LONDON — Two British military planes were damaged by pro-Palestinian activists who breached access to an airbase Friday.

Palestine Action, a protest network targeting facilities that supply weapons to Israel, broke into Royal Air Force (RAF) Brize Norton in Oxfordshire Thursday night and sprayed red paint into the engines of two Airbus Voyager aircraft.

The move drew cross-party condemnation from British politicians.

The group said it had used e-scooters to get across the airbase, before using repurposed fire extinguishers to spray paint and crowbars to cause further damage.

Brize Norton is the largest RAF station and contains the RAF’s Air Mobility Force and Air to Air Refueling forces. In a statement, the group claimed both activists involved in the action had evaded security and arrest.

A spokesperson for the group said: “Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel U.S./Israeli fighter jets. Britain isn’t just complicit, it’s an active participant in the Gaza genocide and war crimes across the Middle East. 

“By decommissioning two military planes, Palestine Action have directly intervened to break the chains of oppression,” they added.

The Ministry of Defence condemned the “vandalism of Royal Air Force assets” and said it was working closely with the police.

A spokesperson for the MoD added: “Our Armed Forces represent the very best of Britain. They put their lives on the line for us, and their display of duty, dedication and selfless personal sacrifice are an inspiration to us all. It is our responsibility to support those who defend us.”

Speaking for the government, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said it was a “very, very bad choice of behavior,” adding “we will be very tough, not just in terms of putting in place proper security to redress that situation, but also, frankly, cracking down on people who think they can treat national security with that level of disregard.”

Shadow Armed Forces Minister Mark Francois of the opposition Conservatives said there were “serious questions” for the Ministry of Defense to answer about how “protesters, who might even have turned out to be armed terrorists, were able to gain access to what is supposed to be a secure RAF airbase.”

Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty, a former British Army officer, called the security breach “absolutely staggering.”

“Given the current heightened global tensions, the increase in activity and the recent exploitation of the vulnerability of Russian airbases by Ukraine, it is incredible that our busiest RAF base could be compromised.”