Latest news with #proscription
Telegraph
a day ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Palestine Action aren't terrorists. They're just attention-seeking idiots
Imagine the buzz this week among the members of Palestine Action. This group of disparate individuals suddenly went from frappuccino-sipping chatterati to official terrorists. Their golden moment came on Monday, when Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State for the Home Department, announced: 'I have decided to proscribe Palestine Action under section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000.' Since then, the police have taken decisive action, and four members of the group have been arrested under section 41 of the Act. The WhatsApp groups must have gone berserk. Having come to public attention the previous week by breaking into RAF Brize Norton and spray-painting some military planes (more an abysmal failure of security than cunning planning), they were designated the new Public Enemy Number One. 'Gosh, chaps,' one member might have messaged the group from the comfort of their drawing room sofa, 'this is rather exciting.' Indeed, one member of Palestine Action said this week that they were 'all flummoxed at the moment' – which is just the sort of middle-class thing most terrorists don't say to one another. There is a decidedly farcical ring to it all. Palestine Action's UK followers clad themselves – around the neck or head and face, niqab-style – in the familiar fishnet-patterned keffiyeh of Palestine, and call one another 'comrade'. Yet this is more Sacha Baron Cohen-style Ealing comedy than feared militant group. While the 'comrades' were celebrating their designation as modern-day Che Guevaras, journalists were infiltrating their meetings – or, no disrespect to The Telegraph sleuths, simply logging on to their Zoom webinars. There, a plummy-voiced young woman talked through a nicely designed slideshow suggesting other RAF bases to raid with their spray paint canisters and offered advice about what to do when arrested – I think she meant to say 'captured'. 'NOTE,' read one slide in big capital letters, 'Everybody (even a millionaire) gets free legal advice in the police station.' Extremely useful intel for some 'comrades' who, once arrested, won't have to face the embarrassing situation of phoning Daddy, who might be chairing an important meeting in the City. Designating these folk as terrorists is an absurd overreaction, which mocks the work of those who hunt actual terrorists, the likes of al-Qaeda or al-Shabaab. I can imagine a militant member of Jamaat ul-Ahrar, pausing for some breakfast in his attempts to establish an Islamic caliphate in Pakistan, spitting out his aloo paratha as he spotted news of these amateurs elevated to official pariah status. But the word terrorist is the new misnomer, as inappropriate and hackneyed as the word Nazi was on the lips of Gary Lineker. Also labelled as terrorists – albeit not yet officially by the Home Secretary – are Kneecap. This rap group from Northern Ireland has been provoking the authorities with their pro-Palestinian mantra, with band member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh allegedly waving a flag in support of Hezbollah on stage. But like the members of Palestine Action, he is more twit than terrorist, his bandmates equally nincompoops. Fellow member JJ Ó Dochartaigh was working as a teacher in Ireland before he was relieved of the job after appearing on stage with 'Brits Out' painted on his buttocks. Their expletive-laden, provocative songs and antics are exactly what one should expect from childish, attention-seeking rappers. Although I do recommend their tune HOOD, which includes a tremendous takedown of the principals of lockdown ('f--- you curfew!'). Kneecap and Palestine Action were joined in their kindergarten of idiocy this week by Peta, the go-to insurgents of the animal rights movement, doubtless writhing in jealousy that, despite their best efforts, they are yet to be decried as terrorists at the House of Commons despatch box. Their innovation this week was to attack the Prince of Wales for breeding puppies – a low blow if ever I saw one. When, to mark his 43rd birthday, Prince William published a photo of himself stroking and cuddling four cocker spaniel puppies, most of us wanted to nuzzle up to those little bitey, bounding balls of fluff. To me, it was an effortless and heart-warming bid for kingship. Not for Peta, whose vice president Elisa Allen decried the Prince as 'staggeringly out of touch' for 'churning out a litter'. Fortunately, this very weekend offers all such wannabe revolutionaries the chance to gather with fellow middle-class and wealthy faux peaceniks at Glastonbury. There, as Kneecap belt out songs such as Get Your Brits Out and Fenian C----, they can wave their 'Free Palestine' and 'Down With Puppies' flags, safe in the knowledge that they'll all be far too smelly for anyone to contemplate arresting them.
