Frederick Forsyth, Day of the Jackal author and former MI6 agent, dies at 86

Frederick Forsyth, the author of The Day Of The Jackal, died at the age of 86 after a brief illness, his literary agents said. The best-selling author was surrounded by his family as he died at home on Monday morning, Curtis Brown added.
His agent Jonathan Lloyd said: 'We mourn the passing of one of the world's greatest thriller writers.
The former RAF pilot and investigative journalist went on to write novels including The Fox, The Kill List, and The Afghan. Hie was the author that turned his adventures as a journalist and work with MI6 into bestselling thrillers.

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First Post

a day ago

• First Post

How pro-Palestine activists broke into UK's largest airbase

Palestine Action, a UK-based Palestine advocacy group, entered the Royal Air Force's Brize Norton airbase and defaced two military aircraft with spray paint. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has described the act as 'disgraceful' and 'vandalism'. But how did they manage to breach the base's defences? read more Palestine Action, a UK-based Palestine advocacy group, put up a video of the incident on social media. Image courtesy: X Pro-Palestinian activists have broken into the UK's largest airbase. Palestine Action, a UK-based Palestine advocacy group, entered the Royal Air Force's Brize Norton airbase and defaced two military aircraft with spray paint. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has described the act 'disgraceful' and 'vandalism'. But what happened? Why is this a big deal? What do we know about the group? Let's take a closer look What happened? First, let's take a brief look at the group. Palestine Action's website describes it as 'direct action movement committed to ending global participation in Israel's genocidal and apartheid regime'. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It says its main target is Elbit Systems – which is the biggest weapons manufacturer for Israel. Palestine Action says its strategy is to take 'sustained and focused direct action against key targets' to topple Israel's military-industrial complex. Now let's take a look at what happened on Friday night. Palestine Action said two of its members broke into the RAF's Brize Norton airbase in central England's Oxfordshire. The group's members spray painted two military aircraft with red paint – symbolising blood – including into its turbines. The group also spray painted the red paint on the runway and put up a Palestinian flag. The group put up a video of its actions on X. BREAKING: Palestine Action break into RAF Brize Norton and damage two military aircrafts. Flights depart daily from the base to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. From Cyprus, British planes collect intelligence, refuel fighter jets and transport weapons to commit genocide in Gaza. — Palestine Action (@Pal_action) June 20, 2025 'Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel ../Israeli fighter jets,' the group said in a statement. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Britain isn't just complicit, it's an active participant in the Gaza genocide and war crimes across the Middle East,' Palestine Action said in a statement. 'By decommissioning two military planes, Palestine Action have directly intervened in the genocide and prevented crimes against the Palestinian people,' it added. Why does this matter? Because this is a huge embarrassment for the British government. Brize Norton, with over 6000 employees, is the UK's largest airbase. It is also the place the British refuelling fleet calls home. One of the craft on the base is used to fly the King and Prime Minister on official engagements. However, defence sources told The Telegraph that Palestine Action were mistaken and that the UK does not help refuel planes that participate in Israeli military operations. This was backed up by a source that told CNN that RAF Voyagers do not carry any weapons for Israeli forces or help refuel their aircraft. A spokesperson for Starmer said the government was reviewing security across all British defence sites. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has described the act 'disgraceful' and 'vandalism'. Reuters Britain's defence ministry and police were investigating. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'It is our responsibility to support those who defend us,' the defence ministry said. It slammed the 'vandalism of Royal Air Force assets'. Lord West, Labour minister for UK security, called the development extremely worrying". 'We can't allow thing like this to happen at all,' West, former head of the Royal Navy told BBC. He added that such developments were 'really a problem' for national security. With inputs from agencies

