Pro-Palestine activist group to be banned after breaking into RAF Brize Norton

Pro-Palestine group Palestine Action will be proscribed in the coming weeks after activists broke into a major RAF base, the Home Secretary has said.

Yvette Cooper is reportedly preparing a written statement before the House of Commons today announcing her plans to proscribe the group less than a day after the group broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and vandalised British planes. Palestine Action posted footage of the stunt, which showed two people inside the Oxfordshire airbase at the dead of night, one of whom was riding a scooter to an Airbus Voyager, which they then proceeded to vandalise by spraying red paint into its engine.

READ MORE: RAF Brize Norton planes damaged as activists break into base ahead of flights

The group accompanied the footage with a statement condemning the government, saying: "Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US and Israeli fighter jets." RAF Brize Norton is the UK's hub for strategic air support and refuelling.

Included among the flights the base refuels are those to the Cypriot RAF Akrotiri base, which the air force has previously used to conduct reconaissance flights over Gaza.

The actions were swiftly condemned by the Prime Minister, who said the "act of vandalism" was "disgraceful", with South East counter terrorism police confirming specialist officers had launched an investigation.

The Home Secretary's response won't immediately proscribe the group - the statement must first be passed by MPs before the action is enshrined in law. Responding to the move in a post on X, formerly Twitter, the activists have vowed to "break every link in the genocidal supply chain".

The group said in a statement: "Today we exposed Britain's direct involvement in the genocide, and how ordinary people can act to stop it. In response, the political establishment rush to call us 'terrorists', whilst they enact the worst crimes against humanity. No amount of smears or intimidation tactics will waver our solidarity with Palestine.

"We will break every link in the genocidal supply chain." Thames Valley Police, which is leading the investigation alongside counter-terrorism police and Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials, is yet to arrest anyone in connection with the Brize Norton incident. The service said it had received a report about two people causing criminal damage after gaining access to the base.

A Thames Valley spokesperson said: "Inquiries are ongoing to locate and arrest those responsible." Palestine Action had claimed victory in the aftermath of its stunt this week, saying the activists had put the air-to-air refuelling tankers "out of service".

But RAF engineers have poured cold water on those claims after assessing the damage today, with a defence source telling the BBC they did not expect the incident to affect the air force's operations.