Palestine Action is set to become one of three groups banned by the UK government over dangerous terrorist links, a draft proscription order laid in Parliament by the Home Secretary has confirmed.
The violent anti-Israel group is named alongside two other groups – the Maniacs Murder Cult (MMC) and the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) – as having each passed the threshold for proscription based on clear national security evidence and assessments.
The order will make it a criminal offence to be a member of one of these groups or to invite or recklessly express support for them.
Being a member of or inviting support for Palestine Action would be a criminal offence carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in jail.
The proscription orders will be debated in Parliament later this week, and if approved, the orders will come into force over the weekend.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper speaks at CST lunch
Yvette Cooper said: ”National security is the first duty of any government, we will always take the action needed to protect our democracy and national security against different threats.
“Maniacs Murder Cult, Palestine Action and the Russian Imperial Movement have each passed the threshold for proscription based on clear national security evidence and assessments.
“The right to protest and the right to free speech are the cornerstone of our democracy and there are countless campaign groups that freely exercise those rights. Violence and serious criminal damage has no place in legitimate protests.”
Last week, Cooper confirmed to the Commons that, following an attack on RAF Brize Norton, she intended to proscribe Palestine Action over its orchestration and aggressive and intimidatory attacks against businesses, institutions and the public, which has crossed the thresholds established in the Terrorism Act 2000.
These include attacks at Thales in Glasgow in 2022; and last year at Instro Precision in Kent and Elbit Systems UK in Bristol. The attack on the Thales defence factory in Glasgow, caused over £1 million worth of damage to parts essential for submarines.
Staff fled for safety as pyrotechnics and smoke bombs were thrown in evacuation areas.
The Home Secretary said such acts do not represent legitimate acts of protest and the level of seriousness of Palestine Action’s activity has met the test for proscription under the Terrorism Act 2000.
MMC is a white supremacist, neo-Nazi organisation that is transnational and predominantly online. It aims to encourage individuals to engage in acts of violence against those it perceives as “anti-social”, to further its causes.
MMC leaders and members have claimed a number of violent attacks globally. MMC supplies instructional material which provides information that can be used by an aspiring attacker to increase their capability or motivation to conduct a terrorist attack posing a threat to the UK.
Proscription will help deter individuals from engaging with MMC’s violent and misanthropic content. Further supporting social media platforms to remove MMC content and the Police in their efforts to respond to individuals found in possession of such material.
RIM is a white supremacist, ethno-nationalist organisation which seeks to create a new Russian Imperial State. Via its paramilitary unit, the Russian Imperial Legion, RIM has fought alongside Russian forces in Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, directly advancing its own ideological causes.
RIM manages a paramilitary training programme called Partizan, which increases the capability of attendees to conduct terrorist attacks. In 2016, two Swedish nationals attended Partizan before committing a series of bombings in Gothenburg, Sweden.
On Monday a judge granted Palestine Action an urgent high court hearing on Friday to try to prevent a banning order against it from coming into effect.
