Palestine Motion to be banned after RAF base break in

The house secretary will transfer to proscribe Palestine Motion group within the coming weeks, successfully branding them as a terrorist organisation, the BBC understands.

Yvette Cooper is making ready a written assertion to place earlier than Parliament on Monday – which if handed will make changing into a member of the group unlawful.

The choice comes as a safety evaluation begins at navy bases throughout the UK, after pro-Palestinian activists broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and sprayed two navy planes with crimson paint.

Palestine Motion stated they represented “each particular person” who’s against Israel’s navy motion in Gaza, including: “In the event that they need to ban us, they ban us all”.

In a separate assertion, a spokesperson for the group added: “When our authorities fails to uphold their ethical and authorized obligations, it’s the accountability of peculiar residents to take direct motion.”

Underneath UK regulation, the house secretary has the ability to proscribe an organisation beneath the Terrorism Act 2000 in the event that they consider it’s “involved with terrorism”.

To enact the transfer, new laws will probably be wanted, which should be debated and accepted by each MPs and friends.

There are presently 81 teams proscribed as terrorist organisations within the UK beneath the Terrorism Act.

Former Dwelling Secretary Suella Braverman stated the transfer was “completely the proper determination”.

“We should have zero tolerance for terrorism,” she wrote in a put up on X.

However Amnesty Worldwide UK stated it was “deeply involved at using counter terrorism powers to focus on protest teams.”

“Terrorism powers ought to by no means have been used to worsen felony fees towards Palestine Motion activists and so they actually should not be used to ban them,” it added in a put up on X.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer earlier condemned Friday’s incident as “disgraceful”.

The group’s actions sparked outrage amongst some MPs, with Reform UK chief Nigel Farage and shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick calling for the group to be banned.

South East counter terrorism police confirmed its specialist officers have been investigating the incident alongside Thames Valley Police and the Ministry of Defence.

Counter-terrorism police added the incident occurred within the early hours of Friday and that enquiries have been “ongoing to ascertain the precise circumstances”.

Footage posted on-line by Palestine Motion confirmed two folks contained in the Oxfordshire airbase in darkness, with one using on a scooter as much as an Airbus Voyager and spraying paint into its jet engine.

After sharing the footage, a spokesperson stated: “Regardless of publicly condemning the Israeli authorities, Britain continues to ship navy cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US and Israeli fighter jets.”

The group claimed its activists had evaded safety and had put the air-to-air refuelling tankers “out of service”.

Nonetheless RAF engineers have been assessing the injury, with a defence supply earlier telling the BBC that they didn’t anticipate the incident would have an effect on operations.

Thames Valley Police stated it had obtained a report about folks getting access to the bottom and inflicting felony injury.

“Inquiries are ongoing to find and arrest these accountable,” the power stated.

For the reason that begin of the present conflict in Gaza, Palestine Motion has engaged in actions which have predominantly focused arms corporations. In Might, it claimed accountability for the daubing of a US navy aircraft in Eire.

RAF Brize Norton serves because the hub for UK strategic air transport and refuelling, together with flights to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. The air power has carried out reconnaissance flights over Gaza out of the Cyprus base.