My Thoughts about the Palestine Action Documentary
Some mighty fine visuals start the documentary with the iconic clip of the banner over Westminster Bridge saying ‘I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action’ unfurled, being shown next to a young man being arrested who exclaims “I support Palestine Action. You should be arresting the real terrorists” set out a stall of loyalty. That, and what with a red-suited person holding a red flare and the cam footage from a Brize Norton Activist who is drawn into an RAF jet and the Elbit factory getting smashed into and such luminaries as Rory Stewart, the former minister for State for Prisons, Parole and Probation saying “I think they [Starmer’s government] have got their knickers in a twist” let’s us know in no uncertain terms that the conclusion of this will not fall kindly upon Cooper, Mahmood, Lammy, Starmer et al
And so after this introduction, the question is asked, “Was the government right in banning Palestine Action?
It is suggested that the near-historical event of the evil attack on October 7th 2023 and the concommitment retribution by Israel is what led to Palestine Action to be formed. Of course that is by far too simplistic a consideration, but time and space preclude. Nevertheless, one must note that Alex is being a little trite here.
He says their first direct action was on August 6th 2024, with their attack on Elbit Systems in Bristol, ignoring the attack on Teledyne Defence and Space Ltd in Shipley in May 2024.
And let’s not mention the disgraced Lord Dannatt – we could be here for hours otherwise.
Oh sod it I might just as well mention
Lord Dannatt wrote to the ex-Home Secretary in December 2022 on behalf of Teledyne, saying that he would be “very grateful to receive assurance that the threat from Palestine Action is fully recognised by our security services and appropriate action [is] either planned or being taken”. And that he wrote again in December 2004 to Dan Jarvis, the Labour security minister, citing renewed “attacks on Teledyne facilities”, and saying he would be “very grateful to receive assurance from the current government that the threat posed by Palestine Action continues to be fully recognised by our security services and that appropriate action is being taken”.
There you go.
Anyway, what of those four people who tried after the Shipley attack? Well, they were convicted AFTER a re-trial as the jury failed to reach a verdict.
Last week the CPS said they would the same to the Filton 24
Alex takes us into a warehouse for ‘digital security’ and then shows us a publicly available video of Yvette Cooper. I thought it worthwhile to remind us about her comments made in the Observer
These were so widely publicised that it may be impossible to find a jury unaffected by them.
Some people may believe contempt of court has been committed.
The column in itself represents a grey area between public comment and statements that require evidentiary support. And that may be libellous to people affected by ongoing trials. And could it be said that she was trying to influence the jury?
However, of the chimaera that ‘she knows things that we don’t’, what happens if her comments are shown to be unsubstantiated, or we are never offered proof, and she forever hides behind claims of confidentiality? Who would believe a word she ever said afterwards?
Alex goes on drawing our attention to how MPs hands were tied in the proscription vote by lumping Palestine Action with “two neo-nazi groups. The Maniac Murder Cult and the Russian Imperial Moverment”
He is quite right, I received half a dozen replies to my ‘Write To My MP’ campaign about this matter. Here is a response I received from Rachel Gilmour, the MP for Tiverton and Minehead
Whilst my feelings against the proscription of Palestine Action are clear [she had written earlier that she thought they should not be proscribed], the Government decided to not call the decision to a separate vote; instead, they bundled the decision to proscribe Palestine Action in with two further proscription decisions, those of the ‘Russian Imperial Movement’ and the ‘Maniacs Murder Cult’. I could not, in good conscience, vote to block those proscriptions.
Rachel, it seems, was ‘forced’ to vote.
Alex, meets Dee from Palestine Action Ireland. He states their aims
“Ultimately, we want to impose a cost on our targets so that the cost of dropping their ties with Elbit or stopping their connection with Israel is higher than their benefits of continuing to do so.”
PA Ireland, presumably in Dublin, is shown climbing into an office block. No CCTV, no police, really quite shocking, as subtitles usefully inform the watching public who the baddies are. I repeat them here:
Elbit, Collins Aerospace, Raytheon, RTX
“I can hear the sounds of things being broken up in there,” Alex says, smiling.
The serious point he makes is that in the UK, this would be terrorism.
