Political and investigations correspondent
A Palestine Action member has told the BBC it is “absurd” the government plans to proscribe the group, which would effectively brand it as a terrorist organisation.
Saeed Taji Farouky said it “rips apart the very basic concepts of British democracy and the rule of law”, adding: “It’s something everyone should be terrified about.”
The BBC understands the home secretary is preparing a written statement to put before Parliament on Monday.
It comes after Palestine Action activists broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and sprayed two planes with red paint, an incident branded “disgraceful” by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Mr Farouky told the BBC he has a conviction for criminal damage related to a different Palestine Action protest.
He described the potential move from the government as a “knee-jerk reaction” and said it was “being rushed through”.
When asked if the group should have been surprised by the move to proscribe it, given its actions, Mr Farouky said the government had tried to reclassify Palestine Action for years and it had “never been a tactic that scared” them.
Pressed on whether the group had crossed a line by targeting a military site with a role in protecting the UK’s national security, Mr Farouky responded by outlining the group’s objectives.
He said Palestine Action’s “whole reason for being is to break the material supply chain to genocide” and said Friday’s incident was an “escalation in tactics because the genocide has escalated”.
Israel has strongly denied allegations of genocide relating to the ongoing war in Gaza.
RAF Brize Norton serves as the hub for UK strategic air transport and refuelling, including flights to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. The air force has conducted reconnaissance flights over Gaza out of the Cyprus base.
Footage posted online by Palestine Action on Friday showed two people inside the Oxfordshire airbase in darkness, with one riding on a scooter up to an Airbus Voyager and spraying paint into its jet engine.
After sharing the footage, a spokesperson said: “Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US and Israeli fighter jets.”
The incident, which is being investigated by counter-terrorism police, prompted the government to launch a security review at military bases across the UK.
On Friday, a spokesperson for Palestine Action said: “When our government fails to uphold their moral and legal obligations, it is the responsibility of ordinary citizens to take direct action.”
In a separate post on X, it said the group represented “every individual” who is opposed to Israel’s military action in Gaza, adding: “If they want to ban us, they ban us all”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the incident at RAF Brize Norton “disgraceful” on Friday, while Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said it was “deeply concerning”.
However, Amnesty International UK said on Friday that it was “deeply concerned at the use of counter terrorism powers to target protests”.
“Terrorism powers should never have been used to aggravate criminal charges against Palestine Action activists and they certainly shouldn’t be used to ban them,” the organisation added on social media.
Palestine Action has engaged in activities that have predominantly targeted arms companies since the start of the current war in Gaza, with the group claiming responsibility in May for the daubing of a US military plane in Ireland.
The UK’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme on Saturday it had “gone beyond protest to blackmail”.
“It’s got to a point where they’ve started to say: ‘We will carry on causing hundreds of millions of pounds worth of damage unless you stop’,” Jonathan Hall KC added.
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the move to ban the group was “absolutely the correct decision”.
“We must have zero tolerance for terrorism,” she wrote in a post on X.
The home secretary has the power under UK law to proscribe an organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000 if they believe it is “concerned with terrorism”.
To enact the move, new legislation will be needed, which must be debated and approved by both MPs and peers.
There are currently 81 groups proscribed as terrorist organisations in the UK under the Terrorism Act.
Additional reporting by Hollie Cole.
