Palestine Action ‘to be banned’ as terror group, says home secretary

It comes after the group broke into a RAF base last week

The group is set to become "proscribed" in the UK, meaning 'outlawed' or 'banned'.

The news comes after the activist group claimed responsibility for a break in at RAF Brize Norton where two aircraft where vandalised with red paint.

Reports say the damage has totalled millions of pounds.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said "the disgraceful attack on Brize Norton" on Friday was "the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action".

She said a draft proscription order will be laid in parliament next week and if passed, it will make it illegal to be a member of, or invite support for, Palestine Action.

People can be sentenced to 14 years in prison for some proscription offences although some breaches carry just fines.

One member of the group, Saeed Taji Farouky, told Sky News that the move was "completely irrational" and "without precedent".

He called it a "knee-jerk reaction from the government" claiming it was because the group "was able to humiliate them and show serious flaws in the defences of the RAF base".