UK confirms ban on Palestine Action group under anti-terrorism laws
The British home secretary confirmed on Monday the government's intention to ban the Palestine Action group under anti-terrorism legislation.
The move comes days after several activists vandalised aircraft at a Royal Air Force base.
A proposal will be submitted to Parliament next Monday, Yvette Cooper said in a written statement to the House of Commons, denouncing a "long history of unacceptable wilful damage".
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Middle East Eye
6 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
UK confirms ban on Palestine Action group under anti-terrorism laws
The British home secretary confirmed on Monday the government's intention to ban the Palestine Action group under anti-terrorism legislation. The move comes days after several activists vandalised aircraft at a Royal Air Force base. A proposal will be submitted to Parliament next Monday, Yvette Cooper said in a written statement to the House of Commons, denouncing a "long history of unacceptable wilful damage".
Middle East Eye
6 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
'Repressive': UK government confirms Palestine Action terror proscription as hundreds rally
British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed her plan to ban Palestine Action under anti-terror legislation, as hundreds protested in central London on Monday. The police banned protesters from assembling outside parliament, so hundreds rallied in Trafalgar Square where scuffles took place between protesters and the police. London's Metropolitan Police said that three people were arrested. If the decision to proscribe the activist group is passed by parliament, the move will designate the group a terrorist organisation, making membership and support illegal. The announcement came after activists broke into a RAF Brize Norton airbase on scooters and sprayed war planes with red paint. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters In a statement, Cooper branded the action as 'disgraceful", adding that '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 claimed the group's activities have targeted 'key national infrastructure and defence firms that provide services and supplies to support Ukraine'. Cooper said a draft proscription order will be laid before parliament next week. If passed, it would effectively ban the group. 'This is completely unprecedented and totally shocking,' Palestine Action spokesperson Max Geller told Middle East Eye. 'This is was an incredibly rushed decision, and it came on the heels of a staggering humiliation of the British military establishment by two activists on scooters, and this seems like the end result of a rush job with no consultation." Geller, who is not a British citizen and carries American nationality, said that the move could threaten his ability to stay in the country. 'I have two little British children and a British wife. If this thing happens, I'm not sure I'll be able to stay in the country because the forms ask you to say if you've ever been a member of a terrorist organisation.' Additional pressure According to the Home Office website, when deciding whether proscription is proportionate, the home secretary will consider 'the nature and scale of an organisation's activities' and 'the specific threat that it poses to the UK' and 'the specific threat that it poses to British nationals overseas'. 'I don't see how Palestine Action fit the criteria,' Simon Pook, a lawyer who represents Palestine Action activists currently facing trial, told MEE. 'Has there been additional pressure on this government by a third country?' In May, freedom of information disclosures suggested that the UK had shared contact details of counterterrorism police with the Israeli embassy during ongoing investigations into Palestine Action (PA) activists. Palestine Action to be proscribed as a terror group after break-in at UK's largest airbase Read More » Past disclosures revealed apparent requests by the Israeli embassy for intervention in individual cases. 'What was said? Did they ask for proscription?' Pook said. Pook said that the case is similar to that of the Fairford Five - a group of activists who broke into an RAF airbase and sabotaged US bombers before they flew to Iraq in 2003. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, then a barrister who defended one of the protesters, argued that their actions were justified as an attempt to prevent war crimes. Starmer represented Josh Richards, who was allegedly found with a mixture of petroleum and washing-up liquid intended to set fire to a military jet. 'People may be outraged about spraying red paint on military jets. In my view, that is far less serious than having a can of petrol,' Pook said. Pook further raised concerns about the implications of proscription on families and support teams of activists held in prison, who could be deemed as supporting a terrorist organisation. "What happens to those people travelling to court, waiting at police stations to take people home?" he asked. 'It's a very grey area and they can easily find themselves before a court." Clare Hinchcliffe, the mother of Zoe Rogers, a Palestine Action activist who is currently in prison and awaiting trial, spoke at the demonstration wearing a T-shirt calling for her daughter's release. 'This is an issue very close to my heart, and I think it's a massive, repressive, devastating move,' She told MEE. Speaking about her daughter's continued imprisonment, she said Rogers had been refused bail three times, despite meeting the conditions. 'She's got no previous convictions or charges against her. She's only 21 years old,' she said. 'I'm going to continue to advocate for my daughter. It's ridiculous.'
