Palestine Action to be banned after break-in at RAF base
The decision comes after the group posted footage online showing two people inside the base at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
The clip shows one person riding an electric scooter up to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker and appearing to spray paint into its jet engine.
The incident is being also investigated by counter terror police.
The Home Secretary has the power to proscribe an organisation under the Terrorism Act of 2000 if she believes it is 'concerned in terrorism'.
Proscription will require Ms Cooper to lay an order in Parliament, which must then be debated and approved by both MPs and peers.
Some 81 organisations have been proscribed under the 2000 Act, including Islamist terrorist groups such as Hamas and al Qaida, far-right groups such as National Action, and Russian private military company Wagner Group.
Another 14 organisations connected with Northern Ireland are also banned under previous legislation, including the IRA and UDA.
Belonging to or expressing support for a proscribed organisation, along with a number of other actions, are criminal offences carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
Friday's incident at Brize Norton, described by the Prime Minister as 'disgraceful', prompted calls for Palestine Action to be banned.
The group has staged a series of demonstrations in recent months, including spraying the London offices of Allianz Insurance with red paint over its alleged links to Israeli defence company Elbit, and vandalising Donald Trump's Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) welcomed the news that Ms Cooper intended to proscribe the group, saying: 'Nobody should be surprised that those who vandalised Jewish premises with impunity have now been emboldened to sabotage RAF jets.'
CAA chief executive Gideon Falter urged the Home Secretary to proscribe the Houthi rebel group and Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, adding: 'This country needs to clamp down on the domestic and foreign terrorists running amok on our soil.'
Former home secretary Suella Braverman said it was 'absolutely the correct decision'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
16 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Watch moment lag gets STUCK upside down in jail wall after bungling desperate escape from prison
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THIS is the bizarre moment an inmate's jailbreak plan goes horribly wrong after he gets stuck in his escape hole. Alan Leandro da Silva, 32, is seen awkwardly wedged in his cell wall as a firefighter drills through the concrete around his torso. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Alan Leandro da Silva, 32, got stuck in the hole he had dug to escape the jail Credit: ViralPress 5 Alan said he used a broomstick handle and a nail to dig the opening Credit: ViralPress 5 Fire officers had to drill through the concrete around him to free him Credit: ViralPress Bizarre footage shows Alan resting his upper body on a blue chair while fire officers try to free him from the cell wall at the prison in Rio Branco. His shirtless back, marked by a large demon tattoo, was strained from hanging down over the floor. It also appears to be injured, with visible grazes and bloody wounds shown in the video. Officers said they had to be extra careful not to injure his upper body during the drilling process. Read more world news CRASH & BURN Watch moment Russian fighter jet crashes after WING fell off during mission Alan attempted to make his escape through the rugged hole while the guards were distracted. But he appears to have underestimated the size of his escape hole - or his body - soon finding himself stuck waist-deep inside the wall. After wardens noticed 'strange movement' in the cell on Monday, they called firefighters for help. Officers carefully extracted the inmate, who was freed unharmed. A fire department spokesperson said: "According to the inmate's own account, the hole was dug for two days using a nail and a broomstick. "However, during the escape attempt, he was trapped inside the opening. "In view of the situation, Criminal Police called the Fire Department to carry out the rescue. 5 Fire officers gave him a chair to rest his upper body, which had begun to strain from dangling over Credit: ViralPress Bumbling 'arsonists' who try to set fire to a house accidentally set their getaway car ablaze as they try to escape "After thorough work, the rescue team was able to successfully release the victim, who was safely handed over to the Criminal Police team that was already on standby at the scene." The man was given first aid before being sent back to his cell. Jail officials have yet to explain how the man obtained the tools or how the large hole in the wall went unnoticed. It comes as a trio of would-be arsonists accidentally torched their own getaway car. Security footage from southern Australia shows a clumsy man dousing the front of a house with a liquid - before his escape plan goes up in flames. Meanwhile, a bungling crew member activated a jet's emergency slide by mistake - putting it out of service and delaying hundreds of passengers. The gaffe, which took place on a BA flight in January, cost the airline £100,000.
Reuters
25 minutes ago
- Reuters
Hundreds of US citizens left Iran in last week, State Dept cable says
WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - Hundreds of American citizens have departed Iran using land routes over the past week since an aerial war between the Islamic Republic and Israel broke out, according to an internal State Department cable seen by Reuters on Friday. While many left without problem, "numerous" citizens had faced "delays and harassment" while trying to exit, the cable said. It said, without giving further details, that one unidentified family had reported that two U.S. citizens attempting to leave Iran had been detained. The internal cable dated June 20 underscores the challenge Washington is facing in trying to protect and assist its citizens in a country with which it has no diplomatic relations and in a war in which the United States may soon get involved. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The cable was first reported by The Washington Post. President Donald Trump and the White House said on Thursday he will decide in the next two weeks whether the U.S. will get involved in the Israel-Iran war. Trump has kept the world guessing on his plans, veering from proposing a swift diplomatic solution to suggesting Washington might join the fighting on Israel's side. The air war began on June 13 when Israel attacked Iran and has alarmed a region that has been on edge since the start of Israel's war in Gaza in October 2023. Israel is the only country in the Middle East widely believed to have nuclear weapons, and said it struck Iran to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons. Iran, which says its nuclear program is peaceful, has retaliated with its own strikes on Israel. Iran is a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while Israel is not. The U.S. State Department in a travel alert earlier on Friday urged its citizens wishing to depart Iran to use land routes via Azerbaijan, Armenia or Turkey. Iranian airspace is closed. The U.S. Embassy in the Turkmenistan capital of Ashgabat has requested entry for over 100 American citizens, but the Turkmenistan government has yet to give its approval, the cable said. The Islamic Republic treats Iranian-U.S. dual citizens solely as nationals of Iran, the State Department emphasized. "U.S. nationals are at significant risk of questioning, arrest and detention in Iran," the alert said. Washington is looking at ways to potentially evacuate its citizens from Israel, but it has almost no way of assisting Americans inside Iran. The two countries have had no diplomatic ties since the Iranian Revolution in 1979. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Thursday said the administration was looking at different ways to get U.S. citizens out. "We're working to get military, commercial, charter flights and cruise ships for evac," he said in an X post, urging U.S. citizens and green card holders to complete an online form. As of Friday, more than 6,400 U.S. citizens filled out that form for Israel, a separate internal department email seen by Reuters said. The form allows the agency to predict an approximate figure for potential evacuations. "Approximately 300-500 U.S. citizens per day would potentially require departure assistance," said the internal email, also dated June 20 and marked "sensitive". The State Department does not have official figures but thousands of U.S. citizens are thought to be residing in Iran and hundreds of thousands in Israel. Israel's strikes over the last week have killed 639 people in Iran, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Israel says Iranian attacks have killed 24 civilians in Israel. "The U.S. Department of State received no reports of U.S. citizen casualties in Israel or Iran," the second email said.
Reuters
27 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump says he hopes Israel, Iran can strike a ceasefire deal
President Donald Trump said on Sunday (June 15) that he hopes Israel and Iran can broker a deal but said sometimes countries have to "fight it out" first.
