action will be outlawed as a terrorist organisation after the brazen paint stunt at Britain's biggest air base. The Government was last night under huge pressure following the security shambles at the high-security base. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper responded by saying she will put forward legislation on Monday to make being a member of the group illegal. READ MORE RAF NEWS PLANE MAD Palestine activists attack plane on RAF base in 'grotesque security breach' Two fanatics on electric scooters were thought to have cut a section of the base's eight-mile perimeter fence in rural Oxfordshire, early yesterday. Palestine Action posted a 34-second video of the pair riding up to two Airbus Voyagers in the dark. They then used converted fire extinguishers to spray paint on to the turbines and fuselages of the planes in a bid to ruin the engines. The fanatics fled and were being hunted by counter-terror cops. PM Sir Keir Starmer condemned the action as 'disgraceful' and 'an act of vandalism'. The group also targeted commercial sites in Manchester and Chelmsford, Essex, yesterday which they claimed had links to Israel. Security alert as man seen climbing up Big Ben sparking huge emergency response Checks were under way on the aircraft, which cost £750million over their lifetime. Sources said damage to the engines could run into 'seven figures'. The RAF does not expect the incident to affect wider operations. Brize Norton — home to 6,000 military staff, 300 civilian workers and 1,200 contractors — is the hub for UK strategic air transport and refuelling, including flights to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. 7 Paint can be seen daubed on the engine and fuselage at dawn Credit: Sky News 7 The group claims to have sprayed paint into the engine - and putting the jet out of action Credit: Sky News Palestine Action said: 'By decommissioning two military planes, Palestine Action have directly intervened in the genocide and prevented crimes against Palestinians.' But a defence source said the group was 'confused and misguided' in its mission. The source said: 'These planes were for air transport and air-to-air refuelling. Trying to link the Voyager fleet to Gaza is ridiculous.' An MoD spokesman confirmed that Voyager aircraft had not been involved in refuelling or supporting Israeli Air Force jets. They have been used to refuel RAF Typhoons fighting IS in Iraq and Syria, and against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Retired Col Richard Kemp said: 'Brize was attacked not by external forces but the enemy within. It was a deliberate act of sabotage.' Lord West, the former head of the Royal Navy, described the breach as 'shocking'. He added: 'Bearing in mind the very real risks of attacks from terrorists and Russian proxy state actors, it's unbelievable that such lax protection should be afforded to vital equipment and, in the final analysis, our people.' Tory leader Kemi Badenoch called it 'deeply concerning'. She said: 'This is not lawful protest, it's politically-motivated criminality.' A defence source said it was impossible to patrol the base '24/7, 365'. They said: 'We do have fences, cameras and barbed wire but to patrol with dogs all the time costs a huge amount of manpower and some of it comes back on spending to the Armed Forces.' 7 Terror cops are probing the security shambles that allowed pro-Palestine fanatics on scooters to break into Britain's biggest air base Credit: NC 7 PM Keir Starmer called the attack 'disgraceful' Credit: EPA After the stunt, Defence Secretary John Healey said he had ordered an investigation and a review of wider security at our bases. Counter-terror police were investigating along with Thames Valley Police and the MoD. Palestine Action has previously focused attention on Israeli defence contractor Elbit Systems Ltd. In March the group claimed to have shut down its Bristol HQ using a cherry picker. Four people were charged over damage caused.
South Wales Guardian
2 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
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 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'. But Tom Southerden, of Amnesty International UK, said the human rights organisation was 'deeply concerned at the use of counter terrorism powers to target protest groups'. Mr Southerden said: 'Terrorism powers should never have been used to aggravate criminal charges against Palestine Action activists and they certainly shouldn't be used to ban them. 'Instead of suppressing protest against the UK's military support for Israel, the UK should be taking urgent action to prevent Israel's genocide and end any risk of UK complicity in it.'
North Wales Chronicle
3 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
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 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'.