Gideon Falter from the Campaign against Antisemitism is interviewed
It may be useful at this point that Shami Chakrabarti in her report into antisemitism in the Labour party 30 June 2016 pointed out the
“pro-Israel lobbyists of the Campaign Against Antisemitism”
Also, on the Wikipedia page for the Campaign Against Antisemitism, it says:
“After the direct action group Palestine Action was implicated in the destruction of military equipment at RAF Brize Norton, CAA called for it to be proscribed and submitted a dossier on the group to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_Against_Antisemitism
Why would:
“Jewish groups call for clampdown on Palestine Action after airbase infiltration,” as it says in this article?
Falter complains about the attack on Hillsdown House, saying, “What links are there that legitimise this kind of thuggery?” He says the address for BiCom is miles away.
Only at the time, Companies House records that on the 8th November 2024, the address was changed:
Registered office address changed from Hillsdown House 32, Hampstead High Street London NW3 1QD England to 11 Station Approach Wickford SS11 7AT on 8 November 2024
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04204458/filing-history?page=1
But ….
The office of Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) – which promotes and raises awareness of Israel – in Hillsdown House, Hampstead High Street, was targeted on 2nd November at the time was the registered office
https://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/24697360.jewish-national-fund-bicom-offices-covered-paint/
So, Palestine Action attacked the registered office for BiCom at the time, and it was only 6 days later that they changed its registered address.
Alex was wrong when he said “their actual office was elsewhere.” At the time it was there.
[There is then a lengthy section about a link to Iran. Much is spurious nonsense. Others can discuss it. Notwithstanding the length of this piece already]
Of a much greater interest is the Huda Ammori interview:
There are terrible shots by the cameraman that may dox her location through her windows. What were they thinking of? By-the-by, she seems cheerful and emphasises the fact that the PA are the opposite of what a terrorist organisation is: “our actions are to protect lives …” She is asked, “Has it worked?” “Many Israeli weapon factories in Britain have had to permanently shut down”
[Fact Check: Oldham, The Ferranti Technologies; Tamworth, The Elite KL; Bristol, Aztetc West have all had to close because of 18 months of sustained pressure – it is a moot point, but potentially the cancellation of the 2.1 billion Elbit contract was due to PA]
“Every action, if it is for a day, if it is for a week, if it is for a month, is a victory in itself”
She is asked about PA generating a “climate of fear for Jewish people” She replies, “Palestine Action was never about targeting the identities of the owners; it was about a connection to the Israeli weapons industry. I think when these accusations come up, it is weaponising antisemitism in a lot of ways, deliberately obfuscating that fact”
Alex asks her, “Is Hamas guilty of killing innocent civilians on October 7th ?” Huda replies, “Every single life is sacred, and I think we have to look at what Palestine Action as a group is calling for. They are calling for the protection of human life”
[it is obvious there has been some sort of edit in the video here – one wonders what was spliced out at this contentious point – but we have to go with what we are given]
“I think what I struggle with as a Palestinian and as an activist need to condemn something to have some legitimacy” she looks quite wearisome at him now
Then the program gets really exciting as Alex goes back to his secret warehouse and pulls out his ‘leaked’ report, the one from the Joint Terrorism and Assessment Group, the one which came out as a gisted document from the closed section of the original court judgement on the 20th July saying: “the majority of direct action by Palestine Action would not be classified as terrorism… but does often involve criminality” is because of criminal damage and they go on to say, “The JTAC documents also indicate how national security concerns were not a central factor in the Home Office’s decision to proscribe.” Indeed, they barely feature in the government’s open evidence.
Alex explains:
“This is Mi5, Mi6, the official document about the terrorist activity of the group. I have been through it. We heard so much about a link to Iran or Hamas or violence against people, but the reason they say that this crosses the line into terrorism is none of that. It’s because three out of three hundred and eight five incidents mentioned had serious property damage to the extent that it could be considered terrorist.”
Personally, I thought Craig Murray was onto something. He wrote a blog post speculating, “The reason Yvette Cooper has proscribed Palestine Action is that she is a member of Labour Friends of Israel and has received £215,000 from the Zionist lobby”
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2025/08/yvette-cooper-is-lying/#comment-1084189
“What Palestine Action was doing was ever-increasing, so something had to be done about the action and the funding. So that’s where terrorism legislation comes in,” explained Jonathan Hall KC, the Government’s Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation
Alex mentions that Cooper knows things we don’t. Hall looks exasperated at that and says, “Well, I regret that. I don’t think it helps; saying that there are major pieces of information hidden away”
Alex “This secrecy seems so odd because they have briefed journalists that there was a link between PA and Iran”
Hall “Yeah, that was a mistake. It was wrong. The High Court has the power to look at secret evidence, but I don’t agree with the idea that it is nudge nudge wink wink”
Alex then says
[AND THIS IS PHENOMENAL !!]
