Palestine Action rejects 'sham investigation' over claims it is funded by Iran

Group faces ban after spray-painting UK military facilities

Demonstrators hold up placards during a protest by Palestine Action supporters in London. AFP

Palestine Action has rejected “baseless claims” it is being funded by Iran and called an investigation by the UK Home Office a “sham”.

The group, which broke into RAF Brize Norton airbase last week and damaged two planes, could be designated as a terrorist organisation if MPs approve a UK government plan next week.

The Home Office is said to be investigating the group’s funding and potential links to Iran, according to unnamed sources, The Times reported.

But the group, which was co-founded by activist Huda Ammori and former XR campaigner Richard Barnard, said they had not been contacted.

 “The Home Office did not inform us of their sham investigation, neither did they consult us on proscription,” a spokesperson for Palestine Action told The National on Tuesday. “It is baseless and utterly ridiculous to suggest we are receiving funding from Iran.”

The spokesperson accused the Home Office of spreading rumours to gain support for its move to ban the group. “This is a deliberate attempt by the Home Office to smear Palestine Action, in a bid to bolster their draconian move to ban a protest group.”

Palestine Actions donations, they said, came from “ordinary people” who support the movement.

Among them is James “Fergie” Chambers, an American communist and heir to a multi-billion-pound conglomerate, who said in a 2023 interview that he was paying Palestine Action’s legal fees.

The Home Office refused to comment on Tuesday, after Cabinet minister Jonathan Reynolds said he could not rule out the possibility of a foreign power backing Palestine Action.

“It is extremely concerning they gained access to that base, and the Defence Secretary is doing an immediate review of how that happened,” he said in a BBC interview on Sunday.

The campaign group engages in “direct action” demonstrations that involve spray-painting the premises of Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems and other companies they allege are linked to it.

In recent months, Palestine Action prayed the London offices of Allianz Insurance with red paint because of its alleged links to Elbit, as well as US President Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire.

It faces hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal fees as many of its activists face trial for charges such as criminal damage, burglary, blackmail and encouraging criminal damage.

But the move to designate the group as a terrorist organisation – though popular in government – has raised concerns that it could be a step too far.

The group has faced challenges opening bank accounts in recent months, before the proposal to designate them was floated.

The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign – which is not connected to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign based in London – said it had agreed to give Palestinian Action access to its banking services a “few months ago”.

But the proposed proscription has caused the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign to think twice about the arrangement. “We're reviewing that in a friendly way,” said Mick Napier, a spokesperson for the group.

Hundreds of demonstrators in London supporting Palestine Action on Monday said they feared that the proposed designation was intended to diminish the wider mainstream support for Palestine.

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which organises fortnightly marches in London and keeps a distance from Palestine Action, condemned the move as “part of a wider crackdown on those protesting for Palestinian rights” that would “only serve to degrade the meaning of terrorism”.

If Parliament approves the order, Palestine Action will join the 81 organisations have been proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000, including Islamist groups such as Hamas and Al Qaeda, far-right groups such as National Action, Russian private military company the Wagner Group and Hizb ut-Tahrir.