Palestine Action ban could 'undermine efforts to counter real terrorist organisations'
Scots trade unionists have warned a vote to proscribe Palestine Action could "undermine efforts to counter real terrorist organisations".
MPs voted by an overwhelming majority last night to ban the activist group after it broke into an RAF base in England and spray-painted several aircraft. Six people were later arrested after Palestine Action shared footage of the break-in on social media.
The group previously broke into a Thales defence factory in Glasgow in 2022, causing £1,130,783 in damages using pyrotechnics and smoke bombs.
The decision to ban Palestine Action, which amends the Terrorism Act 2000, is expected to be signed by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and come into effect later this week.
Once in effect, supporting Palestine Action will become a criminal offence, with membership or expressing support for the direct action group punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
But the decision has been questioned by the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC).
Dave Moxham, STUC Deputy General Secretary, told the Record: "It is one thing to oppose the activities of Palestine Action using the courts if laws are broken, but completely another to proscribe it as a terrorist organisation.
"Last night's vote shifts the goal posts on the definition of terrorism. The Government is overreaching in a way that could have a profound impact on the rights of protest and freedom of expression. It also potentially undermines efforts to counter real terrorist organisations which advocate violence against the civilian population.'
The Aberdeen Trades Union Council also questioned the ban and called for other Scottish trade union members to speak up on the issue.
In a statement, it said: "Despite mass peaceful protest against the genocide in Gaza, the British State remains complicit in the erasure of the Palestinian people.
"We stand in support of Palestine Action – a direct action group that has been protesting against the supply of weapons by the UK government to the Israeli Military. Spraying paint and breaking windows is not terrorism. Israel's genocidal war is.
"We condemn government repression of the rights of protesters. As a movement we will do everything we can to defend civil disobedience and oppose Parliament's proscription of Palestine Action."
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, this week backed Cooper's decision to ban the group.
"I'm all for freedom of speech. I'm all for freedom of protest. And people have been expressing their views very strongly," he told the Record.
"But people who use the name of Palestine to cross a red line, to break into RAF facilities, to attempt to tamper with RAF jets, are doing a disservice to the cause they claim to represent.
"There are so many phenomenal pro-Palestinian organisations who do not fall for acts of vandalism, or attacks on our defence infrastructure, or who fall into prejudice and hate, but who rightly speak out against violence and for peace - not just peace abroad, but peace and security here at home too.
"Those people who use the name of Palestine to do such horrific actions should face the full force of the law. So I do support the actions of the Home Secretary."
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