Middle East Eye
8 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Exclusive: UK privately says attacks on nuclear facilities not illegal
The British government has carefully refused to publicly reveal whether it supported the US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday, and even whether it deems the attack to be lawful. On Monday morning in an interview with BBC Radio 4, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy repeatedly declined to say whether he believed the US strikes were legal. Now numerous diplomatic sources with knowledge of the matter have told Middle East Eye the UK's private stance is that attacks on nuclear facilities are not illegal and should not be banned by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). "The UK has taken the view that attacks on nuclear facilities are not by themselves illegal," said one British diplomat at the UN with knowledge of the matter who asked to remain anonymous. "This has put it at odds with the approach of most UNSC member states, which oppose such attacks outright." New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Another diplomat with knowledge of the matter, also speaking on condition of anonymity, told MEE: "Most Security Council member states take the view that strikes on nuclear facilities should be prohibited, but Britain opposes that. Iranians say their hopes of peace have been buried by US bombs Read More » "The British view is that these attacks are not illegal in and of themselves, and so they shouldn't be prohibited. This is the position conveyed to diplomats but it isn't said in public statements." One diplomatic source confirmed this but stressed that "while it may be a minority position in the Security Council, it isn't a unique view and the Russians take the same approach, although they've criticised this particular US attack." MEE asked the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence to confirm whether the UK believes that attacks on nuclear facilities are not illegal. The Foreign Office did not respond directly but pointed MEE to Lammy saying on Monday morning that "questions of legality are for the Americans to discuss themselves". "We wanted to get the Iranians back to the table, there is still an off-ramp. I was discussing that with the Iranian foreign minister on the phone yesterday." The Foreign Office also denied Iranian reports that Lammy expressed regret over the US strikes to his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, in a phone call on Sunday. 'Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon' After the US strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities - Fordow, Nantaz and Isfahan - which the UK did not participate in, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on X that "Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and the US has taken action to alleviate that threat." Notably, Starmer stopped short of endorsing the attack. "We call on Iran to return to the negotiating table and reach a diplomatic solution to end this crisis," he said. The Security Council met on Sunday to discuss the US strikes, which UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said "marked a perilous turn". Guterres said at the meeting: "We must act – immediately and decisively – to halt the fighting and return to serious, sustained negotiations on the Iran nuclear programme." The UK's permanent representative to the UN, Barbara Woodward, echoed Starmer in her public statement at the meeting, saying that the US "took action last night to alleviate" the "serious threat" of Iran's nuclear programme. "My prime minister has been clear," she added. "We urge Iran now to show restraint, and we urge all parties to return to the negotiating table and find a diplomatic solution, which stops further escalation and brings this crisis to an end." Pakistan announced on Sunday that it would present along with Russia and China a joint UNSC resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East. Palestine Action to be proscribed as a terror group after break-in at UK's largest airbase Read More » The draft resolution condemns the US attack on "peaceful nuclear sites and facilities under the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] safeguards in the Islamic Republic of Iran". Britain is unlikely to vote in favour of the resolution. The Starmer government is attempting to perform a delicate balancing act in softly endorsing the outcome of the US attack on Iran while refusing to explicitly express support for the strikes themselves. When Israel launched its first wave of attacks against Iran, the UK was quick to announce that Britain played no role in the offensive or in helping to defend Israel against the retaliatory Iranian drone attacks, in contrast to previous episodes. Starmer has consistently made it clear that his government has no appetite for entanglement in the conflict, and is instead bent on promoting diplomacy. UK-Israel relations are increasingly strained, particularly after Britain sanctioned Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir nearly two weeks ago. Last week it was reported that Attorney General Richard Hermer, the UK government's top legal adviser, privately raised questions over whether Israel's bombing in Iran, which has killed at least 430 civilians, was lawful. Hermer reportedly said the UK should not be involved in the conflict "unless our personnel are targeted".
