Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Pro-Palestinian activists broke into the UK’s largest Royal Air Force base on Friday, claiming to have damaged military aircraft in a protest against British support for Israel’s war in Gaza.
The campaign group Palestine Action said its members broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, sprayed red paint into the engines of two Airbus Voyager planes, and “caused further damage” with crowbars.
A video posted by the group on X shows two protesters crossing the runway on electric scooters before spraying paint into the engines with repurposed fire extinguishers.
“Not only did actionists gain access to the military base, they also escaped undetected,” it said.
The incident at Brize Norton is the latest action by groups campaigning against British military support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza, and a rare instance of a successful breach of a UK military site.
It raised “serious questions for the [Ministry of Defence] to answer about how ‘protesters’ — who might even have turned out to be armed terrorists — were able to gain access to what is supposed to be a secure RAF air base”, said Mark Francois, the Conservative’s shadow armed forces minister.
The Voyager fleet targeted by the campaigners is a series of air-to-air refuelling tankers capable of carrying up to 109 tonnes of fuel, routinely used by the RAF to support Nato operations.
The Ministry of Defence called the campaign an act of “vandalism” and said it was working closely with the police in investigating the incident.
Thames Valley Police said: “We have received a report of people gaining access to RAF Brize Norton and causing criminal damage. An investigation has been launched and we are working with the Ministry of Defence Police and partners at RAF Brize Norton. Enquiries are ongoing to locate and arrest those responsible.”
The British government last week said it would deploy a new tranche of RAF fighter jets and other UK military aircraft to bases in the Middle East, hinting that the country might provide defensive support to Israel in its escalating confrontation with Iran.
“Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US/Israeli fighter jets”, Palestine Action said in a statement. “Britain isn’t just complicit, it’s an active participant.”
Although British suppliers account for a small percentage of Israeli arms imports, the government has faced mounting pressure from the public to withdraw from the conflict. The UK announced last year that it will suspend some export licences to Israel.
