An independent commission will advise Keir Starmer to rewrite the government’s terrorism definition in a way that could undermine the Palestine Action ban. This week, the Independent Commission on Counter-Terrorism will say that the UK’s entire counter-terrorism strategy is failing to keep the country safe because terrorism has become a “catch all” term.
The commissioners are also due to propose “more careful parliamentary oversight and judicial scrutiny” of proscription orders, the NS understands. The Commission’s conclusions will be widely interpreted as an implicit criticism of the government’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action, a group that was originally set up in 2020 to oppose British arms exports to Israel.
While the commission’s report, due to be launched tomorrow (11 November), is not expected to directly reference Palestine Action, it will hit out at the “serious property damage” clause of the UK’s terrorism definition as too broadly drawn.
The NS understands that the commission will propose a stricter version of that property clause which would include a threshold of serious risk to life and national security and the use of offensive weapons. Palestine Action was proscribed in July this year under section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000, making it illegal to be a member of the group or express public support for it. It was based on allegations of property damage at the Brize Norton RAF base in Oxfordshire. Two Voyager aircraft were sprayed with paint resulting in an estimated £7 million of damage.
Similar actions elsewhere were also cited by then-home secretary Yvette Cooper when she laid the proscription order before the House of Commons. Many hundreds have been arrested for allegedly expressing support for the group since it was proscribed. Most of these arrests have taken place at events held to protest the proscription order.
The Commission’s full conclusions will be announced at the Royal United Services Institute tomorrow at an event chaired by Jonathan Evans, the former Director General of MI5. The NS understands there is support in government for the Commission’s work.
It is chaired by Declan Morgan, the former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland. Other commissioners include Peter Fahy, former chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, Dominic Grieve, the former attorney general, Sayeeda Warsi, the former Conservative minister and John Denham, a former Labour Cabinet minister.
The Commission was launched in 2022. It was originally due to deliver its final report early in 2024 but this was pushed back to this year. There are expected to be a total of 112 recommendations in the report. These are the result of evidence-gathering sessions with over 200 different individuals and groups concerned with counter-terrorism.
Its conclusions could lead to a renewed pushback against the proscription of Palestine Action from Labour MPs, several of whom opposed the proscription order. While Cooper has now been replaced at the Home Office by Shabana Mahmood, there has been no sign of a change of position on the proscription. In October, Mahmood announced further restrictions on protest in the UK.
[Further reading: Palestine Action and the distortion of terrorism]
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