Sabotage Campaign Targets UK Defence Suppliers in Unrelenting Attacks

[Social Media]

 

Palestine Action has inflicted millions of pounds in damage on factories producing equipment for the British Army and Royal Navy, showing no signs of slowing down. On the night of December 8, 2022, four individuals gathered at a guest house in Presteigne, a small town in Powys, Wales, near the English border.

 

 

The group consisted of Ruth Hogg, 40, an art gallery employee with a master’s degree in fine art; Susan Bagshaw, 55, an artist and former social worker; Morwenna Grey, 41, a carer from Machynlleth; and Tristan Dixon, 34, a musician from Huddersfield. After discussing their plans, they reconvened early the next morning, dressed in black balaclavas and bright red boiler suits emblazoned with “Palestine Action.” The activist group, formed with the sole purpose of disrupting companies believed to be supplying the Israeli military, was about to strike again.

 

 

Armed with backpacks, a drill, a crowbar, a sledgehammer, an angle grinder, and smoke grenades, they headed to the industrial estate in Presteigne. Their target was Teledyne Labtech, a technology firm employing 64 people. Bagshaw and Grey forced their way inside, destroying computers, monitors, and furniture while stunned employees looked on. Smoke bombs were set off, and red paint was sprayed throughout the building.

 

 

Meanwhile, Hogg and Dixon climbed onto the roof, smashing windows and drilling holes into the structure. The damage totaled £1.2 million. All four were arrested and later jailed, expressing remorse for their actions in court.

 

However, this attack was just one in a long series of assaults orchestrated by Palestine Action. A Sunday Times investigation has uncovered that the activist group has caused extensive damage to numerous British defence and engineering firms, as well as banks, insurance companies, universities, and government buildings linked to the Israeli military. Since its inception in July 2020, Palestine Action has claimed responsibility for 356 direct actions across the UK.

 

 

The group has drawn recruits from organizations like Extinction Rebellion and employs tactics reminiscent of early 2000s animal rights activists who targeted Huntingdon Life Sciences. Palestine Action has vowed to intensify its campaign in the coming year, even as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced increased funding for the British defence industry.

 

 

Their activities extend beyond protests. They have used vehicles to ram-raid factories, severed internet cables, and smashed offices and workshops with various tools. They have vandalized historic buildings in Oxford and Cambridge with red paint, defaced a bust of Israel’s first president at Manchester University, harassed employees of targeted firms, and engaged in burglaries. A spokesperson for Palestine Action told The Sunday Times, “The primary goal of our direct action campaign is to rid Britain of Israeli weapons factories.”

 

 

Data reveals that Palestine Action’s attacks have escalated from 17 incidents in 2020 to 170 in 2024, even continuing despite the ceasefire in Gaza. A total of 76 companies have been affected. Lord Walney, formerly the government’s adviser on political violence, stated, “The number of attacks shows the industrial scale of Palestine Action’s attempts to sabotage the British defence industry, terrorising working people and leaving our country weaker.”

 

Palestine Action was founded in 2020 by Richard Barnard and Huda Ammori. Ammori, 30, has Palestinian and Iraqi heritage, and her great-grandfather was killed by British soldiers in the 1936 Arab Revolt. Barnard, 51, has a history of protest involvement with Extinction Rebellion. Another key member is Sarah Wilkinson, a former graphic designer affiliated with Extinction Rebellion North. The group has also received support from the rapper Lowkey, who has faced criticism for lyrics accused of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories.

 

As the conflict in Gaza persisted in 2024, Palestine Action ramped up its operations, launching a recruitment drive and distributing an Underground Manual instructing members to form covert cells. Training sessions in London, Liverpool, Birmingham, and Glasgow have guided activists in direct action techniques, including the use of sledgehammers.

 

A significant attack on an Elbit Systems site in Bristol on August 6 resulted in £1 million in damage and 16 arrests. A repurposed prison van was driven through fencing before activists used sledgehammers to further damage the site. Two police officers and a security guard were injured. Just last month, masked activists stormed the headquarters of Martin-Baker, a British firm specializing in ejection seats for RAF Typhoons and other aircraft.

 

To date, 118 Palestine Action activists have been convicted in court, with 33 found not guilty and 24 more cases pending. Charges have ranged from criminal damage and violent disorder to grievous bodily harm and aggravated burglary. While some arrests have been made under section 45 of the Serious Crime Act 2015—targeting organized crime—no activists have been formally charged under this legislation.

 

In certain instances, authorities have invoked anti-terrorism laws, allowing police to detain suspects for a week without charge and restrict prisoner visits. A UN-appointed human rights expert recently expressed concerns to the Home Office over the use of anti-terrorism measures against activists.

Palestine Action remains undeterred, escalating its campaign against British firms linked to Israeli military suppliers. With new strategies, increased recruitment, and a growing number of attacks, the group shows no indication of retreating from its mission.

 

Based on a report by The Times  2025-03-11

 

 

[phil2407]

If pro Palestine then revoke their UK passport & send them there! 
fed up with “this remorse” etc & others using human rights <deleted> to not get deported 

time the UK grew some balls & leave the governing body that makes the laws 

our country is pretty FU anyway with Numpty Labour in charge 

[LittleBear57]

10 years imprisonment would sort these odd balls out.

[Chomper Higgot]

5 hours ago, phil2407 said:

If pro Palestine then revoke their UK passport & send them there! 
fed up with “this remorse” etc & others using human rights <deleted> to not get deported 

time the UK grew some balls & leave the governing body that makes the laws 

our country is pretty FU anyway with Numpty Labour in charge 

The UK Parliament makes the laws.

 

 

 

 

[Eloquent pilgrim]

 

 

Well, there just had to be a Tristan involved, although it’s disappointing that at least one of the females aren’t called Tiffany, or Moon Flower; this Palestinian thing has become a macabre “cause celebre” amongst the impressionable left wing shallow thinkers in the UK.

 

This particular motley crew of middle class, serial attention seekers, are particularly nauseating; next week they’ll probably be gluing themselves to a road or a building in a  protest to ban cows from farting. 

 

 

 

 

[CallumWK]

6 hours ago, phil2407 said:

If pro Palestine then revoke their UK passport & send them there! 

 

I have no opinion at all on what is happening, neither Palestine or Israel, as it all far from my bed and am not in the least interested in what is going on in the Middle East.

But everyone should be entitled so support either party involved. I'm pretty sure these people do not support the terrorist, but rather the people who live there.

 

[Tropicalevo]

12 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

 

I have no opinion at all on what is happening, neither Palestine or Israel, as it all far from my bed and am not in the least interested in what is going on in the Middle East.

But everyone should be entitled so support either party involved. I'm pretty sure these people do not support the terrorist, but rather the people who live there.

 

 

'Palestinians' voted Hamas in during elections.

Supporting any cause does not give you the right to break the law and cause criminal damage.

[Patong2021]

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The UK Parliament makes the laws.

 

The government also decides on whether to enfoce the laws and it is quite obvious that the government is not enforcing the laws on the books.

This is domestic terrorism and extortion.