UK police arrest seven protesters near RAF base used by US

The activists were protesting the alleged use of the RAF base as a departure point for US aircraft involved in the US-Israel war on Iran.British police have arrested seven people on suspicion of supporting the banned group Palestine Action at a protest near a Royal Air Force (RAF) air base in eastern England used by United States forces.The five men and two women arrested at a peace encampment just outside the Lakenheath airbase had gathered with other activists on Sunday to protest the alleged use of the base as a departure point for US aircraft involved in the US-Israeli war on Iran.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Palestine Action supporters arrested as London’s Met Police reverse policylist 2 of 3In U-turn, UK police say Palestine Action protesters will be arrested againlist 3 of 3‘Keffiyehs seized, left to die’: Inside the Palestine Action hunger strikeend of listThe Lakenheath Alliance for Peace, which organised the protest, said the seven had been arrested wearing clothing with the message: “We oppose genocide, we support Palestine Action.”Police said the protesters had been arrested “on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organisation”.Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government banned Palestine Action as a “terrorist” organisation last year, making it a criminal offence to belong to or support the group.In February, a court ruled the ban was “disproportionate” and interfered with the right to free speech. But the government has appealed, and the ban remains in effect in the meantime.More than 2,700 people have been arrested and hundreds charged over rallies in support of the group, according to protest organisers Defend Our Juries.Police said in a statement on the latest arrests that they had a duty to enforce the law “as it currently stands, not as it might be in the future”.Two protesters were also arrested on Saturday at Lakenheath and charged with obstructing public thoroughfares, police said.