News Index 2006	
December
21st 	Vigil and Graffiti at Nuclear Warhead Store
21st December 2006 
Vigil and Graffiti at Nuclear Warhead Store	

Last night, 20th December, two women peace activists were arrested at the Coulport nuclear warhead depot on Loch Long after conducting a brief vigil and painting anti-Trident graffiti. 
Morag Balfour from Glenrothes, a member of the Iona Community and Co-chair of the Scottish Socialist Party, and Barbara Dowling, a retired local government officer from Glasgow, painting "Baby Jesus hates bombs" and "Peace, Joy" on surfaces at the Kibble roundabout at the main entrance of the base. They were charged with malicious mischief.
Earlier yesterday two activists who blockaded the same base on 25th July, causing disruption for over five hours, were each fined £150 at Helensburgh District Court for a breach of the peace. Roz Bullen and Micah Barrett, both from Edinburgh, were pleased that a lengthy statement which they passed to police officers at the time of their arrest was read out in court and in full.
The statement described how Trident, Trident Replacement, and any new nuclear weapons system would encourage global instability and proliferation as well as further tie UK foreign policy to the US. It called for disarmament of Trident and for the abandonment of any ideas of mini-nukes or other replacement WMD system.
	
11th	Arrests as British Nuclear Weapon Sites Disrupted
11th December 2006 
Arrests as British Nuclear Weapon Sites Disrupted	

This morning the Trident submarine base at Faslane and the atomic weapons factory at Aldermaston have both been the focus of disruption as activists blockaded entrance gates. 
At Faslane the North gate was blockaded by activists from the Trident Ploughshares campaign. The gateway was blocked around 7 a.m. by a group of cyclists who formed a cordon and then locked on to each other using chains and padlocks. Shortly afterwards another group on foot blockaded the gateway by lying in the road, joined to each other through tubing of plastic and other materials. Police, using specialised cutting teams, removed these blockages and made 14 arrests.
At the same time a group from Faslane Peace Camp blocked the road at the entrance to the South gate of the base, using lock-on tubes and barrels filled with concrete. It took two hours to clear the roadway. There were 7 arrests.
The Faslane protests are part of the Faslane 365 campaign which so far has led to over 350 arrests.
The Aldermaston bomb factory, where preparations are being made for a new generation of nuclear weapons for the UK, has also been blockaded this morning by the Block the Builders campaign. The "Home Office" gate of the site was closed, causing a tailback of worker traffic as far as the A4.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: "Our government, far from honestly moving towards disarmament, is planning to tie us to weapons of mass destruction for the next 50 years. We must do what we can to put a spoke in the wheel of this ongoing crime. Trident, present or future, is an instrument for bullying and mindless, unrestrained violence. It belongs to a mindset of threat, hatred and fear and is the very opposite of what we need at this critical stage in the history of the human race."
	
2nd	Prestwick Citizen Inspectors Acquitted
2nd December 2006 
Prestwick Citizen Inspectors Acquitted	

Yesterday five people, who in August along with 12 others carried out inspections of Prestwick Airport to look for evidence of US munitions bound for Israel for use the Lebanon conflict, were acquitted of all charges against them at Ayr Sheriff Court. 
Ludwig Appeltans (35) from Belgium, Richard McKean (38) from Glasgow, Joe McLoughlin (35) from Perth, Pippa Robertson (21) from Edinburgh and Anna-Linnéa Rundberg (26) from the Åland Islands in Finland, were in the airport grounds on the night of the 6th and 7th August for around 40 minutes before being apprehended. They went on board a USAF C130 Hercules aircraft and examined a Polar Air plane.
At the conclusion of the Crown case Sheriff Montgomery accepted a plea of No Case to Answer from the defence in regard to one charge, that they had been on board an aircraft without the owner’s permission. The defence pointed out that the Crown had failed to lead evidence of sufficient standard that they had no permission. The Crown also abandoned the other two charges, related to being on the airfield and alleged damage to a fence and a door handle.
Anna-Linnéa said: "I am delighted that this is not hanging over me any more. As was shown today, the courts can be good at upholding the technical essentials of a fair trial but we look forward to the day when they will really do their job properly and uphold international law. After all, that’s what our inspection was all about - the UK’s collusion in illegal arms shipments."
Trial dates have not been set for two other groups of Prestwick inspectors. One group has been issued with revised charges and has a preliminary diet in December. The other group is waiting for notification of revised charges.