Time of India

a day ago

• Time of India

Pro-Palestinian activists say they damaged planes on UK air force base

British police are searching for suspects and the military is reviewing security arrangements after pro-Palestinian activists broke into a Royal Air Force Base and damaged two planes with red paint, officials said Friday. The group Palestine Action said two members entered RAF Brize Norton on Wednesday and used electric scooters to approach the Voyager jets, which are used for air-to-air refuelling. The duo sprayed red paint into the planes' turbine engines with repurposed fire extinguishers and caused further damage with crowbars, according to the group, which released video footage appearing to show an individual approach a jet and spray paint into the engine. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Mini House for 60 sqm for Seniors with Toilet and Bath (Click Here) Pre Fabricated Homes | Search Ads Search Now Undo The activists left the base without being detained, Palestine Action said. The group said in a statement that "despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo , fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US/Israeli fighter jets." It called the UK "an active participant in the Gaza genocide and war crimes across the Middle East." Live Events Britain's Ministry of Defence confirmed the incident, saying: "We strongly condemn this vandalism of Royal Air Force assets." Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the vandalism "disgraceful" in a post on X. The government said two planes were being checked for damage, and that the vandalism had not stopped any planned aircraft movements or operations. "A full security review is underway at Brize Norton," Starmer's office said. "We are reviewing security across the whole defence estate." Planes from Brize Norton, 112 kilometres northwest of London, regularly fly to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, Britain's main air base for operations in the Middle East. The UK has sent more Typhoon fighter jets and Voyager tankers to Cyprus since the Israel-Iran war started a week ago for what Starmer called "contingency support." Iran has threatened to attack US, French and British bases in the region if those countries help Israel fend off Iranian strikes. Thames Valley Police said in a statement that it had "received a report of people gaining access to RAF Brize Norton and causing criminal damage." Officers were working with staff at the base and the Ministry of Defence Police to arrest the perpetrators, the force said.

News18

a day ago

• News18

'Disgraceful': UK PM Slams RAF Jets Vandalisation By Pro-Palestinian Activists

Last Updated: A statement by Palestine Action said that the activists exited the Oxfordshire base without being apprehended. Meanwhile, UK Defence Ministry condemned the incident. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the 'vandalisation" of two planes by the pro-Palestinian activists on Friday. This comes as the UK police have begun searching for suspects after pro-Palestinian activists claimed to have broken into a Royal Air Force Base and damaged two planes with red paint. The group Palestine Action said two members entered RAF Brize Norton on Wednesday and used electric scooters to approach the Voyager jets, which are used for air-to-air refuelling. Referring to the 'act of vandalism" as 'disgraceful", PM Keir Starmer wrote on X, 'The act of vandalism committed at RAF Brize Norton is disgraceful. Our Armed Forces represent the very best of Britain and put their lives on the line for us every day. It is our responsibility to support those who defend us." The act of vandalism committed at RAF Brize Norton is Armed Forces represent the very best of Britain and put their lives on the line for us every day. It is our responsibility to support those who defend us. — Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) June 20, 2025 A video shared online by Palestine Action on Friday captured two individuals inside an airbase in Oxfordshire at night. One of them was seen riding a scooter toward an Airbus Voyager aircraft and spraying paint into one of its jet engines. Pro-Palestinian activists from the group Palestine Action broke into RAF Brize Norton, the largest Royal Air Force base in the UK, located in they vandalized two Airbus Voyager refueling aircraft. Using electric scooters, the activists approached the planes… — T_CAS videos (@tecas2000) June 20, 2025 According to Palestine Action, the activists exited the Oxfordshire base without being apprehended. In a statement, the group said, 'despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US/Israeli fighter jets." It went on to describe the UK as 'an active participant in the Gaza genocide and war crimes across the Middle East." Meanwhile, the UK Ministry of Defence confirmed the incident and stated, 'We strongly condemn this vandalism of Royal Air Force assets." Aircraft from RAF Brize Norton, located around 70 miles (112 kilometres) northwest of London, frequently operate flights to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, which serves as Britain's primary base for military operations in the Middle East. Following the escalation of the Israel-Iran conflict a week ago, the UK has deployed additional Typhoon fighter jets and Voyager refuelling aircraft to Cyprus. Prime Minister Keir Starmer described this move as 'contingency support." Meanwhile, Iran has warned it will target military bases belonging to the US, France, and the UK in the region if they assist Israel in defending against Iranian attacks. First Published: June 20, 2025, 16:44 IST