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Politics
Apr 06, 2026

UK Police Detain Seven Demonstrators Outside RAF Lakenheath Over Support for Banned Palestine Action Group

AI Summary
Seven activists were arrested by British police near the RAF Lakenheath base for allegedly supporting the proscribed Palestine Action group, highlighting tensions between the UK’s security policies, US‑Iran war dynamics, and ongoing debates over free‑speech rights.

British law enforcement detained seven individuals on suspicion of backing the outlawed Palestine Action movement during a peace encampment situated just outside the RAF Lakenheath airbase in eastern England, a facility regularly used by United States forces.

The group, comprising five men and two women, joined other activists on Sunday to denounce the base’s alleged role as a launch point for U.S. aircraft participating in the ongoing US‑Israeli war against Iran.

The protest was organized by the Lakenheath Alliance for Peace, which reported that those arrested were wearing apparel emblazoned with the slogan: “We oppose genocide, we support Palestine Action.”

Police statements indicated the arrests were made “on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organisation,” referencing the Labour government’s decision last year to label Palestine Action a “terrorist” organisation, thereby criminalising any affiliation.

Although a February court ruling deemed the ban “disproportionate” and an infringement on free‑speech rights, the government has appealed the decision, leaving the prohibition in force for the time being.

According to the protest network Defend Our Juries, the crackdown on Palestine Action supporters has already resulted in **more than 2,700 arrests** and hundreds of charges, underscoring the scale of the UK’s enforcement campaign.

Police emphasized their duty to apply the law “as it currently stands, not as it might be in the future,” while noting that two additional demonstrators were taken into custody on Saturday for allegedly obstructing public thoroughfares.

In a related diplomatic flashpoint, former US President Donald Trump has publicly rebuked Prime Minister Keir Starmer for what he describes as insufficient backing of the US‑Israel war on Iran, straining the historically close UK‑US alliance.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has granted the United States permission to employ British bases for “defensive” operations aimed at Iran and to safeguard the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through which roughly 20 % of global oil supplies transit during peacetime.