Ban on Palestine Action clears Parliament but faces legal challenge

Powys County Times

10 hours ago

A ban on Palestine Action as a terror group is poised to become law after peers backed the Government move at Westminster but faces a legal bid to block it.
The House of Lords backed proscribing the group under the Terrorism Act 2000 without a vote.
A short time before, a so-called regret motion proposed by a Green Party peer criticising the measure was rejected by 144 votes to 16, majority 128.
The ministerial order, which has already been approved by MPs, will make it a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison to be a member of the direct action group or to support it.
However, it is unclear when the ban, which needs final sign-off by the Home Secretary, will come into force as the group is mounting a court challenge to try to temporarily block the move with a hearing scheduled on Friday, pending further proceedings.
The Government crackdown comes after two planes were vandalised at RAF Brize Norton on June 20 causing £7 million worth of damage, in an action claimed by Palestine Action.
Four people have been charged by counter-terrorism police in connection with the incident and were remanded in custody following a court appearance.
Home Office minister Lord Hanson of Flint said: 'I will always defend the right of British people to engage in legitimate and peaceful protest and to stand up for the causes in which they believe.
'But essential as these rights are, they do not provide a blank cheque for this particular group to seriously damage property or subject members of the public to fear and violence.'
He added: 'We would not tolerate this activity from organisations if they were motivated by Islamist or extreme right-wing ideology, and therefore I cannot tolerate it from Palestine Action.
'By implementing this measure, we will remove Palestine Action's veil of legitimacy, tackle its financial support, degrade its efforts to recruit and radicalise people into committing terrorist activity in its name.'
But ministers have faced criticism over the decision to outlaw Palestine Action, with opponents branding the move as 'draconian overreach' and comparing the group to the Suffragettes.
The United Nations has also warned against the ban, with experts concerned at the 'unjustified labelling of a political protest movement as 'terrorist''.
In the Lords, Green Party peer Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb opposed the proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation.
Her regret motion argued the ban undermined civil liberties, constituted a misuse of anti-terror legislation, suppressed dissent against the UK's policy on Israel, and criminalised support for a protest group, causing 'a chilling effect on freedom of expression'.
The legislation approved by the Lords also bans two white supremacist groups, Maniacs Murder Cult and Russian Imperial Movement, including its paramilitary arm Russian Imperial Legion.
The Home Office describes the Maniacs Murder Cult as a neo-Nazi transnational and online organisation which has claimed a number of violent attacks around the world.
The Russian Imperial Movement is an ethno-nationalist group which aims to create a new Russian imperial state.
Its paramilitary unit fought alongside Russian forces in the invasion of Ukraine to advance its ideological cause.