What happened at RAF Brize Norton on 20 June 2025?

Palestine Action claimed responsibility for the action at RAF Brize Norton, saying it protested the UK's military support for Israel's war on Gaza. Six people are accused of two conspiracy charges. They deny the charges.

#What happened at RAF Brize Norton?

According to The Guardian, two people entered the base and rode electric scooters across the airfield to two Voyager planes. Declassified UK reported that they used repurposed fire extinguishers to spray red paint into the planes' jet engines, then reportedly caused further damage with crowbars before leaving the base. These details come from press and campaign reporting and have not been tested in court.

#What is RAF Brize Norton?

RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire is the UK's largest RAF station, with about 5,800 service personnel, 300 civilian staff and 1,200 contractors, according to the RAF. It is the home of the Air Mobility Force, the part of the RAF that moves people and equipment by air. The RAF says its tankers refuel fighter jets on operations and for the defence of the UK. The base's own profile is at RAF Brize Norton.

#Which planes were damaged?

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed that the two planes were Voyagers ZZ338 and ZZ343. The Voyager is a converted Airbus A330 airliner that can carry troops and cargo and refuel other aircraft in mid-air. AirTanker, a private company, provides the planes under a private finance initiative (PFI). That is a long-term contract in which a company pays for and runs a service, and the government pays it back over many years.

The MoD told Declassified UK that ZZ343 was undergoing routine maintenance and was not in regular service. Flight tracking shows it flew from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus to Brize Norton the day before the protest, and the MoD has not explained that flight. The full flight records are in the Voyager flight records.

#Did the planes refuel Israeli jets?

Palestine Action alleges that the planes at the base are used to refuel Israeli fighter jets, which are used to bomb Gaza. That claim is contested. Research the site has reviewed suggests RAF Voyagers carry only probe-and-drogue refuelling equipment, while Israel's main fighter jets can only be refuelled by boom, so the Voyagers could not have refuelled them. The evidence on the base's wider links to Israel's campaign is set out in could RAF Voyagers refuel Israeli jets?.

#Who claimed the action?

Palestine Action claimed responsibility. In a statement after the protest, a spokesperson said:

"Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US/Israeli fighter jets. Britain isn't just complicit, it's an active participant in the Gaza genocide and war crimes across the Middle East. By decommissioning two military planes, Palestine Action has directly intervened in the genocide and prevented crimes against the Palestinian people."

These are the group's own claims. The ban on the group is under legal challenge, and the Supreme Court heard that challenge on 4 and 5 November 2026.

#What are the charges?

All six people face the same two charges:

1. Conspiracy to commit criminal damage, under the Criminal Damage Act 1971. "Conspiracy" means agreeing with others to commit a crime, so the prosecution does not have to prove that each person personally caused damage.
2. Conspiracy to enter a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK. A prohibited place is a protected site such as a military base.

The second charge is a conspiracy to commit the offence in section 4 of the National Security Act 2023. Section 4 does not require any foreign state or foreign interference to be proven, and it carries a maximum sentence of 14 years. The defence argues that domestic protest aimed at UK foreign policy was never meant to fall inside an espionage statute. The Crown's position is that the words mean what they say. The offence is explained in the section 4 explainer.

The prosecution says the offences have a "terrorist connection", which would affect sentencing if any of the accused are convicted. Charge details come from press reports of court hearings rather than the indictment, so the exact counts could be refined before trial.

#What are the damage claims?

Prosecutors have said repair costs reached £1.7 million and could rise to just under £15 million. Police put the damage at about £7 million. Freedom of information (FOI) requests by Declassified UK found that the MoD could not substantiate any of these figures or give a breakdown of the £7 million figure. Declassified UK's reporting indicates that the £7 million figure came from AirTanker, not the MoD. The MoD said the final cost would not be known until each damaged engine had been through a "comprehensive overhaul".

Mark Alexander, AirTanker's chief executive, said on The High Ground podcast that the first plane was back in operation within seven days and the second about ten days later. A quick return does not prove the estimates wrong, because replacing an engine can be expensive. But the prosecution has not set out what the repairs involved or what each part cost. Downing Street said the incident had not blocked any planned aircraft movements or stopped any operations. The full figures are in the damage cost figures.

#Why does the case matter?

Days after the protest, the Home Secretary announced a plan to ban Palestine Action, on 23 June 2025. In her statement to Parliament, Yvette Cooper, then Home Secretary, cited the Brize Norton protest: "The disgraceful attack on Brize Norton in the early hours of the morning on Friday 20 June is the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action."

The case is also a legal test. It is the first time the National Security Act 2023 has been used against a domestic protest group, and it asks whether an espionage statute can apply to protest. A related Bristol case, the Filton prosecutions, produced a judge's finding of a "terrorist connection" in June 2026. The comparison is in Filton and Brize Norton compared. For the sequence of events, see the case timeline. For the wider issues, see the explainer on the UK's links to the Gaza war.