Green activist behind anti-Zionism motion was ‘close friend’ of Heathrow terror plotter

Lubna Speitan was referred to in US court documents as a “close friend” of Minh Quang Pham, a UK citizen jailed for 40 years in the US for backing Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in 2011.

The former Vietnamese national was first arrested in the UK in June 2012 and was extradited to the US in early 2015.

US court documents show that in 2015, Ms Speitan was “willing to testify” but that an unspecified medical condition “prevents her from travelling by air”.

Pham admitted three counts of terrorist-related activity based on his support for the group, Scotland Yard said at the time, though he denied intending to carry out his plot or harm anyone. No attack occurred.

Lubna Speitan is a longstanding activist for Palestinian rights

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In his defence, Pham said Ms Speitan would be willing to testify that he was “a passive individual and never expressed any interest in committing violence or terrorism” and that she would testify “regarding [her] observations of Pham’s cognitive limitations”.

Asked by the Telegraph whether she remained friends with Pham, Ms Speitan reportedly said: “Yes, it’s still the case,” adding that she believed he had been “targeted” by “the system”.

The Green Party voted for a motion at their conference in Brighton on Sunday which established as policy that Zionism, the movement to develop and protect a Jewish state in Israel, will be “treated as any other form of racism”.

It also supports the establishment of a “single democratic Palestinian state in all of its historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital”.

Following the successful vote for the motion, Ms Speitan appeared alongside other Green activists speaking in its defence.

A Green Party spokesperson said: “Lubna Speitan holds no party positions other than being a member.

“The Green Party takes all allegations of this nature seriously.

“Where members have expressed views that do not fit in with the party’s values, we have internal processes to investigate.”

Green leader Zack Polanski with MPs Hannah Spencer, left, and Sian Berry on stage at the party conference in Brighton (Will Colebourne/PA)

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The “Zionism is racism” vote came just days before the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, which the Green Party’s leader, Zack Polanski, is running in.

Mr Polanski abstained from the vote, having already left the conference to return to campaigning in Sir Keir Starmer’s old constituency.

In the wake of the vote, the Wales Green Party’s deputy leader announced his resignation on Tuesday, and said that he had left the party after seven years.

In a video published online, Phil Davies said he had been thinking about leaving for “a couple of months”, but that it was “accelerated” by the “Zionism is racism” motion.

He branded the motion “imperialistic” and “idiotic”, adding that it “doesn’t materially achieve anything in the real world”.

He said: “Why are we, as people in Britain, telling people in the Middle East what their future is to be?

“That strikes me as British imperialism, and as a proud Welshman, I just can’t be in a party which has passed a motion like that, personally, I’ve decided.”

Mr Davies added that he also did not think the Wales Green Party was respected or supported within the wider party or that the party has a long-term strategy for gaining power.

Backing the Wales Green Party splitting from the wider Green Party of England and Wales, Mr Davies said he would consider rejoining if this happened.