Woman named and charged after RAF planes are damaged

Two Voyager planes suffered £7 million worth of damage during the incident at the RAF base in West Oxfordshire on Friday, June 20, 2025.

In an early morning raid, protesters on two e-scooters broke into the military base and used fire extinguishers to spray the aircraft with red paint and also threw crowbars into the engine rotors, it is alleged.

As a result, the planes were taken out of action and the turbines needed to be replaced at a cost of £2 million each, a court was told last year.

The incident took place at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire (Alamy/PA)

Five people were already charged with the incident, including Amy Gardiner-Gibson, 29, of no fixed abode, Jony Cink, 24, of no fixed abode, Daniel Jeronymides-Norie, 35, of London and Muhammad Umer Khalid, 22, of Stockport.

On Friday, May 15, Thames Valley Police said it charged Lara Downes, of Gipsy Hill, Norwood, London, on Thursday, May 14.

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Downes is charged with criminal damage, contrary to section 1(1) of the Criminal Damage Act 1971 and entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the United Kingdom, contrary to section 4(1) of the National Security Act 2023.

The 44-year-old was remanded in custody to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

A provisional trial date at the Old Bailey was set for six to eight weeks from January 18, 2027.

Two jet engines, one on each Voyager aircraft, had to be replaced following the incident at a cost of £2.5 million per engine, a court heard previously.

Sign at entrance to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire (Image: Tim Ockenden / PA)

Fire extinguishers marked with the words Palestine Action and Palestinian flags were recovered at the scene.

Palestine Action went on to claim responsibility for the incident in a YouTube video which included footage of the incident.

The Government subsequently moved to proscribe the group under anti-terror laws on July 5.

Sir James Eadie KC, for the Home Office, told the court that the ban “strikes a fair balance between interference with the rights of the individuals affected and the interests of the community”.

But in the High Court decision in February, Dame Victoria Sharp, Mr Justice Swift and Mrs Justice Steyn said the ban was “disproportionate”.

Reading a summary of the decision, Dame Victoria said: “The nature and scale of Palestine Action’s activities falling within the definition of terrorism had not yet reached the level, scale and persistence to warrant proscription.”

The ban has remained in place until the conclusion of the Home Office challenge.