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Pro-Palestine protesters have claimed responsibility for breaking into RAF Brize Norton and damaging two military planes in a shocking breach of security.
Palestine Action said two of its activists infiltrated Britain’s largest RAF base and sprayed red paint into the engines of two Airbus Voyager aircraft before escaping without being caught.
Shocking footage shared by the group this morning shows protesters storming across the RAF runway in Oxfordshire on electric scooters.
The bodycam footage then shows them spraying red paint into the turbine engines of the air-to-air refuelling tankers which the RAF say are ‘vital for enhancing the operational reach and flexibility of Britain’s military air power’.
Palestine Action claim to have used repurposed fire extinguishers to spray the paint, while they say they caused further damage with crowbars.
The activists said they sprayed red paint across the runway and left a Palestine flag behind before fleeing the base undetected.
The protest will raise huge questions over security at the RAF base at a time when the world is teetering on the brink with war raging in the Middle East and state threats from both Russia and Iran.
The Ministry of Defence said it ‘strongly condemn this vandalism of Royal Air Force assets’ and is working closely with police.
It comes just days after Palestine Action activists brazenly filmed themselves breaking in and vandalising the warehouse of a firm that supplies military items to Israel.
Brize Norton is the largest RAF base in the country with approximately 5,800 service members, 300 civilian staff and 1,200 contractors.
Voyagers, described as a ‘petrol station in the sky’, can carry up to 109 tonnes of fuel and are used to refuel fighter and compatible heavy aircraft.
RAF Brize Norton hold a core fleet of nine voyagers, while five others are available for commercial use but can be recalled for military purposes.
The RAF is reportedly planning to send Voyager aircraft to the Middle East as the conflict between Israel and Iran escalates.
One of the Voyagers, which has a Union Jack on its tail, has previously been used as a VIP aircraft to transport prime ministers and Royal Family members to engagements abroad. But MailOnline understands this was not one of the Voyagers targeted.
Palestine Action claimed they damaged the planes at Brize Norton as it is the base ‘where flights leave daily for RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus’ – the bse used for military operations in the Middle East.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer confirmed last week that fighter jets were being scrambled to RAF Akrotiri amid threats from Iran and its conflict with Israel escalating.
Iran and Israel have been firing missiles at each other for more than a week now after Tel Aviv launched an unprecedented attack on Tehran, dubbed Operation Rising Lion, striking 100 targets including nuclear and military sites and killing senior military figures.
Sir Keir said in a post on X: ‘The act of vandalism committed at RAF Brize Norton is disgraceful.
‘Our Armed Forces represent the very best of Britain and put their lives on the line for us every day.
‘It is our responsibility to support those who defend us.’
Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch said: ‘The security breach at Brize Norton is deeply concerning.
‘This is not lawful protest, it is politically-motivated criminality.
‘We must stop tolerating terrorist or extremist groups that seek to undermine our society. The full force of the law must come down on those responsible.’
A Palestine Action spokesperson said: ‘Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US/Israeli fighter jets.
‘Britain isn’t just complicit, it’s an active participant in the Gaza genocide and war crimes across the Middle East.
‘By decommissioning two military planes, Palestine Action have directly intervened in the genocide and prevented crimes against the Palestinian people.’
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: ‘We strongly condemn this vandalism of Royal Air Force assets. We are working closely with the police who are investigating.
‘Our Armed Forces represent the very best of Britain. They put their lives on the line for us, and their display of duty, dedication and selfless personal sacrifice are an inspiration to us all. It is our responsibility to support those who defend us.’
A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: ‘We have received a report of people gaining access to RAF Brize Norton and causing criminal damage.
‘An investigation has been launched and we are working with the Ministry of Defence Police and partners at RAF Brize Norton.
‘Inquiries are ongoing to locate and arrest those responsible.’
On Saturday, Palestine Action also targeted Permoid Industries Ltd, in Newton Aycliffe, Durham, which is a warehouse that supplies military items to Israel.
According to the group, the incident occurred ‘under cover of darkness’ and involved the activists destroying equipment, spraying red paint over the floors and walls and smashing glass windows.
One activist with a spray can was filmed daubing ‘Free Gaza’ on the walls, while another walked into another part of the warehouse carrying a fire extinguisher filled with paint.
Permoid Industries describes itself as an engineering firm that has supplied the Ministry of Defence for more than 80 years, as well as the automotive sector.
Products manufactured by the firm include ammunition containers suitable for belted heavy machine-gun ammunition, and cartridge, mortar, and shell munitions.
In relation to the latest Palestine Action stunt, Lord Walney, the former government adviser on political violence and disruption, said: ‘The government must now act to ban Palestine Action after this grotesque breach of military security.
‘With Iran’s nuclear programme on the brink and Britain facing rising threats from abroad, we shouldn’t let these criminal activists act like the Ayatollah’s apparatchiks by attacking the country from within.
‘Employees at the workplaces they target have been systematically terrorised by Palestine Action for too long – this is the moment for ministers to proscribe the group as terrorists or enact the new sanctions recommended in my review submitted to Downing Street and the Home Office.’
A No 10 spokesman said: ‘A full security review is under way at Brize Norton.
‘We are reviewing security across the whole defence estate.
‘We treat all breaches of security very seriously, and where there is suspected criminal activity, we will take the necessary steps to investigate and prosecute in line with longstanding principle.’
He said the incident had not cost any planned aircraft movements or stopped any operations.
