A member of the House of Lords urged ministers to crack down on Palestine Action at the request of a US defence company that employs him as an adviser.
Richard Dannatt, a former head of the British army, wrote privately to two separate Home Office ministers asking them to address the “threat” posed by the group after its activists targeted a factory in 2022.
The activists caused extensive damage to the factory which is run by Teledyne, a US multinational that sells technology for military, aerospace and other applications. Lord Dannatt has been a paid adviser to the company since 2022.
Dannatt’s involvement after the attack on the factory in Wales led to allegations heard later in court that the peer was “seeking to influence” the criminal investigation into the Palestine Action activists.
The police officer in charge of the investigation had told Teledyne executives that “it would not be wise to have a member of the House of Lords poking around in a live criminal case”, according to evidence heard in the trial of one of the activists.
Dannatt said he was completely unaware of the exchanges in the trial and said the allegations were “baseless”.
His actions on behalf of the company nonetheless demonstrate the value to companies looking to affect government policy of having a member of the House of Lords as an adviser.
Dannatt, 74, has sat in the Lords since 2011. He is now under investigation by the house authorities over two sets of allegations that he broke parliamentary rules that forbid lobbying. One allegation stems from undercover filming by the Guardian.
He has denied the earlier allegations, saying: “I am well aware of … the Lords code of conduct … I have always acted on my personal honour.”
In July this year, ministers banned Palestine Action, claiming it was involved in terrorism. Supporters of the group countered that the ban was absurd and draconian. The group is challenging the legality of the ban in court.
‘They need to establish what Lord Dannatt wants’
Two years ago, four activists were convicted of conspiring to damage Teledyne’s factory in Presteigne in Wales. They had broken into the factory to protest against the sale of military equipment to Israel.
They smashed windows and computer screens, drilled holes in the roof, sprayed red paint, and set off smoke grenades. Prosecutors told the court that the damage totalled more than £1m. The four activists were jailed for between 23 and 27 months.
While three of the activists pleaded guilty, the fourth went to trial. Transcripts of her trial were obtained by the Guardian and reveal allegations heard in court that Dannatt sought to interfere in the police’s investigation of the protest.
On 19 December 2022, 10 days after the action at the Welsh factory, Sgt Alex Stuart of Dyfed-Powys police, who was in charge of the investigation, sent an email to four of his superiors.
He had spoken with the general manager of the factory in the UK. She had told him that a senior Teledyne executive based in the US had “spoken to Lord Richard Dannatt about Palestine Action”.
Stuart wrote: “Lord Dannatt was chief of the army general staff. He’s now a life peer. He has an invested interest [sic] in this aspect of UK trade and investment, particularly military projects.
“Essentially there have been an indication that he wants this case to be explained and he wants to have some input on it. They haven’t explained exactly what he wants, however I have told them that it would not be wise to have a member of the House of Lords poking around in a live criminal case.”
He added: “I have explained that they need to establish what Lord Dannatt wants.” He wrote that if the peer was concerned in general about Palestine Action’s tactics, he should talk to senior police officers at a national level. “It’s not best placed for him to actively speak with an investigation team about the matter in the way that I think he wants to.”
Later that day, a DCI replied to Stuart: “The chief constable is aware of the case and has received an update. Whilst Lord Dannatt has every right to communicate with the force regarding matters of concern, it does not mean that the matters he raises receive the response that he may want.”
At the criminal trial in May 2023, James Manning, the barrister for one of the defendants, asked Stuart whether he was concerned that Dannatt was seeking to have some input into the case which at that stage was being investigated by the police as a live criminal investigation. Stuart replied: “Yeah, to a certain extent, yes.”
Manning then asked: “And you thought that that was inappropriate … and you told [Teledyne] as much?” Stuart replied: “Yes.”
Elen Owen, the prosecutor, told the court there was “absolutely no evidence” that Dannatt had tried to “influence” the investigation. “He was just asking for information and the email … chain makes it quite clear that the decision was made by the police that it would be inappropriate to, to make any contact with him and, and that was the end of the matter.”
The judge hearing the case, Rhys Rowlands, agreed with the prosecution that Dannatt was not relevant to the trial and that there was no evidence to suggest he had tried to interfere. His opinion was based on a decision about whether the police officer could be questioned about his concerns. He allowed the questioning to go ahead, though ruled Dannatt could not be named.
Dannatt described the officer’s allegations as “unfounded” and pointed to the judge’s view that he “had nothing to do with the trial”. He suggested the general manager may have sought to use his name to help present their case. Teledyne and the general manager did not respond to a request for comment.
Letter to Suella Braverman
On 22 December 2022, Dannatt had an online call with the factory’s general manager and another senior member of Teledyne. Dannatt told the Guardian that Teledyne had “contacted me to seek my assistance in raising concerns by the company to the government with regard to attacks on their premises”. He added: “They briefed me on the Palestine Action attacks, and I then agreed to write to the home secretary.”
In his letter, Dannatt declared his role “at the outset” as a paid adviser to the company, but said he believed “the threat from Palestine Action has more widespread implications for security and the economy within the United Kingdom”.
The letter to Suella Braverman was headed “General The Lord Dannatt GCB CBE MC DL”, addressed from the House of Lords.
He outlined the details of Palestine Action’s activities at Teledyne’s factory and at another factory run by a different arms company in Edinburgh.
Dannatt wrote: “The slow pace at which the British legal system has been working to take action against those involved in the trespass and criminal damage resulting from such ‘direct action’ has served to embolden Palestine Action and their continued recruitment drive for individuals who are prepared to commit arrestable offences.”
He told Braverman he would be “very grateful to receive assurance that the threat from Palestine Action is fully recognised by our security services and appropriate action [is] either planned or being taken”. He said he had “undertaken to brief the Teledyne main board in the United States that the threat from Palestine Action in the UK is being suitably addressed”.
Dannatt contacted the government again in September 2024 after “attacks on Teledyne facilities continued and the company asked [him] to raise their concerns again”.
In a letter to Dan Jarvis, the Labour security minister, Dannatt once again disclosed his role. Under the same letterhead, he said he would be “very grateful to receive assurance from the current government that the threat posed by Palestine Action continues to be fully recognised by our security services and that appropriate action is being taken.”