Bungling defence chiefs were warned about the threat of disruption at RAF Brize Norton less than three weeks ago but failed to shore up the crucial base’s defences.
Armed Forces top brass were said to be left speechless after pro-Palestinian supporters entered the base unopposed and sprayed red paint into the engines of RAF Voyager aircraft.
Shocking footage shared by the group Palestinian Action showed protesters storming across the RAF runway in Oxfordshire on electric scooters.
Bodycam images then show 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’.
But the recent Strategic Defence Review (SDR) published earlier this month warned about the danger of ‘disruption’ to RAF Brize Norton, with the logistic supply line being targeted.
It called for greater resilience at the base and named the RAF Voyager as one of several aircraft which should be protected.
Under the SDR chapter entitled Air Domain on page 114, the review states: ‘The changing nature of the threat to UK and allied security means that RAF logistic support arrangements must be more resilient to disruption and military assault.
‘Particular attention should be given to contingency planning for RAF Brize Norton, the main hub in the UK for much of what the RAF delivers globally.’
One senior RAF source last night told The Mail on Sunday: ‘This failure of security simply beggars belief. Where was the security?
‘This is the responsibility of the RAF Police dog patrols and the RAF Regiment. This time it was misguided protesters, next time it could be terrorists or Russian agents.’
Air Marshal Greg Bagwell, a former RAF jet pilot and senior RAF officer added: ‘This is another wake-up call for our domestic security on bases – whether it be enemy drones or activists on e-scooters, we need to be better prepared and protected.’
Brize Norton is the largest RAF base in the country, with around 5,800 service members, 300 civilian staff and 1,200 contractors.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence 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. It is our responsibility to support those who defend us.’
‘Woke wing commander’ urged to step down
A bitter ‘sexism’ row erupted last night over claims that the female commander of RAF Brize Norton bore responsibility for the security lapse.
Group Captain Louise Henton faced calls to quit yesterday from former servicemen who said she lacked the experience to run the RAF’s largest base.
One critic mocked her as a ‘woke wing commander’ whose main RAF career had been in personnel infrastructure management and administration. He added: ‘She should quit over this security breach.’
But Labour MP and ex-RAF squadron leader Calvin Bailey dismissed the criticism as ‘sexist’, insisting the security failings were not her fault. He said: ‘She’s been handed a base that has for generations not been invested in. It’s an organisational choice – it’s got nothing to do with the individual in situ now.’
A Ministry of Defence source called the ‘woke’ allegations ‘nonsense’.
