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The government has moved to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, making membership of the pro-Palestinian campaign group a criminal offence after two of its activists broke into a UK air base last week.
If approved by parliament, the designation would place the group on a level with Hamas, al-Qaeda or Isis under British law, making it illegal to become a member of the organisation, or to attend its meetings or rallies.
UK home secretary Yvette Cooper said the ban on Palestinian Action follows “a history of unacceptable criminal damage”. She said the move would not affect other “lawful protest groups” and organisations campaigning for Palestine.
A draft order to ban the group under the Terrorism Act 2000 would be laid before parliament on June 30, she added.
The move comes after two Palestine Action activists broke into an RAF base on Friday, damaging a Voyager aircraft with spray paint and crowbars.
The activists were able to break into the country’s largest RAF base and escape undetected, raising questions about lax security at British military sites.
The group has spent years organising increasingly disruptive protests over UK government and business actions that it says support and enable the Israeli military, including weapons sales.
Baroness Shami Chakrabarti, former head of the Liberty human rights group, said she was concerned about the government’s response.
“To elevate that to terrorism so anybody who attends a meeting, or who promotes the organisation, or is loosely affiliated with it, is branded a terrorist . . . is a serious escalation,” she said.
One Labour MP told the Financial Times that they would not support the move in the Commons next week, adding “I don’t support the action [by Palestine Action] but this is clearly protest, not terrorism.”
In a rare move, on Sunday night, the Metropolitan Police banned Palestine Action from protesting outside parliament ahead of the move.
Demonstrators instead gathered at Trafalgar Square on Monday to voice their opposition to the move. Some protesters reported clashes with the police on social media.
Cooper on Monday cited several incidents where Palestine Action had “committed acts of serious damage to property”, including more than a million pounds of damage at a Thales defence factory in Glasgow in 2022.
She said Palestine Action had increased the “frequency and severity” of its actions since the start of 2024, arguing that its methods have become “more aggressive, with its members demonstrating a willingness to use violence”.
“Palestine Action has also broadened its targets from the defence industry to include financial firms, charities, universities and government buildings,” she added.
The group called the UK’s move “an unhinged reaction to an action spraying paint”.
It added: “We categorically deny many of the allegations made by the home secretary. Palestine Action use direct action to seek to prevent the commission of genocide and target companies connected to such crimes against humanity.”
