The Home Secretary is preparing to ban Palestine Action after the group vandalised two aircraft at RAF Brize Norton.
Yvette Cooper has decided to proscribe the group, making it a criminal offence to belong to or support Palestine Action.
The decision comes after the group posted footage online showing two people inside the base at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
Palestine Action said two of its activists infiltrated Britain’s largest RAF base and sprayed red paint into the engines of two Airbus Voyager aircraft before escaping without being caught.
Shocking footage shared by the group this morning shows protesters storming across the RAF runway in Oxfordshire on electric scooters.
The bodycam footage then shows them spraying red paint into the turbine engines of the air-to-air refuelling tankers which the RAF say are ‘vital for enhancing the operational reach and flexibility of Britain’s military air power’.
Palestine Action claims to have used repurposed fire extinguishers to spray the paint, while they say they caused further damage with crowbars.
The activists said they sprayed red paint across the runway and left a Palestine flag behind before fleeing the base undetected.
This is one of the RAF Voyager aircraft that was damaged. Red paint can be seen across the engine and runway
Palestine Action shared footage of two of its activists allegedly approaching the Voyager on electric scooters before damaging the engines with red paint
This is the moment red paint was allegedly sprayed into the turbine engines of the vital aircraft
The incident is also being investigated by counter terror police.
The Home Secretary has the power to proscribe an organisation under the Terrorism Act of 2000 if she believes it is ‘concerned in terrorism’.
Proscription will require Ms Cooper to lay an order in Parliament, which must then be debated and approved by both MPs and peers.
It comes just days after Palestine Action activists brazenly filmed themselves breaking in and vandalising the warehouse of a firm that supplies military items to Israel.
Brize Norton is the largest RAF base in the country with approximately 5,800 service members, 300 civilian staff and 1,200 contractors.
Voyagers, described as a ‘petrol station in the sky’, can carry up to 109 tonnes of fuel and are used to refuel fighter and compatible heavy aircraft.
RAF Brize Norton hold a core fleet of nine voyagers, while five others are available for commercial use but can be recalled for military purposes.
The RAF is reportedly planning to send Voyager aircraft to the Middle East as the conflict between Israel and Iran escalates.
The red paint could also be seen on the runway, while protesters claimed they left a Palestine flag behind
Footage shows two protesters riding electric scooters across the runway at RAF Brize Norton
Voyagers, described as a ‘petrol station in the sky’, can carry up to 109 tonnes of fuel and are used to refuel fighter and compatible heavy aircraft. (File image of RAF Airbus A330 Voyager)
One of the Voyagers, which has a Union Jack on its tail, has previously been used as a VIP aircraft to transport prime ministers and Royal Family members to engagements abroad. But MailOnline understands this was not one of the Voyagers targeted.
Palestine Action claimed they damaged the planes at Brize Norton as it is the base ‘where flights leave daily for RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus’ – the bse used for military operations in the Middle East.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer confirmed last week that fighter jets were being scrambled to RAF Akrotiri amid threats from Iran and its conflict with Israel escalating.
Iran and Israel have been firing missiles at each other for more than a week now after Tel Aviv launched an unprecedented attack on Tehran, dubbed Operation Rising Lion, striking 100 targets including nuclear and military sites and killing senior military figures.
Sir Keir said in a post on X: ‘The act of vandalism committed at RAF Brize Norton is disgraceful.
‘Our Armed Forces represent the very best of Britain and put their lives on the line for us every day.
‘It is our responsibility to support those who defend us.’
Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch said: ‘The security breach at Brize Norton is deeply concerning.
‘This is not lawful protest, it is politically-motivated criminality.
‘We must stop tolerating terrorist or extremist groups that seek to undermine our society. The full force of the law must come down on those responsible.’
Campaign Against Antisemitism recently wrote to the Home Secretary, calling for the proscription of Palestine Action
Gideon Falter, chief executive of the group, said: ‘We are pleased that the Home Secretary has listened to our representations over the last week.
‘Nobody should be surprised that those who vandalised Jewish premises with impunity have now been emboldened to sabotage RAF jets.
‘We now urge her to urgently turn her attention to proscribing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Ansar Allah (the Houthis).
‘This country needs to clamp down on the domestic and foreign terrorists running amok on our soil.’