Sky News
6 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News
Palestine Action to be proscribed - but what does that mean?
Palestine Action faces being proscribed as a terror group after activists broke into RAF Brize Norton and damaged two military aircraft. It was the latest law broken by the activist group. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said they are also alleged to have caused millions of pounds of criminal damage and assaulted a police officer with a sledgehammer. He said he was "shocked and frustrated" to learn that a protest in support of the group was being planned on Monday, but that the force had "no power in law" to prevent it. The group's proscription, however, would change that. But what is proscription, what effect does it have, and how many proscribed organisations are there? What is proscription? Proscription is the banning of an organisation based on an assessment that it commits or participates in, prepares for, promotes or encourages, or is otherwise concerned in terrorism, the Home Office says. 1:49 The home secretary can choose to proscribe an organisation if it is found to do any of the following: • Commits or participates in acts of terrorism • Prepares for terrorism • Promotes or encourages terrorism (including the unlawful glorification of terrorism); or, • Is otherwise concerned in terrorism. Any move to proscribe the group must be debated and approved by MPs and peers. When deciding to proscribe an organisation, the government takes into account: • The nature and scale of an organisation's activities • The specific threat that it poses to the UK • The specific threat that it poses to British nationals overseas • The extent of the organisation's presence in the UK • The need to support other members of the international community in the global fight against terrorism. What does proscribing a group do? It makes it illegal to show support for the proscribed group, with any offences punishable by a maximum of 14 years in prison. 2:45 Specifically, it is a criminal offence to: • Belong to a proscribed organisation • Invite support for a proscribed organisation • Recklessly express support for a proscribed organisation • Arrange a meeting in support of a proscribed organisation • Wear clothing or carry articles in public which arouse reasonable suspicion that an individual is a member or supporter of a proscribed organisation • Publish an image of an article such as a flag or logo in the same circumstances. The last two offences are less severe and punishable by up to six months in prison and/or a fine not exceeding £5,000. How many proscribed organisations are there? There are 81 organisations proscribed by the UK government under the Terrorism Act 2000, not including 14 organisations in Northern Ireland such as the Irish Republican Army (IRA) that were proscribed under previous legislation. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is on the proscribed list and the most recent addition is The Terrorgram collective - an online transnational network of extreme right-wing terrorists which the government says wants to bring about the collapse of Western democracy and a "race war". You can see the full list by clicking here. Can a proscribed group be taken off the list? The group or someone deemed to be "affected" by a proscription can submit a written application to the home secretary requesting that they consider taking them off the list. If the application is refused, the applicant can appeal to the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission, which allows an appeal if it considers that the home secretary's decision to refuse de-proscription was "flawed".
The Independent
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Palestine Action member hits out at ‘absurd' government ban plan
A Palestine Action member has described the UK government's plan to proscribe the group as a terrorist organisation as "absurd." Saeed Taji Farouky, the member, stated that such a move would undermine fundamental principles of British democracy and the rule of law. The home secretary is expected to address Parliament on Monday regarding the potential proscription of Palestine Action. This development follows an incident where Palestine Action activists breached RAF Brize Norton, spraying two planes with red paint. Farouky justified the group's actions as an "escalation in tactics" aimed at disrupting the "material supply chain to genocide," while Israel denies genocide allegations. Watch the video above.
Times
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
New law to proscribe hostile state-linked groups
A new terror-style proscription law will be created to ban foreign government agencies in an attempt to crack down on the activities of hostile countries in Britain Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, told MPs that she was accepting recommendations from a report by Jonathan Hall KC, the independent adviser on terrorism legislation, which said that that Britain's terrorism legislation was ill-equipped to tackle the conduct of state agencies such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and called for a new power to act as an 'equivalent to proscription'. Speaking in the House of Commons, Cooper said she was accepting this recommendation so the government could deal with state bodies such as the IRGC, which has been accused of plotting assassinations and terror attacks around
