Government defends decision to proscribe protest group after mass arrests at a demonstration in Westminster over the weekend
My colleagues Henry Dyer and Rob Evans exclusively revealed last week that Richard Dannatt, a former head of the British army and a member of the House of Lords, urged ministers to crack down on Palestine Action at the request of a US defence company that employs him as an adviser. Here is an extract from their story:
Richard Dannatt wrote privately to two separate Home Office ministers asking them to address the “threat” posed by the group after its activists targeted a factory in 2022.
The activists caused extensive damage to the factory which is run by Teledyne, a US multinational that sells technology for military, aerospace and other applications. Lord Dannatt has been a paid adviser to the company since 2022.
Dannatt’s involvement after the attack on the factory in Wales led to allegations heard later in court that the peer was “seeking to influence” the criminal investigation into the Palestine Action activists.
