Lessons need to be learned after RAF Brize Norton security breach, says expert
A security expert says "we will be seen as a soft touch by our enemies"
A security expert says there needs to be stronger measures stopping people getting into military bases after activists broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
Palestine Action entered the West Oxfordshire base on e-scooters last week, causing damage to two military aircrafts which were sprayed with red paint.
The incident is currently being investigated by counter-terror police.
Professor Anthony Glees is an expert in security and intelligence, based in Oxfordshire, he said: “We will be seen as a soft touch by our enemies if these sorts of acts of sabotage are enabled by lax security.”
He added: “Those of us who live quite near RAF Brize Norton will know that the security at the base, Britain's largest homeland RAF base, is absolutely appalling.
“Yes, there is some razor wire along the eight-mile perimeter fence, but there's a section of it, said to be about 200 metres long, which just looks like a garden fence.”
Prof Glees also said: “I'm sure there's a lot of CCTV around and maybe it’s picked up the people who carried out this sabotage, but we've not been shown it yet.
“However, whatever there is, is inadequate and there needs to be more, particularly at a time of heightened international tension.”
Downing Street has previously said that a full security review is under way and that it would encompass the entire defence estate.
Meanwhile, the Home Secretary has decided to proscribe Palestine Action which would make membership and support for it illegal and could be punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
A draft order will be laid in Parliament next Monday, and if approved after debates by MPs and peers, the ban could come into force by Friday.
Yvette Cooper said the ban will allow law enforcement to "effectively disrupt the escalating actions of this serious group".
A spokesperson for Palestine Action said the Home Secretary's statement "makes a series of categorically false claims" and the group has instructed lawyers to pursue "all avenues for legal challenge".