Former Head of UK Counter Terror Policing, Neil Basu, has said the group Palestine Action “crossed a line” by breaking into RAF Brize Norton, describing it as criminal and potentially extremist behaviour.
Speaking on the first episode of the new Global podcast The Crime Agents, Basu said: “Any government has to react to that, but also any government’s got to react to unlawful protest. And this group is quite clearly committed to criminal activity.”
In a wide-ranging conversation with host Andy Bell, Basu explored the current debate around whether groups like Palestine Action should be proscribed as terrorist organisations under UK law.
He referred to Section 1 of the Terrorism Act, saying: “If you’re thinking serious damage to property, serious threats or violence to an individual, endangering the public… have they reached that threshold?”
Basu added that historic failures to proscribe early-stage extremist groups have had long-term consequences, citing National Action and Al Majuroon as examples.
“Maybe the time is right to lower the bar… and actually, it would be better to cut off a potentially extremist group before they’ve developed their reach,” he said.
The former Met Assistant Commissioner also acknowledged that proscription is a serious step but argued that allowing a group to gain traction before intervening could carry greater risks.
Listen to the first episode of The Crime Agents on Global Player now.