Brize Norton case glossary: every term explained
Plain definitions of the legal, military, corporate and Gaza-related terms in the Brize Norton case, from conspiracy and prohibited place to Voyager, PFI and the ICJ.
Key points
- The second charge is conspiracy to enter a prohibited place under section 4 of the National Security Act 2023, which does not require any foreign involvement to be proven.
- The Attorney General's personal consent is legally required before proceedings for a section 4 offence can be instituted.
- The trial of the accused is due to begin on 25 January 2027 at Woolwich Crown Court.
- AirTanker, a private company, owns the Voyager tankers, not the Ministry of Defence.
Court reports use many of these terms without explaining them. The second charge reflects section 4 of the National Security Act 2023.
#The places
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| RAF Brize Norton | The UK's largest RAF station, in Oxfordshire, with about 5,800 service personnel. It is home to the Air Mobility Force and the two Voyager squadrons. |
| RAF Akrotiri | The RAF base in Cyprus, Britain's main base for operations in the Middle East. |
| Prohibited place | A protected site such as a military base. The second charge concerns entering one for a harmful purpose. |
| Nevatim | An Israeli air base. One Israeli Air Force plane flew from Nevatim to Brize Norton on 25 December 2023. |
| Filton | A site run by Elbit Systems near Bristol. On 6 August 2024, activists admitted destroying Israeli military drones and equipment there. |
#The planes and refuelling
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| IAF | Israeli Air Force. |
| Voyager | A converted Airbus A330 airliner that carries troops and cargo and refuels other aircraft in mid-air. |
| Air-to-air refuelling | Passing fuel from one aircraft to another while both are in the air. |
| Probe and drogue | One of the two in-flight refuelling methods. As far as research shows, RAF Voyagers use only this one. |
| Boom | The other in-flight refuelling method. As far as research shows, Israel's F-15, F-16 and F-35I jets can only be refuelled this way. |
| 10 and 101 Squadrons | The two RAF Voyager squadrons, based at Brize Norton. |
| 14 Squadron | The RAF squadron that flies the Shadow R1 surveillance planes from Akrotiri. |
| Shadow R1 | The RAF surveillance plane flown by 14 Squadron. See the Gaza flights. |
| Air Mobility Force | The part of the RAF that moves people and equipment by air. |
| Surge aircraft | Aircraft that carry civil registrations and can be leased out commercially, according to the fleet listing. |
| Re'em | Boeing 707s that the IAF uses for air-to-air refuelling. Some landed at Brize Norton between September 2024 and June 2025. |
#The companies and contracts
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| AirTanker | The private company that owns and provides the Voyagers to the RAF. It is partly owned by Airbus. Its chief executive is Mark Alexander. |
| PFI (private finance initiative) | A long-term contract in which a company pays for and runs a service the government needs, and the government pays it back over many years. |
| FSTA (Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft) | The £10.5 billion project that the MoD procured through the PFI contract with AirTanker, signed in March 2008. |
| MoD | The Ministry of Defence. |
| Public Accounts Committee | A UK Parliament committee. In 2010 it said using PFI for FSTA "has not secured value for money". |
| Affinity Flying Training Services | The owner of the RAF's Texan T1 trainers. It is a joint venture of KBR and Elbit Systems. See who owns the RAF's planes. |
| Elbit Systems | Israel's largest arms company. It runs the Filton site and is a partner in Affinity Flying Training Services. |
#The law and the courts
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Brize Norton 5 and 6 | The case name for the accused. The first five people charged were the Brize Norton 5. Lara Downes, charged in 2026, made it six. |
| Conspiracy | Agreeing with others to commit a crime. The prosecution does not have to prove that each person personally caused damage. |
| Conspiracy to commit criminal damage | The first charge, under the Criminal Damage Act 1971. |
| Conspiracy to enter a prohibited place | The second charge: agreeing to enter a protected military site for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK. |
| National Security Act 2023, section 4 | The offence the second charge reflects. It requires entering or approaching a prohibited place for a purpose the defendant knows, or ought reasonably to know, is prejudicial to the UK. |
| Attorney General's consent | The personal consent of the Attorney General, which the National Security Act requires before proceedings for any Part 1 offence, apart from a few expressly excluded minor ones. Section 4 is not excluded. |
| Remand | Held in custody before trial. All six accused are on pre-trial remand. |
| Terrorist connection | The prosecution's claim that the offences have a "terrorist connection". It would affect sentencing if there is a conviction. |
| Proscription | The official banning of an organisation. The government banned Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation days after the protest. Supporting a proscribed group is a criminal offence. See the ban. |
| Section 13 Terrorism Act 2000 | The offence under which thousands of people have been arrested for holding signs since the ban on Palestine Action. |
| Woolwich Crown Court | The court where the trial is due to begin on 25 January 2027. |
#Gaza and international bodies
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| ICJ (International Court of Justice) | In January 2024 it ordered Israel to take emergency steps. In July 2024 it found Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory unlawful. |
| Genocide Convention | The treaty the ICJ cited in its January 2024 order, finding that Palestinians' rights under it were plausibly at risk. |
| ICC (International Criminal Court) | In November 2024 it issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes. |
| Amnesty International | On 5 December 2024 it concluded that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. |
| UN Commission of Inquiry | On 16 September 2025 it concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. |
| Airwars | A civilian harm monitor. It has assessed 1,262 incidents in Gaza from 7 October 2023 to September 2025. |
| Export licence | Government permission to send military equipment abroad. On 2 September 2024 the UK suspended around 30 licences to Israel. |
| F-35 exception | The carve-out that exempted parts for the F-35 fighter jet from the suspension. The High Court ruled it lawful on 30 June 2025. |
| IHL | International humanitarian law, the laws of war. The Foreign Office assessed Israel's compliance with it from June 2024. |
Questions and answers
What does conspiracy mean in the Brize Norton case?
Conspiracy means agreeing with others to commit a crime. The prosecution does not have to prove that each person personally caused the damage.
What is a prohibited place?
A prohibited place is a protected site such as a military base. The second charge alleges an agreement to enter one for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK.
What is the 'terrorist connection' in the case?
It is an allegation the prosecution makes, not a finding. In the Filton case, the same finding added years to the sentences.
Sources
- RAF Brize Norton
- How much damage did Palestine Action really do at Brize Norton?
- High Court rules proscription of Palestine Action unlawful
- First Filton 25 defendants sentenced as terrorists
- Amnesty International (5 Dec 2024)
- UN Commission of Inquiry (16 Sep 2025)
