Oxfordshire MP is against ban of Palestine Action, despite not voting
No vote was recorded for 242 MP’s, including Witney MP Charlie Maynard
An MP in Oxfordshire abstained from voting on whether to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, but is against the ban.
More protests against Palestine Action being designated a terror group are to take place across the UK this weekend.
It’s after MP’s voted to voted 385 to 26, majority 359, in favour of proscribing the group, before the House of Lords backed the move without a vote.
No vote was recorded for 242 MP’s, including Witney MP Charlie Maynard.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, Mr Maynard said: “Labour did a rather dirty act. They rolled in two other properly terrorist organisations with it the vote.
He added: “They shouldn't be doing things like that, so we should have had a proper vote on just Palestine Action without rolling in two other proper terrorist organisations.
“Those sorts of tricks are not the way we should be running our country.”
The designation as a terror group means that membership of, or support for, Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Last weekend, the Metropolitan Police arrested 29 people who demonstrated in support of the group in London, including Reverend Sue Parfitt, 83.
The move to ban the organisation was announced after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on June 20, an incident claimed by Palestine Action, which police said caused about £7 million of damage.
The MP for Witney said: “My job as an MP is to keep people safe and by banning Palestine Action, do we make our country safer or less safe - I'm not convinced that by locking up an 80-year-old priest who is demonstrating peacefully, we're actually making our society safer.
“It's criminal damage, throw the book at them. So, I'm not saying go easy on them, but we have to be careful about knee jerk reactions.
He added: “Obviously this is not Hezbollah or ISIS, so let's be serious about it. Is this the right solution to making our country safer - at the moment, based on the evidence that we've seen, it isn't.”