Three arrested under terror laws over Palestine Action attack at UK airbase
Three arrests under terrorism laws have been made over a Palestine Action attack on a UK airbase that resulted in multimillion-pound damage to two aircraft.
A 29-year-old woman and two men, aged 36 and 24, were arrested on suspicion of a terrorist offence, police said. A fourth person was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
The Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire last Friday in an incident claimed by activists Palestine Action. The group released footage of campaigners who had broken into the defence site using electric scooters to travel across the airfield, before using modified fire extinguishers to spray paint inside the two planes. A crowbar was also used.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the cost of the damage ran into 'millions of pounds' and has since unveiled plans to proscribe Palestine Action.
Armed forces minister Luke Pollard described the 'illegal entry and criminal vandalism' as 'disgraceful and epically stupid'.
A police statement said the three arrests were "on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, contrary to Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000".
It also disclosed that a 41-year-old woman, of no fixed abode, was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. The arrests took place on Thursday in Newbury, Berkshire, and in London.
'Those arrested are currently in police custody while enquiries are ongoing,' it said.
Palestine Action posted footage of the break-in on X after those involved managed to leave without being detected, and in an accompanying statement said: 'Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US/Israeli fighter jets.
'Britain isn't just complicit, it's an active participant in the Gaza genocide and war crimes across the Middle East. By decommissioning two military planes, Palestine Action have directly intervened in the genocide and prevented crimes against the Palestinian people.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Zawya
2 hours ago
- Zawya
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Strongly Condemns Attack on United Nations (UN) Mission in Central African Republic
The United Arab Emirates has strongly condemned the attack targeting the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), near the town of Birao, which resulted in the death of a Zambian peacekeeper and the injury of another. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) underscored the UAE's strong condemnation of these criminal and terrorist acts, and its permanent rejection of all forms of violence, extremism and terrorism aimed at undermining security and stability. The Ministry reaffirmed that targeting UN and humanitarian missions constitutes a blatant violation of the principles of international law and UN Security Council Resolution 1701, stressing the UAE's full support for the vital role of MINUSCA in promoting security and stability in the Central African Republic. The Ministry expressed its sincere condolences and sympathy to the family of the victim, and to the government and people of Zambia, as well as its wishes for a speedy recovery for the injured peacekeeper. The Ministry further expressed its solidarity with the United Nations and its humanitarian missions, and the countries contributing to international efforts aimed at achieving peace and stability in the region and worldwide. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Arab Emirates, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The National
3 hours ago
- The National
Syrian teenager charged over plot against Taylor Swift concerts
German prosecutors said on Friday they had filed charges against a Syrian youth and alleged ISIS supporter linked to a 2024 attack plot on a Vienna concert by US pop megastar Taylor Swift. The suspect, named only as Mohammad A., was accused of supporting a foreign terrorist organisation and preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state, federal prosecutors said. He had, as a juvenile, started following ISIS ideology from April last year and had from July been in contact with a young adult from Austria who was planning a bomb attack at one of Swift's concerts, they said. "The accused assisted the young adult in his preparations by, among other things, translating bomb-making instructions from Arabic and establishing contact with an ISIS member abroad via the internet," federal prosecutors said in a statement. "The accused also provided the young adult with a template for the oath of allegiance to ISIS, which the young adult used to join the organisation." Police first took Mohammad A. into custody last September in the eastern German city of Frankfurt an der Oder, where the then 15-year-old went to school, but later released him. The federal prosecutors office in the western city of Karlsruhe said on Friday the charges were laid on June 17 in a Berlin higher regional court, which will now decide on their admissibility. Three shows in Vienna that were part of Swift's record-breaking Eras tour were cancelled last summer after authorities warned of a terror plot by ISIS sympathisers. Police detained three suspects, including a 19-year-old Austrian with North Macedonian roots, over the alleged attack threat, with the US saying it had shared intelligence to assist in the investigation. Swift later wrote on Instagram that "the reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many had planned on coming to those shows".
Middle East Eye
3 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
British pro-Israel MP suggests Palestine Action activists should expect to be shot
British MP Rupert Lowe has suggested the Palestine Action activists who recently infiltrated a military base to spray-paint planes should have expected to be fired at. The independent parliamentarian said in a post on X on Thursday that "if you break into a military base with the intent to cause damage, you should expect to be shot," adding that "nobody of sound mind would disagree". The British government is set to ban the direct action group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation after activists broke into RAF Brize Norton, the largest airbase in Britain, last week and spray-painted two planes while on electric scooters. The activists then evaded security and escaped the base, which they said they targeted because flights leave there daily "for RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, a base used for military operations in Gaza and across the Middle East". Lowe was embroiled in an antisemitism scandal last month after a leaked recording showed him remarking on the size of a camera, saying: "In days gone by you'd call it a Jewish camera, but that would be politically incorrect. Because it's so small." New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The MP was previously a member of Nigel Farage's anti-immigration Reform party, but was suspended in March after calling Reform a "protest party led by the Messiah" and criticising Farage. Lowe has been vocally pro-Israel and said on 11 June in a Facebook post: "Getting rather fed up of MPs spending their time opining about Palestine rather than focusing on what's actually happening in the country they're supposed to represent." Israel's war on Gaza: Who are Palestine Action? Read More » In February, he said that "not a single Palestinian 'refugee' should be allowed to settle in the UK". Lowe has also called for bans on non-stun halal and kosher slaughter and face veils. Earlier this month, the MP revealed he asked his gamekeeper to shoot his 17-year-old dog in the back of the head at his estate in Gloucestershire. He said the dog, Cromwell, could no longer use his back legs and described his decision as "humane". He did not take the dog to a vet, he added, because dogs often panic when they visit a vet. Banning Palestine Action Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said she will bring legislation to proscribe the group Palestine Action before Parliament on 30 June. Several MPs, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, have voiced opposition to the move, describing it as an attack on the right to protest. If passed, the legislation will designate the pro-Palestine group as a proscribed terrorist organisation, making it illegal not only to be a member of the group but also to show support for it. It would mark the first time a direct action group has been proscribed in the UK, placing Palestine Action on a par with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) under British law. Palestine Action have launched a fundraising campaign to challenge the ban.