	
September
23rd 	UK Activists Get Into French New "Mini-Nukes" Site
23rd September 2006 
UK Activists Get Into French New "Mini-Nukes" Site	

Peace activists from the UK have penetrated the French nuclear installation at the testing centre of Les Landes in Biscarosse near Bordeaux, which is involved in the development of a new generation of nuclear weapons. 
The ten activists joined a mass citizens inspection organised by the a coalition of NGOs, including ATTAC, Réseau Sortir du Nucléaire , Mouvement de la Paix , Greenpeace, the Quakers. The focus of the inspection is the development of the new M51 nuclear missile which will be a submarine launched high precision weapon with a range of 10,000 kilometres. There is especial concern that the relatively low yield of the warheads it is designed to carry will make its use more likely.
Angie Zelter (55), from Norfolk, Lesley Anderson (23), from Clackmannanshire, Mell Harrison (35), from Norwich, Peter Lux (44), also from Norwich, Ludd Appeltans (35), a Belgian currently living in Scotland,Lesley Rogers (42) from Beith in Ayrshire, Matt Bury (51), from Faslane Peace Camp and Sam Maher (29), from Norwich, crossed a " forbidden zone " and entered the site.
The UK activists have been determined to show their solidarity with the French anti-nuclear movement as both the UK and France are threatening to continue their dependence on WMDs, to develop new ones, and so to breach their legal commitments under the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The action comes just one week before the start of the Faslane 365 continuous blockades at the UK WMD base on the Clyde.
Contacts at the site : Angie Zelter 07835354652 or Petter Joelson on ++4670867424
	
21st	Bombmakers Exposed near Victoria Station
21st September 2006 
Bombmakers Exposed near Victoria Station	

Lockheed Martin, incorporated in the US and the largest arms manufacturer in the world, is currently developing new nuclear Weapons of Mass Destruction. It is uncharacteristically shy about its UK Headquarters at Manning House, 22 Carlisle Place SW1. Maybe it does not want to attract the attention of the International Atomic Energy Authority? Iran is currently the focus of attention of the IAEA for enriching uranium to a level suitable for nuclear power production. 
At noon on Wednesday 20th September Irene Willis, 61 of Trident Ploughshares, Fr. Martin Newell, 39 of Trident Ploughshares and the Catholic Worker community and Stephen Barnes, 31 of the Catholic Worker community, climbed up onto the roof of Manning House and hung a large banner saying "Stop Lockheed New Nuke Bombmaker" down the front. Their friends in the Muriel Lester’s nonviolent affinity group hung banners on the railings outside the building and gave out leaflets to, mostly sympathetic, passers by. They gave free publicity to the corporation’s presence in Westminster and to its work at Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, developing a replacement for the Trident nuclear missile system. The later is a breach of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. [1] They have thus saved Lockheed Martin some of its slice of the £20 billion + that developing and building a replacement for Trident will cost. [2]
	
17th	TPers Return to John Reid’s Office
21st September 2006 
Bombmakers Exposed near Victoria Station	

Lockheed Martin, incorporated in the US and the largest arms manufacturer in the world, is currently developing new nuclear Weapons of Mass Destruction. It is uncharacteristically shy about its UK Headquarters at Manning House, 22 Carlisle Place SW1. Maybe it does not want to attract the attention of the International Atomic Energy Authority? Iran is currently the focus of attention of the IAEA for enriching uranium to a level suitable for nuclear power production. 
At noon on Wednesday 20th September Irene Willis, 61 of Trident Ploughshares, Fr. Martin Newell, 39 of Trident Ploughshares and the Catholic Worker community and Stephen Barnes, 31 of the Catholic Worker community, climbed up onto the roof of Manning House and hung a large banner saying "Stop Lockheed New Nuke Bombmaker" down the front. Their friends in the Muriel Lester’s nonviolent affinity group hung banners on the railings outside the building and gave out leaflets to, mostly sympathetic, passers by. They gave free publicity to the corporation’s presence in Westminster and to its work at Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, developing a replacement for the Trident nuclear missile system. The later is a breach of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. [1] They have thus saved Lockheed Martin some of its slice of the £20 billion + that developing and building a replacement for Trident will cost. [2]
	
11th	Staggering Police Admission at Faslane Trial
11th September 2006 
Staggering Police Admission at Faslane Trial	

