UK counter-terrorism police arrest four in connection with jet vandalism at RAF base

Published on 27/06/2025 - 13:43 GMT+2

Counter-terrorism constabulary successful the UK person arrested 4 radical connected Friday successful transportation with an incidental past week wherever subject planes were sprayed with overgarment during a break-in astatine RAF Brize Norton.

A 29-year-old pistillate and 2 men, aged 36 and 24, some from London, person each been detained connected panic charges.

Those radical are suspected of "the commission, mentation oregon instigation of acts of terrorism, contrary to Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000," the unit said.

A 41-year-old pistillate was besides arrested connected suspicion of assisting an offender.

The arrests took spot successful Newbury successful Berkshire, and each suspects stay successful custody.

The radical Palestine Action said successful a connection past Friday that 2 of its members had entered the Royal Air Force basal 110 kilometres westbound of London and utilized electrical scooters to attack the Voyager jets, which are utilized for air-to-air refuelling.

The duo sprayed reddish overgarment into the planes' turbine engines with repurposed occurrence extinguishers.

They caused further harm with crowbars, according to the group, which released video footage appearing to amusement an idiosyncratic attack a pitchy and spray overgarment into the engine.

The activists near the basal without being detained, Palestine Action said.

The radical said aft the incidental that "despite publically condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to nonstop subject cargo, alert spy planes implicit Gaza and refuel US/Israeli combatant jets."

The Ministry of Defence confirmed the incidental had taken place, saying: "We powerfully condemn this vandalism of Royal Air Force assets."

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the vandalism arsenic "disgraceful" successful a station connected X.

Palestine Action outlawed

The arrests travel successful the aforesaid week arsenic the British authorities said it would prohibition Palestine Action nether anti-terrorism laws aft the Brize Norton break-in.

The measurement means it volition beryllium a transgression offence to beryllium to oregon enactment the group, with a maximum of 14 years successful prison.

Metropolitan Police main Mark Rowley described Palestine Action arsenic an “organised extremist transgression group,” portion Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the protestation astatine the airbase was the latest successful the group's “long past of unacceptable transgression damage.”

She said the group's caller actions, including an onslaught against a defence mill successful Glasgow successful 2022, person resulted successful harm that runs into millions of euros.

In March, Palestine Action targeted 1 of US President Donald Trump’s play resorts in Scotland, coating “Gaza is Not For Sale” successful elephantine letters connected the tract successful effect to his connection to bare the Strip of its Palestinian population.

The authorities said a draught bid volition beryllium laid successful parliament adjacent week. Lawmakers inactive request to o.k. it.

Britain's authorities has proscribed astir 80 extremist groups, including Hamas and al-Qaeda, and far-right organisations specified arsenic National Action.