THREE PEOPLE HAVE been charged under the Terrorism Act in the UK with showing support for Palestine Action.

A man and a woman in their 70s, and a woman in her 50s, had been arrested following a protest in central London last month and have since been charged.

Palestine Action is a UK-based protest collective which was founded in 2020.

It’s focused on targeting “British complicity” in Israel’s military operations and is known for its disruptive, direct-action tactics, including occupations, vandalism, and blockades.

Last month, a vast majority of MPs in the UK parliament backed the Labour government’s move to ban direct Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation.

The ban means that membership of, or support for, Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison, under the Terrorism Act 2000.

The move to ban the organisation was announced after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF base in Oxfordshire on 20 June, an incident claimed by Palestine Action, which police said caused around £7 million (€8m) of damage.

Today, two women and a man were charged with showing support for Palestine Action following a protest in central London on 5 July.

Jeremy Shippam, 71, of West Sussex, Judit Murray, also 71, of Surrey, and Fiona Maclean, 53, of Hackney, north-east London, were charged with showing support for a proscribed organisation under section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

They are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 16 September.

The charges come ahead of a planned protest in support of the group on Saturday afternoon in London’s Parliament Square, with organisers expecting more than 500 people to attend.

The head of the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, Commander Dominic Murphy,  said that anyone who displays public support for Palestine Action is “committing an offence under the Terrorism Act and can expect to be arrested”.

He added that the charges show that any displays of support will be “investigated to the full extent of the law”.

He said that the Met is also planning to send case files to the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service for 26 other people arrested on the same day.

“I would strongly advise anyone planning to come to London this weekend to show support for Palestine Action to think about the potential criminal consequences of their actions,” said Murphy.

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