Minister argues move will not impinge on people’s right to protest but critics call it ‘grave abuse of state power’
MPs have voted to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation despite concerns that the move could risk criminalising legitimate protest.
The draft order to amend the Terrorism Act 2000 and proscribe the group, laid by the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, passed the Commons on Wednesday by 385 votes to 26.
The order also bans two neo-Nazi groups, the Maniacs Murder Cult (MMC) and the Russia Imperial Movement (RIM).
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It will become a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison for anyone to become a member of and support the direct action of Palestine Action.
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After the vote, a Palestine Action spokesperson said: “We are confident that this unlawful order will be overturned. As United Nations experts have made clear, spraying red paint and disrupting the British-based operations of Israel’s largest weapons firm, Elbit Systems, is not terrorism.
The terrorism and war crimes are being committed by Israel against the Palestinian people – armed and enabled by this government.”
The announcement came as police imposed restrictions on Palestine Solidarity Campaign protests outside parliament.
Before the vote, the lawyers group Network for Police Monitoring and the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers had warned the home secretary in two separate letters that proscribing Palestine Action would conflate protest and terrorism. The letters collectively were signed by hundreds of lawyers and by UN experts.
Several UN special rapporteurs said they had contacted the UK government to say that “acts of protest that damage property, but are not intended to kill or injure people, should not be treated as terrorism”.
Last week, Cooper linked Palestine Action with the MMC and the RIM, saying each of them had “passed the threshold for proscription based on clear national security evidence and assessments”. She said: “Violence and serious criminal damage has no place in legitimate protests.”
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See the original article at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jul/02/uk-mps-vote-to-proscribe-palestine-action-as-terrorist-group
