‘We are all Palestine Action’: Starmer represented me at the ECHR… Now he’d see me as a terrorist
27 June 2025, 12:38 | Updated: 28 June 2025, 09:08
A veteran activist who was represented by Keir Starmer in a European protest rights case in 1998 has told LBC that the prime minister ‘has no moral compass’ as he prepares to label Palestine Action as a terrorist group.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Andrea Needham, now 59, was part of a group of five people who took the UK Government to court over arrests that had been made during a series of protests - including one against the sale of fighter helicopters, to be used in an overseas conflict.
When he was in his thirties, and working as a human rights defence barrister, Keir Starmer successfully argued at the European Court of Human Rights that Ms Needham and two others had been unlawfully detained and had faced an infringement on their freedom of expression.
This Monday, his government is due to proscribe the organisation - labelled by the Met Police Commissioner as ‘organised, criminal and extremist’.
Andrea has told LBC that the ban will be unenforceable because of the thousands of people - including herself - who will continue to stand with Palestine Action, as she slammed the ‘chilling’ effect the proscription will have on free speech.
“I think any considerations of human rights have gone out the window in his journey,” Andrea said, reflecting on Sir Keir Starmer’s stance now.
“When he represented us at Strasbourg, he seemed to be very passionate about it. In retrospect, I suspect he was just doing his job because the way that he acts now makes me feel that he really has no moral compass whatsoever.
“The idea that proscribing an explicitly non violent domestic group, putting them in the same category as ISIS and Al Qaeda and Boko Haram, I mean if it weren't actually happening, it'd be laughable.”
While Sir Keir’s case was progressing through the ECHR, Ms Needham and three other women - known as the Ploughshares Four - broke into a defence plant near Preston in 1996.
They damaged a BAE Hawk Warplane with hammers to stop it being exported to the Indonesian military, while attacks were being carried out on occupied East Timor.
The action caused £1.4 million worth of damage.
The group, also known as Seeds of Hope, was found not guilty of causing criminal damage by a jury after they successfully argued that their ‘crime’ was carried out to prevent genocidal acts.
Ms Needham added that she would “do it again, but the consequences now are much, much graver.”
She said: “You know, we were looking at possibly a few years in prison for criminal damage but if you're prosecuted under the Terrorism Act, you're looking at a huge sentence.
“It's going to have this awful, chilling effect on free speech because potentially you can go to prison for 14 years for just expressing support for a proscribed organisation.”
Almost 30 years later, direct action is still being taken by protest groups, including Palestine Action which claimed responsibility for a break in to RAF Brize Norton last week where two jets were allegedly damaged ‘to prevent crimes against the Palestinian people’.
A 29-year-old woman and two men aged 36 and 24 have been arrested on suspicion of a terror offence, Counter Terrorism Policing South East said.
Read More: Four arrested over Palestine Action break-in at RAF Brize Norton
The activists claim the UK is aiding Israel’s campaign in Gaza by continuing to send resources to the region, and ‘flying spy planes’ over Gaza.
Defence Minister Luke Pollard said in written responses to parliamentary questions that the flights were focused only on securing the release of hostages, were unarmed and not being used for combat operations or broader intelligence sharing.
The Home Secretary is due to lay a proscription order in Parliament on Monday which would make support for Palestine Action a terrorist offence.
In a written statement, Yvette Cooper said: “The disgraceful attack on Brize Norton in the early hours of the morning on Friday 20 June is the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action. “Its activity has increased in frequency and severity since the start of 2024 and its methods have become more aggressive, with its members demonstrating a willingness to use violence.
“Palestine Action’s online presence has enabled the organisation to galvanise support, recruit and train members across the UK to take part in criminal activity and raise considerable funds through online donations.”
But some politicians have said the move is an overreach of the state and will have a damaging effect on protest rights - in contrast to the stance that Keir Starmer took as a lawyer in the 90s.
Zarah Sultana, a Labour MP who is currently suspended, posted on social media: “We are all Palestine Action,” while Kim Johnson, the Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, said: “Palestine Action targets property, not lives. This is a dangerous attack on civil liberties. We must defend the right to protest.”
Sian Berry, the Green Party MP, also told MPs: “Proscribing Palestine Action sets a dangerous and worrying precedent.”
A Labour spokesperson said: “The suspected act of vandalism at RAF Brize Norton was disgraceful and the government has moved swiftly to proscribe Palestine Action.
“As this activist notes with regards to this case from nearly 27 years ago, Keir Starmer was performing his role as a respected barrister without prejudice. That is the role of a legal professional and that’s how our legal system works. “We will not be commenting further while active legal proceedings are underway related to the Brize Norton case.”
LBC approached the Home Office for comment and was told it wouldn’t be saying any more than the Home Secretary had already laid out to Parliament in her written ministerial statement.
The Prime Minister’s office has also been asked for a response.
