Cooper's vow to ban Palestine Action described as 'unlawful and dangerous'

The home secretary has said she will ban Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws, ignoring a warning from the group's solicitors that the proposal was "unlawful, dangerous and ill thought out".

- Haroon Siddique Geneva Abdul

In a statement to parliament three days after activists from the group broke into RAF Brize Norton, Yvette Cooper said a draft proscription order would be laid in parliament next Monday. If passed, it would make it illegal to be a member of, or invite support for, Palestine Action.

The group, founded in 2020, says it aims to prevent the commission of genocide and war crimes in Palestine and to expose and target property and premises connected to such crimes against humanity.

Many of its activists have been acquitted by juries in the past, and a letter from Kellys Solicitors, which represents several Palestine Action activists, sent to Cooper yesterday, said the group "has gathered a significant level of public support".

But in her statement, the home secretary said: "The disgraceful attack on Brize Norton in the early hours of the morning on Friday 20 June is the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action. The UK's defence enterprise is vital to the nation's national security, and this government will not tolerate those that put that security at risk."

Palestine Action called the proposed ban "unhinged" and accused Keir Starmer of "rank hypocrisy" given that he defended protesters who broke into RAF Fairford in 2003 to stop US bombers heading to Iraq.