MPs vote to ban Palestine Action under anti-terror law

MPs have voted to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation. MPs backed the move to proscribe the direct action group under the Terrorism Act 2000 by 385 to 26, majority 359, in the Commons today.

The motion is expected to be debated and voted on by the House of Lords tomorrow before it becomes law. If approved, it would become a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison to be a member of Palestine Action or to support it.

The move comes after the group claimed responsibility for vandalising two planes at RAF Brize Norton last month.

During the debate, Home Office minister Dan Jarvis said the attack at the RAF base "was just the latest episode in Palestine Action's long history of harmful activity".

He said that protesters expressing support for Palestine "have always been able to, and can continue to do so".

He added: "Palestine Action is not a legitimate protest group. People engaged in lawful protest don't need weapons. People engaged in lawful protest do not throw smoke bombs and fire pyrotechnics around innocent members of the public.

"And people engaged in lawful protest do not cause millions of pounds of damage to national security infrastructure, including submarines and defence equipment for Nato."

Mr Jarvis also rejected claims that the Government was "rushing" through legislation to ban the group.

But former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn warned the proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation will have a "chilling effect on protests".

The Independent MP for Islington North said: "Surely we should be looking at the issue that Palestine Action are concerned about, and the supply of weapons from this country to Israel, which has made all this possible. If this order goes through today, it will have a chilling effect on protests."

Five people have since been arrested on suspicion of a terror offence in relation to the RAF Brize Norton incident.

Palestine Action is seeking a legal challenge against the Government's bid to proscribe it, with a hearing expected on Friday to decide whether the ban can be temporarily blocked, pending further proceedings to decide whether a legal challenge can be brought.

Palestine Action's website states that it uses disruptive tactics to target "corporate enablers of the Israeli military-industrial complex" and seeks to make it "impossible for these companies to profit from the oppression of Palestinians".