RAF base vandalism not justification ] to ban Palestine Action, says ex-minister

The spray-painting of aircraft at an RAF base by a pro-Palestinian group would not provide the sole legal justification for banning it, according to a former justice secretary.
The home secretary, Yvette Cooper, is expected to move to proscribe Palestine Action in the coming days after an incident on Friday at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
Jonathan Reynolds, the trade secretary, said on Sunday it was the 'fourth attack' by the group on a key UK defence asset and that those interfering over a period of time with defence infrastructure should expect 'a very robust response'.
'I would also say those people do no service to the Palestinian cause, which is a noble one,' he said in an interview on the BBC.
But reports of a move to proscribe the group, which would in effectbrand it as a terrorist organisation, has been met with criticism by some, including MPs, Amnesty International and the former Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf.
A Thames Valley police investigation into the incident has been taken over by counter-terrorism police while the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said it was already in the process of reviewing security at its bases. Cooper is preparing a written ministerial statement that will be placed before parliament on Monday.
Palestine Action released a short video on Friday morning showing two people driving electric scooters unimpeded inside the airbase at night and spraying two military planes.
The group said it had targeted RAF Voyager aircraft used for transport and refuelling, and that 'activists have interrupted Britain's direct participation in the commission of genocide and war crimes across the Middle East'.
The incident is the latest action in recent years by the group, but it is also a particularly embarrassing breach of MOD security at a site that holds transport planes used by the king and prime minister.
The former justice secretary Charlie Falconer said on Sunday that the 'sort of demonstration' that took place at the RAF would not justify proscription 'so there must be something else that I don't know about'.
Asked whether the group's actions were 'commensurate with the need to proscribe an organisation', Lord Falconer told Sky News's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: 'I am not aware of what Palestine Action has done beyond the painting of things on the planes in Brize Norton, they may have done other things I didn't know.'
'I think the question will probably not be what we know about them publicly, but there would need to be something that was known by those who look at these sorts of things that we don't know about, because I mean, they got into the airbase which might suggest they've got some degree of ability to make them dangerous.'
Criticism came from quarters including the MP and former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who said on X: 'Prosecuting Palestine Action protestors for criminal damage for paint spraying at the airbase would be expected but putting them on a par with mass killers like Jihadis & Boko Haram & proscribing doesn't seem appropriate & not what the counter-terrorism laws were introduced for.'
During a protest march in London on Saturday, Yousaf accused the UK government of 'abusing' anti-terror laws against Palestine Action. He later said on X: 'If the UK Government believes those protesting against the atrocities in Gaza are terrorists, but those killing children should be supported and provided with weapons, then this Government has not only lost its way, it has lost its conscience.'
Amnesty International UK said it was 'deeply concerned at the use of counter-terrorism powers to target protest groups.'
Palestine Action was founded in 2020 by Huda Ammori, whose father is Palestinian, and Richard Barnard, a leftwing activist. The organisation, which focuses its campaigns on multinational arms dealers and corporate banks, recently targeted a factory in Shenstone, Staffordshire, claiming it made drones for the Israeli army.
The home secretary has been the focus of lobbying by groups pushing for Palestine Action to be banned. The Campaign Against Antisemitism said it recently wrote to her, calling for the proscription of Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000 and providing her with a dossier on the group.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

