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

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Cite

Carr, S. (2026, October 7). Green activist behind anti-Zionism motion was ‘close friend’ of Heathrow terror plotter. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/lubna-speitan-green-heathrow-suicide-bomber-terrorist-b1299826.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-10-07 · by Stewart Carr

Quick Summary

Lubna Speitan, who supported a controversial anti-Zionism motion at the Green Party conference, is referred to as a "close friend" of Minh Quang Pham, a UK citizen jailed for 40 years in the US for backing Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The article highlights tensions within the Green Party following the vote on treating Zionism as racism, with some members, like Wales Green Party’s deputy leader Phil Davies, resigning over the decision.
Written by AI on 2026-10-07, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Lubna Speitan, a former member of the UK's Green Party, was identified as a "close friend" of Minh Quang Pham, who was jailed for 40 years in the US in 2015 for supporting Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Pham, initially arrested in the UK in June 2012 and extradited to the U.S., admitted to three counts of terrorist-related activity but maintained he had no intention of carrying out an attack or harming anyone.

In court documents, Speitan was willing to testify about Pham's passive nature and cognitive limitations due to a medical condition that prevented her from traveling by air. Despite this, she reportedly remains friends with Pham, suggesting he was "targeted" by the system.

Recently, at the Green Party conference in Brighton, the party voted for a motion proposed by Speitan that included anti-Zionist sentiments. The connection between these events raises questions about the implications of political activism intersecting with historical ties to individuals involved in terrorist activities.

Written for “Anti Zionism Motion Controversy” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Anti Zionism Motion Controversy
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
64/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-07 · how these are computed

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Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 8256 article(s) · 73 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 73 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Stewart Carr
76 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Stewart Carr
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 76 articles by Stewart Carr →

Topics

AQAP Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula Scotland Yard The Green Party Vietnamese

Subjects

Pham PERSON · 4× Speitan PERSON · 4× Green Party ORG · 3× Wales GPE · 3× Davies PERSON · 2× Lubna Speitan PERSON · 2× The Green Party ORG · 2× AQAP ORG · 1× Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula ORG · 1× Minh Quang Pham PERSON · 1×

Narrative

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”.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-07
🔮 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”.

Claims (22 extracted, 1 hedged)

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. asserted
Speitan → refer → 2011
The former Vietnamese national was first arrested in the UK in June 2012 and was extradited to the US in early 2015. asserted
national → arrest → 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”. asserted
condition → show → 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. asserted
he → admit → anyone
No attack occurred. asserted
attack → occur → ?
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”. asserted
she → say → 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”. uncertain
he → ask → 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”. asserted
Zionism → vote → racism
It also supports the establishment of a “single democratic Palestinian state in all of its historic Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital”. asserted
It → support → capital
Following the successful vote for the motion, Ms Speitan appeared alongside other Green activists speaking in its defence. asserted
Speitan → follow → defence
Read More A Green Party spokesperson said: “Lubna Speitan holds no party positions other than being a member. asserted
Speitan → read → positions
“The Green Party takes all allegations of this nature seriously. asserted
Party → take → nature
“Where members have expressed views that do not fit in with the party’s values, we have internal processes to investigate.” asserted
we → express → processes
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. asserted
leader → come → which
Mr Polanski abstained from the vote, having already left the conference to return to campaigning in Sir Keir Starmer’s old constituency. asserted
Polanski → abstain → 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. asserted
he → announce → 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. asserted
Zionism → publish → motion
He branded the motion “imperialistic” and “idiotic”, adding that it “doesn’t materially achieve anything in the real world”. asserted
it → brand → world
He said: “Why are we, as people in Britain, telling people in the Middle East what their future is to be? asserted
future → say → East
“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. asserted
I → strike → that
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. asserted
party → add → 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. asserted
this → back → England
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