# The Brize Norton Files > Independent, sourced reporting on RAF Brize Norton, the Brize Norton 6 case, Britain's military role in Israel's genocide in Gaza, and the private contracts behind the RAF's planes. Every article lists its primary sources. Each article is also available as clean Markdown by adding `.md` to its URL. The full text of every article is in /llms-full.txt. ## Start here - [Background: the case explained](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/background): Plain-language questions and answers giving the context for all our reporting - [About, editorial standards and corrections](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/about): Who we are and how we verify information ## Investigations - [Who owns the RAF's planes? The aircraft the Ministry of Defence rents rather than owns](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/who-owns-the-raf-planes.md): The RAF's tankers belong to AirTanker under a £10.5bn private finance deal, and its basic fast-jet trainers to a joint venture of KBR and Elbit Systems. (2026-11-08) - [What happened at RAF Brize Norton on 20 June 2025?](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/what-happened-at-raf-brize-norton.md): Two people entered RAF Brize Norton in the early hours of 20 June 2025 and damaged two Voyager tanker planes. Six people face trial at Woolwich Crown Court from 25 January 2027. (2026-11-08) - [The weeks before Brize Norton: what Britain's military planes were doing in May and June 2025](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/week-before-brize-norton-raf-operations.md): A dated timeline of the RAF Voyager tankers, surveillance flights and Israeli military flights at Brize Norton and Akrotiri in the weeks before the 20 June 2025 protest. (2026-11-08) - [Where had the two damaged Voyagers been? The flight records of ZZ338 and ZZ343](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/voyagers-zz338-zz343-flight-records.md): Flight records show ZZ338 and ZZ343 were flying from RAF Akrotiri in the weeks before the June 2025 protest. The MoD has not explained the records for ZZ343. (2026-11-08) - [The damaged Voyagers and Britain's strikes on Yemen](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/voyagers-yemen-strikes-akrotiri.md): Flight records place both Voyagers damaged in June 2025 at Akrotiri during UK strikes on Yemen in 2024. Declassified UK and the government give different reasons for the strikes. (2026-11-08) - [Back in the air within 21 days: AirTanker's chief executive on the Brize Norton repairs](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/voyagers-back-in-service-21-days.md): AirTanker's chief executive says both damaged Voyagers were recovered in under 21 days. Flight data shows one of them flying again 22 days after the protest, with the core fleet already stretched. (2026-11-08) - [No boom and no ownership: why the RAF's Voyager fleet leaves Britain dependent on the US](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/voyager-boom-problem-us-dependence.md): As far as the research shows, RAF Voyagers cannot refuel with a boom, and AirTanker, not the MoD, owns them. A King's College London report says the RAF depends on the US Air Force for wider capacity. (2026-11-08) - [How Britain's military is tied to Israel's: F-35 parts, trainer jets and Elbit](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/uk-israel-military-links-f35-elbit.md): Parts repaired at MOD Sealand go into a shared pool that supplies Israel's F-35s, and F-35 parts were exempt from a 2024 licence suspension. RAF trainers are owned by a venture that includes Elbit. (2026-11-08) - [What is a 'terrorist connection'? How it can add years to a sentence without a terrorism conviction](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/terrorist-connection-sentencing-explained.md): A judge can find a 'terrorist connection' at sentencing, without the jury deciding it. In Filton it lengthened sentences for criminal damage, and the prosecution has alleged one in Brize Norton. (2026-11-08) - [Robert Courts: Brize Norton's former MP and his Conservative Friends of Israel trip](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/robert-courts-brize-norton-israel-trip.md): Robert Courts, MP for the seat that includes RAF Brize Norton and later Solicitor General, took a 2020 trip to Israel paid for by Conservative Friends of Israel. It was declared and broke no rules. (2026-11-08) - [Richard Hermer: the Attorney General whose consent the charges required, and his Israel record](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/richard-hermer-attorney-general-israel-record.md): Richard Hermer became Attorney General in July 2024, and the Brize Norton charges needed personal consent from a law officer. His public statements and official actions on Israel are collected here. (2026-11-08) - [What is the RAF Voyager? The tanker plane at the centre of the Brize Norton case](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/raf-voyager-aircraft-explained.md): The Voyager is a converted Airbus A330 that carries troops and cargo and refuels other jets in mid-air. Two Voyagers were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in June 2025. (2026-11-08) - [RAF spy flights over Gaza: what we know about 590 Shadow R1 missions from Akrotiri](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/raf-shadow-r1-surveillance-flights-gaza.md): RAF Shadow R1 surveillance planes flew from Akrotiri over or near Gaza from December 2023 to July 2025. The government says the flights only look for hostages. (2026-11-08) - [How the Brize Norton protest was used to ban Palestine Action](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/palestine-action-ban-brize-norton.md): The Home Secretary announced the ban days after the protest at RAF Brize Norton, citing the attack. The High Court ruled it unlawful, but the Court of Appeal reinstated it in June 2026. (2026-11-08) - [Why are Brize Norton protesters charged under the National Security Act? Section 4 explained](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/national-security-act-section-4-protest.md): 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. (2026-11-08) - [What ministers have told Parliament about RAF flights, Israeli planes and Gaza](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/ministers-parliament-gaza-flights-record.md): A dated record of what ministers and a parliamentary committee have said about RAF flights to Israel, Israeli planes at Brize Norton and the Gaza surveillance flights, from 1998 to 2025. (2026-11-08) - ['A Cold War mentality': the terrorism reviewer's case for counter-subversion](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/jonathan-hall-counter-subversion-gaza.md): In a 2025 lecture, the independent reviewer Jonathan Hall KC argued for 'counter-subversion' tactics and listed Gaza among issues an adversary might exploit. (2026-11-08) - [Israeli Air Force planes at RAF Brize Norton: what we know](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/israeli-air-force-planes-brize-norton.md): The