BBC News

22 minutes ago

• BBC News

Diplomatic tightrope on Iran just got more precarious for Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer has been treading a delicate diplomatic tightrope all week on the issue of night's airstrikes by the US mean the challenges facing the prime minister could now continue for Keir's repeated calls for de-escalation have clearly not been heeded by the White he has avoided direct UK involvement in military action and has sought to maintain what British diplomats claim is a solid and valuable relationship with US president Donald Trump. The response from ministers appears to be it was not the means they wanted, but they supported the UK has not explicitly endorsed the method, but the result - a delay in Iran getting nuclear weapons - is, they argue, in the UK's national Keir's position has shifted since Tuesday, when he seemed confident Trump would not intervene, after sitting next to him at a G7 dinner in Canada."I was sitting right next to President Trump, so I've no doubt, in my mind, the level of agreement there was," he four days later the president intervened. Did the prime minister misread Trump? Or did the president - whose unpredictability is central to his foreign policy approach - just change his mind? No 10 has told us it was given advanced warning of the US action, but the UK was not asked to take part. We do not know had been speculation that US B-2 stealth bombers could have used the UK's Diego Garcia airbase in the Indian Ocean as a waypoint en route to "Operation Midnight Hammer" involved B-2s flying non-stop for 18 hours to reach their targets, according to the latest on US strikes on IranIran's secretive nuclear site that only a US bomb could hitWhat we know about US strikes on IranIt is possible the UK was not asked for assistance because it would have been a difficult request to have been debates at the top of government in recent days about the legality of any UK involvement, with the attorney general, Lord Hermer, providing advice on a range of the next steps in the conflict unclear, the US could end up requesting military support from the UK in the coming weeks - prompting further difficult decisions for the prime minister. So, what next? US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has responded to concerns the US attacks could prompt the start of a long conflict by insisting: "This is most certainly not open-ended".Yet the actions of both the The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) suggest they fear retaliation from is why British diplomats have been planning a flight early next week to help "vulnerable British nationals and their dependents wanting to leave Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories".Defence sources have told me measures to protect British armed forces in the Middle East have been strengthened in the past few hours, with additional fighter jets already in the region and at "high readiness".One UK diplomat told me UK-US relations remain strong, as demonstrated by Foreign Secretary David Lammy's long meeting with secretary of state Marco Rubio and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on we do not know if - or how - Iran might respond, or whether the UK or its military could be targeted. Starmer's high-wire act has just become even more dangerous.

Daily Mail​

22 minutes ago

• Daily Mail​

Family of charity hero found stabbed to death by crew investigating a gas explosion pay tribute to 'truly wonderful woman'

The family of a charity hero who was found stabbed to death after a gas blast at her £1.4million home has described her as a 'truly wonderful woman'. Relatives of 46-year-old Annabel Rook say they are still struggling to come to terms with her death after she was found with knife wounds on Tuesday inside her two-storey Victorian-style home in Dumont Road, Stoke Newington, north-east London. Ms Rook worked for charity MamaSuze CIC, which she co-founded, that supported refugee and migrant women, some who had fled domestic violence, with art and drama activities. In a statement issued via the Metropolitan Police, her family said: 'We have lost our beautiful daughter, sister, friend and mother. Annabel was a truly wonderful woman. 'She touched the hearts of so many. She gave her life to helping the vulnerable and the disadvantaged whether it was in refugee camps in Africa or setting up MamaSuze in London, to enhance the lives of survivors of forced displacement and gender-based violence. 'We would really appreciate it if our privacy could be respected.' A 44-year-old man was arrested at the address on suspicion of murder and was taken to hospital with slash wounds. He was later discharged and released into police custody, the force said, with Scotland Yard previously describing the Ms Rook's death as 'a domestic-related incident'. John Martin, artistic director of PAN Intercultural Arts, where Ms Rook worked with young refugees for 16 years until 2022, previously described her as 'a larger-than-life character' who joined the charity as a volunteer with lots of energy. In a personal tribute, Mr Martin said: 'Annabel's energy brought a lot to the women and gave them new hope. 'This was her speciality, I think - a sort of a boundless optimism, a boundless self-confidence, which she transferred onto other people.' 'She spent her life, certainly the 10, 12 years that I knew her, fighting against women who had been abused, fighting against violence to women, and the irony is that she then suffered from violence to women in the way that she died yesterday,' he said. MamaSuze said in a statement shared on its Instagram page on Tuesday that it was 'devastated by the loss of our beloved co-founder' and that she treated everyone with 'warmth and kindness'. 'Annabel was a profound force for good in the world, dedicating her working life to supporting women survivors,' it added. Police were called at 4.57am on Tuesday to reports of a gas explosion with a person trapped inside the property. The front bay window of the property was completely blown out that morning, with debris including plants, wooden shutters and glass scattered across the street. Two children, aged seven and nine, were also taken to hospital as a precaution following the incident but are not thought to have been inside the home when the explosion happened. Six fire engines and 40 firefighters were also called to the scene. Anyone with information that could assist the investigation into the incident has been urged to contact police on 101 quoting CAD 926/17June. Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Telegraph