“You don’t think that there is anything there?”
Wherewith Hall, the Government’s Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, who is allowed to attend these in camera sessions, replies:
“Not that I am aware of”
Alex then poses the, $50,000, rhetorical question …
“The government appears to have briefed the media about potential Iranian links, spoken about the group's willingness to use violence, and disturbing plans for future attacks, but these things are not supported by their own independent advisor nor their own internal intelligence reports. Could the government have done this because they knew a ban based on property damage alone would have been unpopular?”
The second half of the documentary discusses free speech and the imposition of restrictions on those who wish to express support for Palestine Action. It commences with the noisy demo in Parliament Square. The camera pulls back to a poorly trained officer who has drawn his truncheon. Luckily, I believe no one was seriously hurt on that day, although the Metropolitan Police do tend to get things wrong from time to time. By-the-by. At one stage, there is an elegant lady with grey hair who lets out a high-pitched scream. I do feel sorry for her. Rumour had it her boyfriend was taken to Croydon police station and let out at half past two in the morning, but you can never be sure about these things.
Then there are the coordinators of all of this. Paddy Friend, a law student who had allegedly coordinated demonstrations for Palestine Action, was arrested and was facing 14 years in jail. He was highly nervous, as he said, “I thought I could do two years in jail, but this is quite a life-altering amount of time”
The eloquent man says, “Freedom of speech is supposed to mean something. For it to have its meaning, one needs to be able to express an opinion that the government doesn’t like”
Tim Crosland, a former government lawyer and one of the co-founders of the Defend Our Juries group, was among the five people arrested hours before he was due to address a press conference like Paddy
More details about others here
https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/organisers-charged-over-arranging-and-managing-meetings-support-proscribed-palestine
After that Alex does a headshot and says “Whatever you may think about Palestine Action the idea that someone could be looking at doing 14 years in jail for organising a protest in the UK is hard to get your head around” and then he expands it to the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights and Council of Europe are both arguing the UK’s terror laws limit freedom of Speech. The UN Commission also argues that serious property damage does not meet the international definition of terrorism. Here is his full statement:
“UK domestic counter-terrorism legislation defines terrorist acts broadly to include ‘serious damage to property’. But, according to international standards, terrorist acts should be confined to criminal acts intended to cause death or serious injury or to the taking of hostages, for the purpose of intimidating a population or to compel a government to take a certain action or not. The decision appears disproportionate and unnecessary. It limits the rights of many people involved with and supportive of Palestine Action who have not themselves engaged in any underlying criminal activity, but rather have exercised their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association. As such, it appears to constitute an impermissible restriction on those rights that is at odds with the UK’s obligations under international human rights law.”
One of the people who helped draft the Terrorism Act with Jack Straw is then interviewed by Alex, Lord Peter Hain. He says, “There are plenty of crimes they can be charged with. There is no need, nor is it justified, to label them as terrorists. You would have caught Anti-Apartheid protestors as terrorists and that cannot be justified”
I never go a bundle on anonymous whistleblowers but in good faith, I reproduce what the broadcast conveyed by a senior civil servant
“I am, and many other members of the civil service feel this proscription is wrong”
Alex, more usefully, then shows us documents he has found from freedom of information requests about meetings the Home Office had with Elbit Systems about Palestine Action from 2023
From which he quotes “Reassure Elbit Systems UK and the wider sector affected by Palestine Action that the government cares about the harm the group are causing the private sector”
Here is that document
https://ico.org.uk/media2/druajvfz/ic-340324-d0j2.pdf
“1. Please provide PDF copies of all reports, briefings, readouts and minutes related to the following meetings: 1. 1. Rt Hon Chris Philp MP Minister of State Home Office Ministerial Briefing on threats to manufacturing at Elbit Systems from protest groups Elbit Systems 19/4/2023 1. 2. Rt Hon Priti Patel MP Secretary of State Home Office Meeting to discuss protests and security Elbit Systems 2/3/2022”
Here are two redacted replies
Ceri Gibbons, who made the FOI, then makes some serious accusations. I quote her in full here
Dear Home Office,
FOI2024 05283
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Home Office's handling of my FOI request FOI2024 05283 'Home Office ministerial meetings with Elbit (2/3/2022) and (19/4/2023)'.
