Four people have been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in an incident claimed by the campaign group Palestine Action. Counter-terrorism police 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 took place on Thursday in Newbury, Berkshire, and in London, in connection with 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 inquiries continue.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced on Monday that the pro-Palestinian campaign group would be proscribed under anti-terror laws, pending parliamentary approval. This would make membership and support of the group illegal. Cooper stated that Palestine Action has a 'long history' of criminal damage, targeting 'financial firms, charities, universities and government buildings'. She emphasised that the UK's defence enterprise is vital to national security and the government will not tolerate those who put it at risk.
Palestine Action condemned the arrests, describing them as a crackdown on 'non-violent protests' opposing 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'. Palestine Action noted that the state had not proscribed other activist groups that had taken similar action, and highlighted that Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as a barrister, once represented an anti-war protester who broke into RAF Fairford in 2003.
