Last month, in response to a Freedom of Information request submitted by Declassified’s John McEvoy, the government refused to confirm or deny whether Keir Starmer discussed direct action group Palestine Action in a telephone call with Donald Trump.
Palestine Action is a movement which uses direct action group against Britain’s complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. There is a consensus that this is genocide, from genocide scholars to Israeli human rights organisations to NGOs like Amnesty International to the United Nations.
Britain continues to supply crucial components for Israel’s fighter jets, and Palestine Action has specifically targeted an Israeli arms manufacturer based in Britain. After Palestine Action threw red paint at two British military planes, Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation - on the same legal footing as al-Qaeda and ISIS - with a jail sentence of up to 14 years for anyone who expresses support for it.
In March, Palestine Action targeted Donald Trump’s Turnberry gold resort in Scotland, daubing red paint on a building and spraying ‘Gaza is not for sale’ on a green. That followed Trump’s plan to deport the entire surviving Palestinian population of Gaza and turn the strip into a resort.
At the time, Trump posted:
So Trump described Palestine Action as “terrorists” at the time, and declared they “will hopefully be treated harshly”, adding "You cannot let things like this attack happen, and I greatly appreciate the work of Prime Minister Starmer, and UK law enforcement."
What exactly did Starmer say to him about Palestine Action, not long before they were proscribed as terrorists?
This week, The Telegraph report:
Indeed, one aspect could yet cause a major headache for No 10. After Trump Turnberry was vandalised with red paint by pro-Gaza protesters in March, the Prime Minister asked for updates on those arrested from Police Scotland and briefed Trump personally on developments, according to one well-placed source. The group was called Palestine Action. Four months later, the UK Government proscribed it as a terrorist organisation. A legal challenge is seeking to establish whether Trump pressed Sir Keir for the ban.
During Trump’s state visit to the UK, a multi-billion pound investment deal has been announced, largely from private equity firm Blackstone. This itself has grim implications for Britain’s future, which we’ll discuss elsewhere.
But that Trump uses a carrot and stick approach to try and force countries to bend to his will is hardly a secret.
I’m going to put this on record. I think it is highly likely that Palestine Action was banned, at least in part, because Trump demanded its proscription after his golf course was targeted.
That proscription has now led to the arrest of over 1,600 people, overwhelmingly for holding placards. Around half of them are elderly. The idea they are terrorist supporters or people who represent any threat to the country is of course risible.
But this means that the number arrested under anti-terrorism legislation is far, far greater than any previous year.
If a British prime minister ordered an authoritarian crackdown on his own citizens in order to placate a foreign power, then this alone will prove to be one of the great political scandals of our time.
The truth will out.
"If a British prime minister ordered an authoritarian crackdown on his own citizens in order to placate a foreign power, then this alone will prove to be one of the great political scandals of our time."
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There is no question that when shameless traitor, Keir Starmer, ordered his authoritarian crackdown on his own citizens, he was acting in service to a foreign state (or two). Whether t'Rump told him to, or Netanyahu told him to — or whether he's just so irretrievably craven that he served their interests without being asked — Starmer was acting against his own citizens (and against the interests of his country), in service to a foreign power.
The truth had BETTER out… all of this is clear and overt and scandalous. Keep it up young Jones, love this stuff