29 minutes ago

• Telegraph

Assisted dying, abortion, grooming gangs...Britain is morally deformed

I've a friend in a nursing home with very bad cancer. Physically, he feels OK, but there are hints of mental confusion. One afternoon we watched a quiz show on a blank television that wasn't turned on. It was proof, he said, that his mind couldn't be going because he got all the answers right. With the passage of Kim Leadbeater's Bill – save a stay of execution in the Lords – he suddenly looks like a candidate for assisted dying, and yet his suffering strengthens the case against. My friend, at this stage, is miserable less because of the tumour than because he's poor – can't afford a home care – and anxious because he wakes up in a strange place and imagines he's been kidnapped. He tells me he is at the centre of a plot by the state to kill the old by driving them mad. Though I assure him that no government is competent enough to pull such a thing off, I'm beginning to wonder if he has a point. Last week, the Commons voted to decriminalise abortion and legalise state-assisted suicide, the latest twist on 'cradle to grave'. Supporters spoke of humanising the law, of continuing the 'progressive' effort begun in the 1960s when abortion was first permitted. But there's a big contextual difference. Social liberalism in a time of economic growth was about increasing choice; today, in a period of austerity, it suggests narrowing options. Can't afford a baby? Terminate it. Worry you might burden the grandkids? Take a seat in the suicide pod. Of course this isn't what MPs meant by voting this way – but when you cut benefits for the elderly and cap them for children, and then make it easier to destroy yourself or your baby, it's hard not to infer a link. People keep saying to me, with a dash of British humour, that the state intends to kill us all to save money. Let's assume this is wrong. Let's call the speculation tasteless. Nevertheless, we have to account for why so many people feel this way, for the historic loss of trust. This is not some opioid-induced fantasy; human beings respond to cues. The third story in the grimmest week of Starmer's premiership was the publication of the Casey report, which confirmed that Asian men raped girls, and that officials declined to act because it might appear racist. This is mind-blowing stuff and shows how morally deformed our establishment now is. It has no coherent understanding of good and evil – in the difference between innocence and guilt – and in its yearning to look good by its own bizarre standard, it permits evil to flourish. In 2025, a person who prays outside an abortion clinic faces arrest. Meanwhile, a foreign-born, convicted rapist might avoid deportation by invoking their human rights. Religion, in fact, barely featured in the assisted dying debate, except to suggest that opponents might be acting under orders from the Pope. This fantasy pays a backhanded compliment to a faith that has been losing its influence for a very long time. As far back as 1937, Cosmo Gordon Lang, the archbishop of Canterbury, abstained in a Lords vote on divorce because he judged it 'no longer possible to impose the full Christian standard by law on a largely non-Christian population'. Christianity defined the West for so many centuries that its loss is experienced as the death of a fixed order, but we mustn't forget that Jesus was a revolutionary who overturned an even older system of ethics. Pagans, who largely felt life was meant to be enjoyed, thought the martyrdom-chasing Christians were nuts. One can see why. They taught that death is not the end, life is a test, and suffering is an opportunity to imitate the crucifixion. For example: the 7th century saint Cuthbert had a best friend, Herbert, and the two men dreamt of spending eternity together. But Cuthbert was a famously holy man, so would pass through purgatory to Heaven fast, whereas Herbert was just a very good man, so, they feared, might take longer – delaying their reunion. How did God fix the problem? He generously gave Herbert a long, painful illness, so that when he died on the same day as Cuthbert, his soul was so cleansed by suffering that they entered paradise at the same time. Weird, isn't it? Yes, but it also seeded into the West the idea that our life belongs to God, that He made us in his image, and this is a foundation for the principle that you can't take away another's life at will. This gradually flowered into rights for women or slaves, the peace movement and abolition of the death penalty. The problem with a commandment, of course, is that it's inflexible: it extends to unwanted foetuses and relatives in pain. Around the 19th century, we detached God from ethics, getting around the 'Thou Shalt Nots' and opening morality up to negotiation. Add individualism, toss in consumerism, and moral action today is contingent upon personality, economics, circumstance. Back when I was a socialist, before religion came into it, I wasn't comfortable with the idea that one unborn baby gets to live because its parents happen to be married and rich, whereas another is aborted because its mother is single and poor. Humanistic morality seemed surprisingly naive about the reality of the human condition, its appetites and deprivations. Looking at my friend in the nursing home, to what possible extent can one say he has 'agency'? I'm not sure he understands his diagnosis. The notion that he might have a chat with Kim Leadbeater, she with a smile and a clipboard in her hand, and make a rational choice to die next Wednesday afternoon is preposterous. The opportunity for error or manipulation is self-evident, yet many cannot, or will not, see it. For anyone who does choose assisted dying, I hope Christians respond with mercy. We are not in charge of Britain, haven't been for a long time, and I'm not sure I'd want to be. The best options left are to witness and accompany, to do the sometimes depressing, occasionally rewarding work of being with people when they go. I enjoy holding my friend's hand. I'd never have done that when he was healthy.