Five Palestine Action activists, known as the 'Barclays five', will not be sentenced as terrorists, a judge has ruled. The group was found guilty in June of causing damage exceeding £200,000.
Brendon O’Hagan, 28; Amanda Kelly, 31; Hmeera Atiqnisar, 31; Mohammed Malik, 28; and Alma Yaniv, 70, broke windows and threw red paint at a Barclays Bank branch in Burnley, Lancashire, in August 2024.
The activists stated they targeted the bank due to its previous holdings in the Israeli weapons firm Elbit Systems. They reportedly did not realise their cases might be considered terrorism until after their conviction.
Judge Philip Parry informed the prosecution and defence after the June verdict that he intended to consider a "terrorist connection" to the offences, reportedly due to new information emerging during the trial.