UK government set to ban Palestine Action, MMC, and RIM for terrorism

The UK government is set to ban three groups for terrorism. The draft proscription order has been submitted to Parliament for approval. This will make it a crime to belong to any of these groups or to recklessly solicit or express support for them. If the order is passed, membership in or support for these groups will carry a penalty of up to 14 years in prison. With this measure, the government wants to demonstrate zero tolerance for terrorism, regardless of its form and ideology, and reaffirm national security as its top priority.
The Home Secretary told Parliament on 23 June that she intended to ban the three groups because they exceeded the thresholds set by the Terrorism Act 2000. Yvette Cooper stated that the government will always “take the necessary steps” to protect democracy and national security from various threats. She also added that “violence and serious crime have no place in legitimate protest.”
These groups were identified as being behind the attacks on Thales in Glasgow in 2022 and last year’s attacks on Instro Precision in Kent and Elbit Systems UK in Bristol. The attack on the Thales defence factory in Glasgow caused more than £1 million in damage to critical submarine components. Staff fled for safety as pyrotechnics and smoke bombs were launched into evacuation areas. MMC, a white supremacist organization, has claimed responsibility for numerous violent attacks around the world. The group also provides training materials containing information that a would-be attacker can use to increase their ability or motivation to carry out a terrorist attack that poses a threat to the UK. RIM, another white supremacist organization, runs a paramilitary training program called Partizan, which increases participants’ ability to carry out terrorist attacks. In 2016, two Swedish nationals participated in Partizan before committing a series of attacks in Gothenburg, Sweden.
According to the government, the proscription of the three groups will not infringe on the right to peaceful protest, as well as the ability to defend the rights of the Palestinian people and oppose the actions of the Israeli government. The proscription orders will be debated in Parliament this week. If passed, they will come into force over the weekend, increasing the number of banned organizations to 84.