MP recalls Starmer defended ‘activist’ who broke into RAF base 21 years ago in court

Independent MP Zarah Sultana drew a sharp comparison between Keir Starmer’s past and present when recalling how, as a barrister, he defended an activist who broke into RAF Fairford to prevent war crimes in Iraq—calling it “not terrorism, but conscience.”  “That case became a landmark in lawful nonviolent direct action against an illegal war. That barrister is now our prime minister,” she said. Sultana’s speech came as MPs voted to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation after the activist group targeted RAF Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire, and an Israeli defence company's UK headquarters.