UK police arrest seven during protest at US linked RAF base in Suffolk

The protest was organised by the Lakenheath Alliance for Peace, which said activists had set up an encampment and blockaded the main gate of the base. Organisers said some of those arrested were wearing tabards stating opposition to genocide and support for Palestine Action. Suffolk Police said they were enforcing the law as it currently stands.

RAF Lakenheath is a Royal Air Force station that hosts the US Air Force’s 48th Fighter Wing, one of Washington’s largest fighter operations in Europe. The wing operates F-15 Strike Eagles and F-35A aircraft, making the base a symbolically important site for antiwar protesters.

The legal backdrop remains contentious. Britain banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws last year, but in February the High Court ruled the proscription unlawful and disproportionate. The government was later granted permission to appeal, and the ban remains in force while that process continues.

The latest arrests follow wider tensions over protest rights in Britain. Campaigners say more than 2,700 people have been arrested since the group was banned, many for displaying signs or slogans in support of it. Two other protesters were also arrested at Lakenheath on Saturday and charged with obstructing the highway, according to police and protest organisers.