Four people have been arrested on suspicion of terror offences after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in an incident claimed by the campaign group Palestine Action. Counter-terrorism policing south-east said a 29-year-old woman of no fixed abode, and two men aged 36 and 24, both from London, were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. A 41-year-old woman, also of no fixed abode, was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
The arrests, which took place on Thursday in Newbury, Berkshire, and in London, are linked to an incident in the early hours of the previous Friday during which damage was caused to two aircraft at the Oxfordshire base. Those arrested remain in police custody while enquiries continue.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced on Monday that the government intends to proscribe Palestine Action under anti-terror laws, pending parliamentary approval. If approved, membership and support of the group would become illegal. Cooper said Palestine Action had a 'long history' of criminal damage, targeting financial firms, charities, universities and government buildings, and that its activities met the threshold under the Terrorism Act 2000.
Palestine Action condemned the arrests, describing them as a crackdown on 'non-violent protests' against Israel's war in Gaza. The move to proscribe the group has drawn criticism from MPs including Diane Abbott, who said the government 'seems confused between protest and terrorism'. The group noted that the state had not proscribed activist groups that had taken similar action, citing the case of the Fairford Five, who broke into RAF Fairford in 2003 to sabotage US bombers destined for Iraq.