government admitted nine Israeli Air Force visits to Brize Norton in February 2024. Records show at least nine more between September 2024 and June 2025. (2026-11-08) - [What the government said, and what the record shows: seven statements on Brize Norton](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/government-statements-vs-the-record.md): Seven official statements on the Brize Norton protest and the RAF's Voyager tankers, checked against flight records, Freedom of Information requests and parliamentary records. (2026-11-08) - [What the world knew about Gaza before 20 June 2025: ICJ, ICC, Amnesty and Airwars](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/gaza-genocide-findings-before-brize-norton.md): Before the protest at RAF Brize Norton, the ICJ, the ICC, Amnesty International and Airwars had all published findings on Israel's conduct in Gaza, and the UK had suspended some arms licences. (2026-11-08) - [Filton and Brize Norton compared: what the Elbit trials tell us about the 2027 case](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/filton-and-brize-norton-compared.md): The Filton trials were the first in the UK to apply a 'terrorist connection' finding to criminal damage. This comparison sets them against the Brize Norton case due in January 2027. (2026-11-08) - [Fairford 2003, Filton 2024, Brize Norton 2025: three protests and how the law treated them](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/fairford-filton-brize-norton-three-protests-compared.md): 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. (2026-11-08) - [Could RAF Voyagers refuel Israeli fighter jets? Probe, drogue and boom explained](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/could-raf-voyagers-refuel-israeli-jets.md): Palestine Action claimed RAF Voyagers refuel Israeli jets. The refuelling equipment does not match, and the better-documented links to Israel's campaign lie elsewhere. (2026-11-08) - [The Brize Norton trial: what to expect at Woolwich Crown Court](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/brize-norton-trial-what-to-expect.md): The six accused are due to stand trial at Woolwich Crown Court on 25 January 2027 over the protest at RAF Brize Norton. The first five pleaded not guilty and Lara Downes denies the charges. (2026-11-08) - [18 months without trial: the Brize Norton prisoners and the hunger strike](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/brize-norton-prisoners-remand-hunger-strike.md): The six people accused over the RAF Brize Norton protest are held on remand. Four joined a hunger strike from November 2025, and the Ministry of Justice disputes their claims about medical care. (2026-11-08) - [The Brize Norton case: 12 documented facts](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/brize-norton-documented-facts.md): Twelve documented facts about the Brize Norton protest and the case against six accused, with sources, covering the planes, the damage figures, the National Security Act and the Palestine Action ban. (2026-11-08) - [£1.7m, £7m or £15m? The Brize Norton damage figures the MoD cannot substantiate](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/brize-norton-damage-cost-figures.md): Prosecutors and police have cited three different costs for damage to two RAF Voyager tankers. Declassified UK's Freedom of Information requests found the MoD cannot substantiate any of them. (2026-11-08) - [Brize Norton case timeline: from October 2023 to the January 2027 trial](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/brize-norton-case-timeline.md): A dated timeline of the RAF Brize Norton case, from the start of Israel's campaign in Gaza in October 2023 to the trial due in January 2027, covering the protest, charges and court rulings. (2026-11-08) - [Brize Norton case glossary: every term explained](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/brize-norton-case-glossary.md): 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. (2026-11-08) - [From Brize Norton to Gaza: the chain of support, link by link](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/brize-norton-akrotiri-gaza-chain-of-support.md): Flight records, parliamentary answers and published reporting link RAF Brize Norton to Israel's military campaign through Akrotiri, RAF spy flights over Gaza and Israeli planes on the base. (2026-11-08) - [Who are the Brize Norton 6?](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/brize-norton-6-who-are-the-accused.md): Six people are charged over the 20 June 2025 protest at RAF Brize Norton. They are aged 22 to 44, and all six are held on pre-trial remand. (2026-11-08) - [From the Brize Norton 5 to the Brize Norton 6: how the case grew](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/brize-norton-5-to-brize-norton-6.md): Four people were charged in early July 2025. A fifth was arrested in August, and Lara Downes was charged in 2026 as the sixth, which is why the case is now called the Brize Norton 6. (2026-11-08) - [Why the Brize Norton charges needed the Attorney General's consent](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/attorney-general-consent-national-security-act.md): Section 37 of the National Security Act 2023 requires the Attorney General's personal consent for this offence. Richard Hermer held the post at the time of the protest. (2026-11-08) - [AirTanker and the £10.5bn Voyager deal: how the RAF ended up renting its own tankers](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/airtanker-voyager-pfi-contract.md): The RAF's Voyager tankers belong to AirTanker, a private company, under a 2008 private finance initiative deal. A parliamentary committee later said it had not secured value for money. (2026-11-08) - [AirTanker's partners: Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Britain's record bribery fines](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/articles/airtanker-partners-airbus-rolls-royce-bribery-fines.md): No evidence of bribery has been exposed in the UK's PFI with AirTanker. Airbus and Rolls-Royce, a current and a former shareholder, have faced some of the largest UK corporate bribery penalties. (2026-11-08) ## Base profiles - [RAF Akrotiri](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/bases/akrotiri): Britain's main base for Middle East operations, in a Sovereign Base Area on Cyprus: the base for around 590 RAF surveillance flights over Gaza. - [RAF Brize Norton](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/bases/brize-norton): The UK's largest RAF station and home of the Voyager tanker fleet; the site of the June 2025 protest at the centre of the Brize Norton 6 case. - [RAF Fairford](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/bases/fairford): 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. ## Optional - [Full text of all articles](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/llms-full.txt) - [RSS feed](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/feed.xml) - [Sitemap](https://www.brizenortonfiles.com/sitemap.xml)