Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws, despite warnings from the group's lawyers that the move is 'unlawful, dangerous and ill thought out'. In a statement to parliament on Monday, Cooper said a draft proscription order would be laid on 30 June, making it illegal to be a member of or invite support for the group.
The decision follows an incident on 20 June when activists broke into RAF Brize Norton. Cooper described the attack as 'the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage' and said the government would not tolerate threats to national security. Palestine Action, founded in 2020, says it aims to prevent genocide and war crimes in Palestine by targeting property linked to such crimes.
In a letter to Cooper, solicitors Kellys argued that proscribing a direct action protest group is unprecedented under the Terrorism Act 2000, and would set a 'terrifying precedent' by placing it alongside groups like Islamic State and al-Qaida. The letter noted that many activists have been acquitted by juries and that the group has significant public support.
Palestine Action called the proposed ban 'unhinged' and accused Prime Minister Keir Starmer of hypocrisy, pointing to his past defence of protesters who broke into RAF Fairford in 2003. The group said its members are 'teachers, nurses, students and parents' and that the real crime is UK complicity in Israel's actions in Gaza.
Amnesty International and Liberty also expressed concerns in a joint letter, while former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called the decision 'as absurd as it is authoritarian'. Labour peer John Hendy KC said it was an abuse of anti-terrorist legislation, as the group's actions have not involved violence against people.
