THE Labour Government is moving to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation at the same time as proscribing the neo-Nazi “Maniacs Murder Cult”.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has published a draft order which would label both groups as terrorist organisations in the UK, meaning supporting or joining them could lead to up to 14 years in jail.
At the same time, Cooper is also aiming to proscribe the Russian Imperial Movement – a far-right group aiming to rebuild the Russian Empire – and its paramilitary wing the Russian Imperial Legion.
A Palestine Action spokesperson said: “Bundling Palestine Action – a domestic civil disobedience protest group – in with foreign neo-Nazi organisations (the Moldovan ‘Maniacs Murder Cult’ and the Russian ‘Imperialist Movement’) further highlights how unjustified and preposterous the Home Secretary’s proposed proscription of Palestine Action is.
“These foreign organisations are the kind of groups proscription was created to target – not protesters who disrupt arms factories and spray paint on war planes to protest war crimes and genocide.”
Palestine Action has brought a legal challenge against the UK Government’s plans to proscribe it, which is due to have a second hearing at the High Court on Friday.
It comes as a host of famous names, including Tilda Swinton and Frankie Boyle, joined calls for the Home Secretary not to proscribe Palestine Action.
The group claimed that Cooper was concerned that she would not get the support needed to proscribe it.
“The Home Secretary is borrowing tactics from Trump’s playbook to circumvent democratic debate and accountability by effectively proscribing Palestine Action via the backdoor without proper parliamentary consideration,” they said.
“Does she fear not being able to pass this unless she lumps Palestine Action in with two foreign extremist groups?”
Cooper previously said Palestine Action’s activity has increased since 2024 and its methods have become “more aggressive”, with its members showing “willingness to use violence”.
She named three attacks at Thales defence factory in Glasgow in 2022, Instro Precision in Kent, and Elbit Systems UK in Bristol in 2024, as causing damage costing millions of pounds.
The Home Secretary claimed the ban will allow law enforcement to “effectively disrupt the escalating actions of this serious group”.
