RAF base's only defence against Palestine Action was 6ft wooden fence

Telegraph

3 hours ago

For almost 80 years, RAF Brize Norton has been one of the country's most important military airfields, serving as an embarkation point for members of the Royal family and senior politicians as they fly around the globe.
So one could be forgiven for expecting security around the Oxfordshire airbase to be watertight.
In reality, however, things are a little more porous, with sections of the eight-mile perimeter protected only by a six-foot wooden fence that would not look out of place surrounding a suburban garden.
In the early hours of Friday morning, two members of the protest group Palestine Action – which will now be proscribed as a terrorist organisation – took advantage of the seemingly lax defences to enter the airfield and attack two military aircraft.
Video footage posted by the group showed two people using electric scooters to cross the base's runway.
One can be seen approaching an aircraft and spray-painting its engine, before driving away down the empty airstrip.
They were then able to disappear into the night, leaving the RAF red-faced and the Ministry of Defence to announce an urgent review of security.
Brize Norton serves as the hub for UK strategic air transport and refuelling, including flights to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
It is also where the aircraft used by dignitaries, including the monarch and prime minister, are based.
As would be expected, large parts of the base, especially near the gates, are surrounded by high metal fences topped with menacing-looking razor wire.
The perimeter in these areas also bristles with security cameras and hi-tech CCTV to monitor the comings of goings of all personnel.
Armed guards patrol the gates in a show of strength aimed at deterring anyone who has no lawful business.
But just a short stroll along a grass verge, the barbed wire comes to an abrupt end, to be replaced by a panel fence that looks like it could have been purchased from a DIY store.
The section in question is plain to see for anyone travelling the four miles between the villages of Carterton and Bampton along station road.
Stretching for around 170 metres, it skirts along the end of the runway and is protected from the road by just a small line of wooden and concrete bollards.
One resident said: 'I've lived in this area for years and every time I drive past the fence I think: 'That would be easy to break into'.'
It is not topped with barbed wire or any other anti-climbing defences, and would provide little resistance to a determined terrorist with a spring in their step.
There is even a hole in the fence at one point for anyone who cannot quite manage the climb.
Red warning signs attached to the fence declare: 'No unauthorised access. Protected site under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. Trespass on this site is a Criminal Offence. This site is also regulated by military bylaws.'
At one end of the section, kennels belonging to the RAF Police's dog section are located.
But, while a number of RAF Police vehicles were parked close by, there were no visible personnel patrols on Friday afternoon during the three hours that reporters from The Telegraph were at the site.
On the other side of the fence, and just a short distance from the road, Airbus Voyager aircraft, the air-to-air refuellers targeted by Palestine Action, can be seen on the tarmac.
Security for the Brize Norton airfield is the responsibility of the RAF Police and Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS), which secures Army, Navy and RAF bases.
But former members have suggested the unit is poorly funded and does not have the resources to effectively secure such large sites.
One RAF source told The Telegraph the level of security across all military was not up to standard, and that 'more dogs, more coppers and more money' was needed to properly secure the sensitive sites.
'We have barbed wire around the bases and cameras, but is its perimeter fence completely covered for the miles it takes up?' the source said. 'No, because Brize Norton is f---ing huge.'
He added: 'If we could have another 50 coppers and 50 dogs the security at Brize Norton would improve. But is the security as tight at a fast jet base? Not really.
'To have watertight security at a base like Brize Norton, you'd have to invest countless people and god knows the amount of money. But maybe that's what we have to do now if this is the way things are going.'
The source added: 'MPGS are responsible for recruiting the right people and getting them in the right places, but they haven't done that.
' It's a symptom of a lack of investment on security. We don't have tens of millions of pounds to put up CCTV across all the bases.'
Another former military source added: 'The security at these non-nuclear bases can be very patchy. The perimeter fences are too long to be able to have them under surveillance 24 hours a day.
'But when Glastonbury's fence is harder to breach than RAF Brize Norton, you know you have an issue.
'While it may be challenging to secure an entire eight-mile perimeter, you would think they ought to be able to protect aircraft sitting on the runway. Someone's head is going to have to roll over this.'