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Activists should be banned from holding protests near defence manufacturing and energy sites, a UK-government commissioned review into tackling political violence and disruption will say.
Lord John Woodcock will recommend that facilities in these sectors gain exclusion zones, or buffers around designated perimeters, in an attempt to curb disruption following an increase in activity by pro-Palestinian and environmental campaigners.
“Our national security depends on a viable defence sector. Exposure to criminal sabotage is causing enormous damage to that sector,” Woodcock told the Financial Times, adding that “vital energy supplies and infrastructure” were also being targeted.
The crossbench peer and former Labour MP, who was appointed the government’s independent adviser on combating political violence in 2020, said “militants” were “terrorising” workers without fear of consequence.
Woodcock’s review, commissioned by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, is set to be published this month and comes amid a growing debate over the acceptable limits of protest. Among other measures, it is poised to back wider use of special police orders to swiftly shut down public protests around democratic venues including parliament and MPs’ offices.
His intervention comes after Palestine Action, a direct action group targeting Israel’s arms trade in Britain, mounted an assault on drone manufacturer UAV Tactical Systems in Leicestershire on Wednesday.
The company, which says it does not supply the Israeli military, is ultimately owned by Israel-based defence group Elbit Systems.
Palestine Action, which was founded in 2020 but has stepped up its activism since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, said on X: “Whilst one group smashed a lorry into Elbit’s Leicester drone factory, another scaled the roof of the building. Collectively, they’ve shut down the Israeli weapons maker.”
It posted photos of its activists at the site with red flares, Palestinian flags and a banner, alongside a picture of red paint daubed on the factory’s walls. Seven activists were arrested and one has since been charged with one count of using threatening or abusive words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress, Leicestershire police confirmed.
Woodcock’s report will say: “The government should consider ways to ensure resilience of production for defence and energy companies whose operations are being disrupted by illegal protest.
“This could include setting a protective buffer zone around certain sites or expediting injunctions on certain protesters not to enter such a zone.”
The recommendation is likely to be embraced within government, according to Whitehall insiders who said ministers felt “hugely frustrated” by recent disruptive “stunts” — including by green protest groups such as Just Stop Oil — and wanted more effective ways to prevent them.
Elbit Systems UK said the recent “escalation in violence and reckless criminal behaviour is concerning” and accused Palestine Action of “using misinformation as a tactic to recruit people”.
The company said it would “work with the authorities to prosecute any person or group threatening the safety of our staff or their important work”, as it continued to invest and expand in the UK.
Some 65 people have been convicted of crimes against Elbit Systems UK and companies in its group in the UK since the end of July 2020. A further 18 have been convicted for offences against other companies.
Sites owned by BAE Systems and the UK operations of Italy’s Leonardo have also come under attack. Police were called to Leonardo UK’s Edinburgh facility this week after protesters blocked the entrance. A factory in Cheltenham owned by GE Aviation of the US has also been targeted.
Kevin Craven, chief executive of trade body ADS Group, said the aerospace, defence and security sectors were “vital contributors to UK prosperity”.
“While we are passionate supporters of the right to a peaceful protest — and representatives of the industries that secure that right for every citizen of the UK, and many throughout the globe — we do not condone criminal activity,” he added.
Defence executives have also voiced concerns about the impact of anti-industry protests at universities and colleges on younger staff and prospective employees.