Four people have been arrested by terror police after an aircraft at RAF Brize Norton was vandalised.
A woman, 29, and two men, aged 36 and 24 from London, were arrested on suspicion of a terror offence, while another woman, 41, was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Last Friday, the group posted footage online showing two people inside the base at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
The clip shows one person riding an electric scooter up to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker and appearing to spray paint into its jet engine. They managed to infiltrate the base and escape without being caught.
This comes after it was revealed that Palestine Action is preparing to launch fresh attacks on military sites across Britain just days before it is expected to be officially labelled a terrorist organisation.
During secret recruitment calls, attended by around 50 new ‘comrades’, the extremist group identified RAF Cranwell and RAF Barkston Heath in Lincolnshire, and RAF Valley in Anglesey as top targets.
The group, which has already triggered a major security review of UK military bases, is understood to be targeting sites it claims are linked to Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems.
It comes as the Government moves to proscribe Palestine Action as a terror organisation, a decision Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called ‘vital’ after the ‘disgraceful’ Brize Norton raid.
In a disturbing presentation during the meeting, slides detailed how members should ‘hit everything you can find with a sledgehammer’ and form autonomous cells capable of operating undetected.
Activists were also instructed to download the encrypted messaging app Signal to receive secret instructions.
It comes just one week after the group broke into RAF Brize Norton and allegedly causing millions of pounds worth of damage to military aircraft.
The meeting’s organiser, appearing in front of a flag linked to the YPJ – a Kurdish female militia involved in the Syrian civil war – told potential recruits they must be willing to make ‘sacrifices’, including arrest and prison, according to the Telegraph.
‘The conviction and courage it takes to take this action in the first place is accepting that level of sacrifice,’ she said.
She added: ‘As much as we can stand by our morals and our ethics, we have to know for a fact we have to be well informed that there are risks that we are taking – that is both legal consequences… but also psychologically and financially.’
Those present at the online gathering were told they would be divided into individual cells to carry out attacks independently – a tactic designed to avoid leaders being arrested, similar to the structure of groups like Extinction Rebellion.
Among the participants were university lecturers, a clergyman, and others described as ranging ‘from nursery teachers to surgeons’, aged from 18 to 80.
The organiser confirmed: ‘There are 19 members of the group currently in prison.’
Palestine Action’s list of future targets also includes UAV Tactical Systems, a drone firm based in Leicester and owned by Elbit, according to the Times.
RAF Cranwell, home to the RAF’s prestigious officer training college, is said to be of particular interest to the group.
RAF Barkston Heath is used for pilot training, while RAF Valley trains the UK’s next generation of fighter pilots.
The group has staged a series of demonstrations in recent months, including spraying the London offices of Allianz Insurance with red paint over its alleged links to Israeli defence company Elbit, and vandalising US President Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire.
The seriousness of these attacks includes the extent and nature of damage caused, including to targets affecting UK national security, and the impact on innocent members of the public fleeing for safety and subjected to violence.
The extent of damage across these three attacks alone, spreading the length and breadth of the UK, runs into the millions of pounds.
Attendees were given detailed legal advice, including how to qualify for legal aid.
Members were told not to rely on duty solicitors, but instead to use pre-arranged lawyers. The group insisted it would not pay legal costs but would provide moral and logistical support through an ‘arrest support group’.
New members were warned that ‘locking on’ to equipment or buildings could lead to six months in prison, while criminal damage over £5,000 or burglary could land them up to 10 years behind bars.
Yet despite the looming terror designation – which could result in up to 14 years in jail for anyone supporting or joining the organisation – the group appears undeterred.
One speaker declared the proposed ban ‘draconian and dangerous’ and insisted: ‘Palestine Action will continue to operate.’
The movement is led by Huda Ammori, 31, a British-born activist from Bolton. The daughter of a Palestinian surgeon and an Iraqi mother, she co-founded Palestine Action in 2020 alongside Richard Barnard, a former Extinction Rebellion member.
Writing in April, Ammori explained the group’s structure was deliberately designed to outwit the authorities. ‘By being security-conscious and working in small groups, we can make it difficult for the authorities to respond to individual actions,’ she said.
She claims the group has flourished despite arrests, and insists they are prepared for further government crackdowns.
At the end of the call, recruits were asked to accept an ‘actions agreement’, which stated: ‘Each individual takes part in the movement from their own free will. We encourage all to join but we do not pressure people into doing things that make them uncomfortable.’
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: ‘The UK’s defence estate is vital to our national security and this government will not tolerate those who put that security at risk.
‘This Government is taking the strong step of proscribing Palestine Action due to its activities, which are a threat to our national security.’
Counter Terrorism Policing South East said in a statement: ‘A 29-year-old woman of no fixed abode, and two men; aged 36 and 24, both from London, were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, contrary to Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
‘A 41-year-old woman, of no fixed abode, was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
‘The arrests, which took place yesterday [Thursday] in Newbury, Berkshire, and in London, are in connection with an incident in the early hours of [last] Friday during which damage was caused to two aircraft at RAF Brize Norton.
‘Those arrested are currently in police custody while enquiries are ongoing.’
