Britain's air bases, Gaza and the Brize Norton case
Base profile
A Gloucestershire base used by the US Air Force, at the centre of two landmark protest cases: R v Jones (2003) and the 2026 National Security Act charges.
RAF Fairford matters to the Brize Norton case for two reasons.
Protesters who damaged equipment at RAF Fairford in 2003 argued they were trying to prevent the crime of aggression against Iraq. In R v Jones [2006] UKHL 16, the House of Lords, then the UK's highest court, ruled that aggression was not a crime under UK law, so the defence failed.
In October 2026, two men were charged under section 4 of the National Security Act 2023 in relation to an incident at RAF Fairford. It is the same section used against the six accused in the Brize Norton case. The case is ongoing.
The law
Section 4 of the National Security Act 2023 covers entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to UK interests. It needs no foreign power, and the maximum sentence is 14 years.
Comparisons
A comparison of three protests at British defence sites, with a 1964 case as background, setting out the charges, the damage claimed, the legal rulings and the outcome so far.
