Three dangerous, terrorist groups will be banned under plans announced by the Home Secretary today.
A draft proscription order has been laid in Parliament which will proscribe Palestine Action (PA), as well as two further groups: the Maniacs Murder Cult (MMC) and the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM).
This will make it a criminal offence to be a member of one of these groups or to invite or recklessly express support for them.
Parliament will now consider and debate the draft Order and if passed, the Order will make it an offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison to belong to or support the groups.
Proscription is ideologically neutral. By deciding to proscribe these three organisations, the government is demonstrating its zero tolerance approach to terrorism, regardless of its form or underlying ideology. National security is the government’s first priority and it will not shy away from this responsibility.
As previously put to Parliament by the Home Secretary on 23rd June, her intention to proscribe Palestine Action after following its orchestration and enaction of aggressive and intimidatory attacks against businesses, institutions and the public, which has crossed the thresholds established in the Terrorism Act 2000.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:
National security is the first duty of any government, we will always take the action needed to protect our democracy and national security against different threats.
Maniacs Murder Cult, Palestine Action and the Russian Imperial Movement have each passed the threshold for proscription based on clear national security evidence and assessments.
The right to protest and the right to free speech are the cornerstone of our democracy and there are countless campaign groups that freely exercise those rights. Violence and serious criminal damage has no place in legitimate protests.
These include attacks at Thales in Glasgow in 2022; and last year at Instro Precision in Kent and Elbit Systems UK in Bristol. The attack on the Thales defence factory in Glasgow, caused over £1 million worth of damage to parts essential for submarines. Staff fled for safety as pyrotechnics and smoke bombs were thrown in evacuation areas.
Such acts do not represent legitimate acts of protest and the level of seriousness of Palestine Action’s activity has met the test for proscription under the Terrorism Act 2000.
MMC is a white supremacist, neo-Nazi organisation that is transnational and predominantly online. It aims to encourage individuals to engage in acts of violence against those it perceives as “anti-social”, to further its causes.
MMC leaders and members have claimed a number of violent attacks globally. MMC supplies instructional material which provides information that can be used by an aspiring attacker to increase their capability or motivation to conduct a terrorist attack posing a threat to the UK.
Proscription will help deter individuals from engaging with MMC’s violent and misanthropic content. Further supporting social media platforms to remove MMC content and the Police in their efforts to respond to individuals found in possession of such material.
RIM is a white supremacist, ethno-nationalist organisation which seeks to create a new Russian Imperial State. Via its paramilitary unit, the Russian Imperial Legion, RIM has fought alongside Russian forces in Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, directly advancing its own ideological causes.
RIM manages a paramilitary training programme called Partizan, which increases the capability of attendees to conduct terrorist attacks. In 2016, two Swedish nationals attended Partizan before committing a series of bombings in Gothemburg, Sweden.
Proscribing RIM will continue the steadfast support of Ukraine in its resistance to Russian aggression and demonstrate the UK’s commitment to countering future threats from Extreme Right-Wing Terrorists.
Should Parliament vote to proscribe, the right to peaceful protest will remain protected. As will the ability to defend the rights of the Palestinian people and to oppose actions of the Israeli government. The government has carefully considered the nature and scale of Palestine Action’s activities to ensure legitimate protest is not affected.
The proscription orders will be debated in Parliament during this week. If approved, the orders will come into over the weekend.
This will mean that a total of 84 organisations are proscribed by the UK.
