Ban on Palestine Action will rebound on Labour
Arrested and fined £50 for criminal damage, I was jailed for a couple of weeks for refusing to pay the fine. After the missiles arrived in 1984, I joined Cruisewatch actions, which, by obstructing the convoys on the road and throwing paintballs at them, prevented any missile deployment exercises taking place in secret. Again the charges were not severe. Arrested on Salisbury Plain on one occasion, my friends and I were released without charge. Women who did more than £10,000 worth of damage by painting the Blackbird spy plane in 1983 also had their charges dropped.
This week, if the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, has her way, those committing similar kinds of criminal damage could face 14 years in jail for 'terrorism' (Free speech target or terrorist gang? The inside story of Palestine Action – and the plan to ban it, 28 June). Yet nonviolent civil disobedience works. In 2004, Mikhail Gorbachev said he attended the 1986 Reykjavik summit because he was confident that 'the Greenham Common women and the peace movements of Europe […] would not let America take advantage if we took this step forward'. That step led to a 1987 treaty removing tactical nuclear weapons, including cruise missiles, from Europe.
Keir Starmer plans once again to deploy tactical nuclear weapons, under US government control, on British soil and mass protests are already planned. As the Guardian pointed out in its excellent editorial on Palestine Action (23 June), Starmer might think that 'redefining visible dissent as a national security threat is a way to contain public anger', but it is unlikely to make it go away.
On the contrary, Margaret Thatcher's government appeared to recognise that increased repression of 'eccentric' women might actually increase popular support for a cause. Perhaps he could learn something.Dr Lynne JonesMousehole, Cornwall
My daughter is in prison awaiting trial in relation to direct action against an Israeli‑owned weapons company last summer by Palestine Action. I am reeling at the news that Yvette Cooper is planning to add the group to the terror list. This is hypocrisy of the highest order. My daughter joined Palestine Action because she saw her government breaking international humanitarian law by partnering in Israel's genocide, including supplying weapons, and she saw that all the marches she attended and petitions she signed were roundly ignored.
If Palestine Action is criminalised, so will all the people be who provide support without taking direct action themselves. Palestine Action volunteers give my daughter invaluable emotional and practical support. They visit her in prison, speak to her on the phone, write her letters and send her money and books. Will they be forced to stop, or face prison themselves?
People of conscience are not terrorists or criminals. That label belongs to a government that is arming regimes, committing crimes against humanity, and crushing anyone at home who opposes these illegal acts. I think the wrong people are in prison.Name and address supplied
I wholeheartedly agree with Juliet Stevenson's article (Palestine Action spraying paint is not terrorism. As ministers abuse their powers, I feel a duty to speak out, 30 June). I wonder whether Yvette Cooper would be where she is today without the often extreme actions of the suffragettes. Claire JauffretWimbledon, London
Sally Rooney's brilliant defence of Palestine Action deserves wide support (Israel kills innocent Palestinians. Activists spray-paint a plane. Guess which the UK government calls terrorism, 22 June). If it is indeed made a proscribed organisation, I urge admirers of its non-violent protest to express their approval of the group in public at every opportunity. Let the police arrest all of us, send us to trial. If we believe in freedom of speech, the least we can do is to reconcile ourselves to the possibility of incarceration for the sake of that hard-won right.
It is our right to express approval of non-violent direct action against cooperation with those who commit war crimes. If courts and prisons are clogged and overflowing as a result, the government will soon get the message not to mess with reasonable dissent.Rev Graham MurphyLiverpool
Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
Asian shares are mixed after Wall Street sets more records for US stocks
Stock markets in Asia were mixed on Monday after U.S. stocks rose to more records as they closed out another winning week. U.S. futures and oil prices were higher ahead of trade talks in Stockholm between U.S. and Chinese officials. European futures rose after the European Union forged a deal with the Trump administration calling for 15% tariffs on most exports to the U.S. The agreement announced after President Donald Trump and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen met briefly at Trump's Turnberry golf course in Scotland staves off far higher import duties on both sides that might have sent shock waves through economies around the globe. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index lost 1% to 41,056.81 after doubts surfaced over what exactly the trade truce between Japan and U.S. President Donald Trump, especially the $550 billion pledge of investment in the U.S. by Japan, will entail. Terms of the deal are still being negotiated and nothing has been formalized in writing, said an official, who insisted on anonymity to detail the terms of the talks. The official suggested the goal was for a $550 billion fund to make investments at Trump's direction. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.4% to 25,490.45 while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.2% to 3,587.25. Taiwan's Taiex rose 0.3%. CK Hutchison, a Hong Kong conglomerate that's selling ports at the Panama Canal, said it may seek a Chinese investor to join a consortium of buyers in a move that might please Beijing but could also bring more U.S. scrutiny to a geopolitically fraught deal. CK Hutchison's shares fell 0.6% on Monday in Hong Kong. Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi was little changed at 3,195.49, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% to 8,688.40. India's Sensex slipped 0.1%. Markets in Thailand were closed for a holiday. On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 6,388.64, setting an all-time for the fifth time in a week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.5% to 44,901.92, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.2%, closing at 21,108.32 to top its own record. Deckers, the company behind Ugg boots and Hoka shoes, jumped 11.3% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the spring than analysts expected. Its growth was particularly strong outside the United States, where revenue soared nearly 50%. But Intell fell 8.5% after reporting a loss for the latest quarter, when analysts were looking for a profit. The struggling chipmaker also said it would cut thousands of jobs and eliminate other expenses as it tries to turn around its fortunes. Intel, which helped launch Silicon Valley as the U.S. technology hub, has fallen behind rivals like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices while demand for artificial intelligence chips soars. Companies are under pressure to deliver solid growth in profits to justify big gains for their stock prices, which have rallied to record after record in recent weeks. Wall Street has zoomed higher on hopes that President Donald Trump will reach trade deals with other countries that will lower his stiff proposed tariffs, along with the risk that they could cause a recession and drive up inflation. Trump has recently announced deals with Japan and the Philippines, and the next big deadline is looming on Friday, Aug. 1. Apart from trade talks, this week will also feature a meeting by the Federal Reserve on interest rates. Trump again on Thursday lobbied the Fed to cut rates, which he has implied could save the U.S. government money on its debt repayments. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said he is waiting for more data about how Trump's tariffs affect the economy and inflation before making a move. The widespread expectation on Wall Street is that the Fed will wait until September to resume cutting interest rates. In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 24 cents to $65.40 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, also added 24 cents to $67.90 per barrel. The dollar rose to 147.72 Japanese yen from 147.71 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1755 from $1.1758.
Times
26 minutes ago
- Times
New Anglo-Australian defence treaty should include more nations
Nuclear-powered submarines are among some of the most complex objects built by man. They require exceptional build quality, such as in the welds used to ensure structural integrity. The skills required are scarce and in high demand, which is why even the United States finds it challenging to launch more than one a year. Together with the US, China, Russia, France and now India, the United Kingdom is a member of the small club of nations capable of producing these deadly prowlers of the ocean depths, the presence of which can send lesser navies scurrying for port. However, the immense cost of these vessels, the capital ships of the modern era, means that it is difficult to maintain a steady drumbeat of production. Gaps in orders can result in the running down of supply chains and an exodus of trained workers. That is why the signing this weekend of the 50-year Geelong treaty between the UK and Australia is so important. The agreement covers the construction in Barrow-in-Furness and Adelaide of a new class of hunter-killer sub (SSN), nuclear powered but conventionally armed. Britain is looking to build 12 in a move that would take the Royal Navy back to its Cold War strength. Australia may build half a dozen. Good news for Barrow, home to Britain's only nuclear yard, and Rolls Royce in Derby, where submarine reactors are made. Some 7,000 jobs will be created at Barrow and in the supply chain; the export of components to Australia will earn £20 billion over 25 years. There is, however, uncertainty hanging over the deal. Geelong is a subsidiary part of the Aukus agreement involving the US, UK and Australia. The idea is for the Americans to sell Australia three to five off-the-shelf SSNs to serve as a stop-gap before the arrival of its home-built subs in the 2040s. But Aukus, a child of the Biden era, is now in danger of falling victim to the Trump administration's 'America first' policy. There is fear in Washington that the loss of the subs would seriously undermine the US Navy's ability to defend Taiwan from invasion by China. This wavering American commitment to Aukus is further evidence of the need for US allies to future-proof their armed forces against its increasingly mercurial security policy. That means not being overly reliant on the US for equipment. Britain is already cooperating with Italy and Japan on the Tempest combat aircraft project, and growing closer to France and Germany in the nuclear and conventional fields. Geelong suggests another, complementary route: the rebuilding of Britain's defence-industrial ties with its most trusted friends in a 'Canzuk' alliance of Canada, Australia, the UK and New Zealand. These countries have gone their own way on trade, with old Commonwealth patterns of commerce replaced by regional ones, but they can all benefit from economies of scale. Together, Canzuk has a joint GDP that is fourth behind China, the US and the European Union. That promises economies of scale in defence procurement without the overweening influence of the US. The Canzuk concept joins together nations with shared histories and values. Trade may have declined, but not trust. The four are already partners in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance and can do a lot more to strengthen mutual security. In this uncertain world, where authoritarian powers threaten the international order and the US insurance policy is expiring, old ties can be put to new uses.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Angela Rayner on lessons learned from Labour's first year
Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey speak to Angela Rayner about Labour's first year in government and the challenges ahead. The deputy prime minister reveals the issue that keeps her awake at night, reflects on why voters are frustrated with Labour, what she thinks the party can do about it, and how it's planning to take the fight to Reform
