Four people were arrested by counter terrorism police six days after two Royal Air Force Jets were disabled at an airbase in England.
A 29-year-old woman described as being “of no fixed abode” and two London men aged 36 and 24-years-old have been arrested on suspicion of “the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism”, under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (“A constable may arrest without a warrant a person whom he reasonably suspects to be a terrorist”).
A fourth individual, a 41-year-old woman also “of no fixed abode” was also arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, South East Counter Terrorism Policing said.
All four individuals were arrested in Newbury, Berkshire, a town 60 miles west of London, and in London itself.
Police said the arrests took place on Thursday and “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.”
As previously reported, Extinction Rebellion-offshoot Palestine Action published footage last Friday purporting to show to members of their organisation riding across the tarmac of Royal Air Force Brize Norton — the UK’s largest airbase — and spraying inside the engines of military aircraft with a liquid from converted fire extinguishers.
Remarkably, those involved were able to in-and-exfiltrate the airbase without being detected and were subsequently at large for six days before their arrest.
While unable to immediately lay its hands on the alleged perpetrators, the UK government moved quickly to announce it would be adding Palestine Action to its list of proscribed terrorist organisations, making membership a serious crime. The legislation to bring this into effect is expected in the coming days.
Palestine Action themselves did not confirm or deny whether those people arrested this week were members of their organisation but goaded the government over its decision to ban the group. They said in a statement: “proscription is not about enabling prosecutions under terrorism laws – it’s about cracking down on non-violent protests which disrupt the flow of arms to Israel during its genocide in Palestine. Proscribing Palestine Action is a political gesture to satisfy pro-Israel groups and arms companies who have been lobbying for us to be banned because we’re hitting their profits and having an real impact on Israel’s war machine.”
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