Vandalism at RAF base 'not enough' to justify ban, says Falconer

The spray-painting of aircraft at an RAF base by a pro-Palestinian group would not provide the sole legal justification for banning it, according to a former justice secretary.

- Ben Quinn

The home secretary, Yvette Cooper, is expected to move to proscribe Palestine Action in the coming days after an incident on Friday at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

Jonathan Reynolds, the trade secretary, said yesterday that it was the fourth attack by the group on key UK defence assets and that those interfering over a period of time with defence infrastructure should expect "a very robust response".

"I would also say those people do no service to the Palestinian cause, which is a noble one," Reynolds said in an interview on the BBC.

But reports of a move to proscribe the group, which would in effect label it as a terrorist organisation, have been criticised by MPs, Amnesty International and the former Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf.

A Thames Valley police investigation into the incident has been taken over by counter-terrorism police, while the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said it was already in the process of reviewing security at its bases.