UK: Starmer and Cooper urged by over 500 cultural figures not to ban Palestine Action
A group of over 400 cultural figures from across the political spectrum has called on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to halt the proscription of Palestine Action on free speech grounds.
The novelist Alan Hollinghurst, writer Reni Eddo-Lodge and musician Brian Eno are among those who have signed a joint statement organised by Fossil Free Books. “Whether we as individuals support Palestine Action is irrelevant: what is at stake here is the very principle of freedom of expression,” the statement reads.
Pankaj Mishra, whose recent book The World After Gaza responds to the impact of Israel’s war on Gaza, has signed the statement, as have the journalist George Monbiot, economist Yanis Varoufakis, academic Kojo Karam, comedian Frankie Boyle and the writers Aja Barber, Max Porter and Afua Hirsch.
In a separate letter organised by Artists for Palestine UK, another group of high profile British cultural figures, including the actor Tilda Swinton and the musician Paul Weller, said: "The real threat to the life of the nation comes not from Palestine Action but from Home Secretary Yvonne Cooper’s efforts to ban it."
“Civil disobedience is not ‘terrorism’, as history shows us, from the suffragettes to Martin Luther King Jr. It is the right of all citizens in a democracy," the Fossil Free Books statement says.
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"In 2004, Keir Starmer made this very argument when he represented an activist who sabotaged a military aircraft, making the case that his actions were lawful because they aimed to prevent an ‘illegal war’.
“Legal and human rights groups, such as Amnesty, Greenpeace and Liberty, have been clear that the proscription of Palestine Action threatens the right to protest in the UK.”
As a lawyer, Starmer represented Josh Richards, one of five British peace activists who in 2003 sought to sabotage operations at RAF Fairford, a military air base that was housing B-52 bombers due to fly to Iraq.
Banning Palestine Action
Responding to the statements of support, a spokesperson for Palestine Action told Middle East Eye: "We deeply appreciate all of the solidarity we've received since the draconian plans to proscribe Palestine Action were announced.
"It's unheard of for the government to try and ban a protest group, and this move is in line with their continued involvement in the Gaza genocide. Together, we will resist."
Founded in 2020, Palestine Action is a direct action group the UK government is set to ban after activists broke into RAF Brize Norton, the largest airbase in Britain, on 20 June and spray-painted two planes while on electric scooters.
The activists then evaded security and escaped the base, which they said they targeted because flights leave from there for RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, “a base used for military operations in Gaza and across the Middle East”.
'As a precedent for what constitutes free speech and appropriate civil disobedience, this is appalling'
- Nikesh Shukla, British screenwriter
On Friday police announced they had arrested two people connected to the incident, and have since made four more arrests related to the RAF base break-in.
Speaking in parliament on 23 June, Yvette Cooper said: “I have decided to proscribe Palestine Action under section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
She said a draft proscription order will be presented in Parliament on 30 June. "If passed, it will make it illegal to be a member of, or to invite support for, Palestine Action.”
After the draft order is presented in parliament on Monday, it will be put to a vote on Wednesday and could come into effect as soon as Friday this week.
On Monday, Palestine Action said that Cooper "will ask MPs to decide in one vote to ban Palestine Action and neo-Nazi groups 'Maniac Murder Cult' and 'Russian Imperialist Movement'.
"She's done this deliberately to try and ensure the vote is successful."
If Palestine Action is proscribed, it will place it alongside the likes of Islamic State and the neo-Nazi group National Action. It will be the first time a direct action group has been classified in this way.
George Monbiot, a Guardian columnist and author, said that the planned proscription of Palestine Action was “our ‘I’m Spartacus’ moment.”
Scottish comedian Fern Brady said: “Civil disobedience, protest and the expression of political solidarity is not terrorism.
"To say that it is would be an indictment of the UK democracy and every self-respecting comedian should take a stand.”
Nikesh Shukla, the British novelist and screenwriter, said: “As a precedent for what constitutes free speech and appropriate civil disobedience, this is appalling.
"We call on all writers, no matter your political views, to join us in defending freedom of speech.”
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