1. I challenge the application of all exemptions applied in this case. The public interest in disclosure of the undisclosed information is vital to informing the public on matters of grave importance. It far outweighs the interests in nondisclosure claimed in the response to this request.
2. The present disclosure of two heavily redacted documents, open to question the extent to which Home Office ministers have agreed to collaborate with a foreign owned private corporation that is, justifiably, the target of sustained protest actions in the UK because of its support for the present genocidal assault on Gaza, and the brutal illegal military occupation of Palestinian territories that has been ongoing since 1948.
3. In 2023, disclosures under FOIA made by the AGO confirmed that the Israeli embassy in London had sought to pressure the director of the AGO on the same protest matters.
4. While the CPS is supposed to act independently of the executive in the UK, it is clear from the disclosure in this case, that a director of the AGO attended at least one of these Home Office ministerial meetings with the CEO of Elbit UK. The director of the AGO openly represented the CPS on the subject of prosecutions of Palestine Action activists who are targeting Elbit UK facilities. It is also clear the Home Secretary personally intervened, to some extent, in the policing of the protests by Palestine Action at Elbit UK sites.
5. It follows that the public interest in full disclosure of the withheld information in this case is urgent and vital. Full disclosure will further inform the UK public on the extent of foreign corporate influence over UK policing of those who seek to prevent the crime of genocide by resisting corporate entities that continue to openly supply the perpetrators of genocide in Gaza, and assist the illegal military occupation of Palestinian territories.
6. The UK government ministers acting in these meetings appear to have taken sides with corporate criminals against the interests of the UK public they are supposed to defend, and the bodies of international law they are obligated to uphold.
Yours faithfully,
Ceri Gibbons
She closed her message trail with
All published FOIA responses are open-source, public-domain official documents and do not require the requester's permission for reuse or onward publication.
Alex, then interviews the one-time Chair of the Friends of Israel, Lord Walney, a man who in May 24, wrote a document ‘Protecting our Democracy from Coercion, a document so extreme that it was described as a manifesto for a police state. It contains such one-sided remarks as
“Elbit UK is frustrated by the policing and criminal justice response to Palestine Action’s campaign.” (p 25)
However, at the time, in that document, he did conclude:
“The bar for proscription, therefore, is rightly very high and I do not believe that the activities of Palestine Action currently meet it.” (p 260)
So it is most curious why he now believes they should be proscribed for running their “criminal sabotage campaign” He’s most insistent on using that expression.
Lord Walney says it feels highly intimidating to have pro-Palestinian marches every Saturday
[Fact Check: There were 13 major pro-Palestinian marches, by Oct 32 National demonstrations had been held. August 9th was generally regarded as the largest, with an estimated turnout of 300,000 people]
Nevertheless of these details, Alex says, “it deserves weekly protests as it goes against one of the largest slaughters of civilians”
Walney gives him a withering look
Finally, and this is the big question, “Is the UK being a friend of Israel the right position to have, given the mass slaughter? ”
“What you say is highly contested?”
“Which part?”
“I don’t think the UK government accepts your characterisation of the conflict. I was brought in to look at our protest laws an I have tried to do that in a dispassionate way”
He was sacked Feb 14th 2025 a few weeks after the program was recorded after making no less than 41 recommendations to close down different protest groups all the while blatantly receiving money from fossil fuel and arms industries
And as for this
In November 2017, a former staff member of Woodcock's complained to the Labour Party that he had sent her inappropriate text messages between 2014 and 2016. He was sacked then as well
He’s a pervert, and he takes backhanders like a pound shop Epstein, someone described him as. Not me, of course.
Then the whole documentary is bang up to date wit the release of five members of the Filton 24 but the CPS announced it will seek a re-trial
This vicious government will do its utmost to close Palestine Action down
But more it wants to move our open liberty to a controlled, pervasive Palantir state.
And this has happened under a so-called Socialist government. Just imagine how much worse it would be if Reform got in.
I went to Sainsbury's today.
I was being watched.