Pro-Palestinian activists break into an air base in Britain and spray paint military aircraft

Pro-Palestinian activists broke into the territory of the British Air Force base and doused two military aircraft with red paint, which was a serious security breach. This was reported by the TV channel BBC.

The incident took place at the Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the actions, calling them "an act of vandalism.".

"The act of vandalism at RAF Brize Norton is disgraceful. Our Armed Forces represent the best of Britain and risk their lives for us every day. We have a duty to support those who protect us," said British Prime Minister.

Video footage released by Palestine Action on Friday shows two people at the air base, one of whom rides a scooter up to an Airbus Voyager and sprays paint on its jet engine.

Britain's Ministry of Defense, which also condemned the move, is now set to conduct a security review of military bases. It is cooperating with police investigating the incident.

Palestine Action reported that the activists had managed to "evade security controls" and claimed that they had disabled the refueling tankers in the air. They explained their actions by disagreeing with the fact that Britain continues to send military supplies, launch reconnaissance planes over Gaza, and refuel US and Israeli fighter jets.

RAF engineers are assessing the damage and a defense source told the BBC that they do not expect the incident to affect operations.

The group said that activists who entered the air base used recycled fire extinguishers to spray red paint into aircraft engines. The organization claims that they also caused "additional damage" with crowbars – although this is not evident in the footage released.

The BBC noted that the protesters did not spray paint on the Vespina plane, which the Prime Minister uses for international travel and which was also based at.

• On May 20, 2025, Canada, the United Kingdom, and France condemned the expansion of Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip and called for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
• On the same day, Britain imposed sanctions, suspended trade talks with Israel, and summoned the country's ambassador over the military operation in the Gaza Strip and violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.