Terrorism experts have said the UK should reverse the ban on Palestine Action after a report found the country's terror law was overused by the government.
Lynette Nusbacher, a former British Army counter-terrorism officer, said the UK government's response to Palestinian Action activists spray-painting military planes at an airbase was “foolish”. The government needed to “walk back its proscription of Palestine Action” and the opportunity for that was now as the “Israelis aren't pounding Gaza day after day”, she added.
A three-year review published on Tuesday found that UK counter-terrorism measures, including the law used to ban Palestine Action and the government's anti-radicalisation scheme Prevent, are being used too widely.
The Independent Commission on UK Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy and Practice said the official definition of terrorism was too broad and “extends beyond acts of violence or serious threat, creating uncertainty and overreach in its application”.
It said terrorism should be “defined narrowly as acts intended to coerce, compel, or subvert government”.
In an indirect reference to Palestine Action members vandalising the aircraft at RAF Brize Norton in June, the report said the threshold for property damage “should apply only to conduct causing serious risk to life, national security, or public safety”, or that involved “arson, explosives, or firearms”.
It said measures used to ban groups such as Palestine Action should be restricted so they are used only to protect the public from terrorism and recommended proscription of terrorist groups lapses after five years, unless renewed.
The report said: “When a group is proscribed, individuals can face prosecution for membership, inviting or expressing support, or wearing associated symbols or uniforms.”
Hundreds of people have been arrested in Britain at pro-Palestine rallies for simply holding up banners that bear message such as: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
Looking foolish
Counter-terrorism experts have told The National that designating Palestine Action as terrorists has subsequently made the government “look foolish” with the hundreds of people arrested, many of them pensioners.
“The legislation has been used far too broadly against them in a way that is now an own goal for the government,” said Dr Nusbacher.
She said the Terrorism Act 2000 was designed to prevent Irish Republican Army (IRA) terrorists attacking people and property, making it easier to jail them.
“But what we saw with respect to Palestine Action was an organisation that was not trying to kill people, not even trying to hurt people, being treated as though they were the Provisional IRA or other proscribed terrorist organisations,” Dr Nusbacher said.
The report recommends increased parliamentary scrutiny of decisions to proscribe groups, and for suspects to be charged only under section 12 or 13 of the Terrorism Act, which cover support for banned groups “where there is clear intent to commit the offence”.
Kneecap rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh, whose stage name is Mo Chara, was charged under section 13 for allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist group Hezbollah at a gig, before the case was thrown out due to a technical error.
Prevent unfit
The Independent Commission found that the government's anti-radicalisation scheme Prevent was also being used too broadly, with its chairman Sir Declan Morgan saying under its “present approach, Prevent is not fit for purpose”.
“Prevent should be integrated into a wider, local authority-led multi-agency safeguarding ‘front door’ that works with communities to mainstream violence prevention work, currently processed through Prevent, into broader violence-reduction strategies,” he said.
The report said referrals “increasingly involve individuals experiencing complex vulnerabilities” that included mental ill health, isolation or neurodivergence “rather than clear terrorism-related risks”.
The changes had “blurred Prevent’s purpose” while stretching its remit “beyond its original aim”. The commission found the idea that potential terrorists can be spotted through “observable indicators” is “an assumption not consistently supported by empirical evidence”.
Officials have seen a surge in referrals to Prevent following the Southport murders in July last year, in which three young girls were stabbed to death, and are expecting a record total this year.
Figures released last week showed there were 8,778 referrals to the anti-extremism scheme in 2024/25 – up almost 27 per cent from 6,922 in the previous year, according to Home Office data. The 3,287 in the first three months of this year is the highest number in a single quarter since data began.
The commission said those involved in potential terror plots against the UK are “increasingly younger and may be driven by complex mixes of ideology, grievance and personal vulnerability”. It said counter-terrorism powers are being “applied too broadly” and “capturing behaviour that is harmful but not terrorist”.
Of the 58,000 people referred to Prevent since 2015, more than 90 per cent had drawn no counter-terrorism concerns. The report also found some terror-related offences relating to preparation or information-gathering “are framed so broadly that they may encompass behaviour far removed from any genuine terrorist intent or threat”.
“The increasing reliance on ‘mindset’ evidence, especially in prosecutions involving online material, also presents challenges,” it said.
The commission made 113 recommendations, including a national strategy to promote social cohesion and greater powers for the independent reviewer of counter-terrorism laws. It also wants rules put in place to ban the removal of citizenship for those born British or registered British as children, and restricting such removal for naturalised adults.
The estimated 55 to 72 British men, women and children who remain in Syria having travelled there during the civil war should be brought back to the UK, the report said.
The Home Office responded by saying Britain had “one of the most robust counter-terrorism frameworks in the world” and it continued “to strengthen these to reflect the evolving nature of the threat”. It also argued that Prevent played “a vital role in … stopping people from becoming terrorists” and had diverted about 6,000 people “away from violent ideologies”.