There was astonishment at the trial today in Helensburgh District Court of two protesters when two Ministry of Defence Police witnesses for the Crown said that they did not know the function of the base they guard - RNAD Coulport, where Trident nuclear warheads are stored and loaded onto nuclear weapon submarines. 
Sylvia Boyes (63), from Keighley in Yorkshire and Olivia Agate (65), from Menston, also in Yorkshire, were charged with malicious mischief after being arrested in September 2005 for cutting the perimeter fence at the base. Both Sergeant Morar and Constable Templeton, questioned both by the Procurator Fiscal and the accused, repeatedly denied all knowledge of the purpose of the base, even when the PF pointed out that its role was widely and publicly known. The PF also asked about the training they received as guardians of the base but there was no evidence from the responses that the training programme dealt with its core business.
The court managed to retain its decorum when the legend of the banner the women had hung on the fence was read out: BOMBING FOR PEACE IS LIKE FUCKING FOR VIRGINITY. Olivia told how she had travelled around in the area on the day in question and had kept seeing a Trident submarine and she had needed to express the anger she felt at the sight. She said: "What kind of vandalism is it that puts this horror in the midst of such a wonderful landscape?"
Sylvia told the court how she challenged nuclear weapons and war by lobbying her MP, by taking part in demonstrations and vigils, by researching and sharing information, but she added: " Any campaign for social change must include direct action." She explained that the same mindset lay behind both the UK’s warmongering and its deployment of nuclear weapons
Justice of the Peace Viv Dance fined them both 150,with 28 days to pay.
Olivia said later: " I found it really disturbing when the police told us they did not know what Coulport was for. It reminded me of those accounts of the Holocaust when railwaymen said they were just dealing with trains, when delivery men said they knew they were gas canisters but did not ask what their purpose was. This is just what a murderous regime needs - people who see themselves as just doing a job and who ask no questions."
	
8th	Court Fails to Uphold the Law Yet Again.
8th September 2006 
Court Fails to Uphold the Law Yet Again.	

On 7th September three Trident Ploughshares peace activists were found guilty in Derby Magistrates court today for blockading the entrance to Rolls Royce Raynesway. They were each given £250 fine and £400 court costs. 
David MacKenzie one of the activists said: "Although one knows the tendency of UK magistrates to support the state right or wrong, I go into each court case with the hope that some humanity and common sense will be demonstrated. Sadly these magistrates failed to really hear what was being said. Rather than putting me off, this politicised reaction by the court only strengthens my resolve to continue campaigning against Trident."
Rolls Royce Raynesway make the nuclear fuel pellets which power Trident’s submarines. The UK’s Trident nuclear weapons system is based on 4 submarines which carry between 12 and 16 missiles, each of which can deliver a number of nuclear warheads to individual targets - mass destruction on an unimaginable scale.
The defence the campaigners made was that 
1.	Rolls Royce Raynesway is engaged in aiding and abetting war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes against peace. 
2.	Nonviolent civil resistance to try to prevent international crimes of such horrendous gravity is lawful. Under the Nuremburg Principles "individuals have international duties which transcend national obligations of obedience imposed by the individual state". 
3.	Therefore they had both lawful authority and reasonable excuse for their actions in trying to prevent the Rolls Royce Raynesway workers from getting to work.
	
5th	Rolls Royce Blockaders Plead Not Guilty Because Trident is Illegal Under International Law.
5th September 2006 
Rolls Royce Blockaders Plead Not Guilty Because Trident is Illegal Under International Law.	

Four Trident Ploughshares peace activists are on trial in Derby Magistrates court today for blockading the entrance to Rolls Royce Raynesway last October. They believe that since Britain’s nuclear weapons policy is illegal, immoral and dangerous, the work carried out at Rolls Royce Raynesway to power Trident is also illegal, immoral and dangerous. They are therefore pleading not guilty to charges of obstruction of the public highway on the grounds that they had a right and a duty under international law to try to prevent the work from being carried out. 
Defendant Angie Zelter said
"Under the 1950 Nuremberg Principles, companies and their employees are directly accountable for any part they play in committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. After the Holocaust, businessmen were found guilty of War Crimes and executed for their manufacture and supply of the poison gas used in the concentration camps, even though it was their government which used it. Similarly the managers and workforce of factories such as Rolls Royce Raynesway may one day be held personally responsible for their contribution towards how Trident is used."
Rolls Royce Raynesway make the nuclear fuel pellets which power Trident’s submarines. The UK’s Trident nuclear weapons system is based on 4 submarines which carry between 12 and 16 missiles, each of which can deliver a number of nuclear warheads to individual targets - mass destruction on an unimaginable scale.
Activist David MacKenzie said
"The horrific effects of nuclear weapons cross borders; last for generations; and do not distinguish between civilian and military targets. International law requires military force to be proportionate, discriminate between civilians and combatants and not to do immense environmental damage. Trident is illegal and Roll Royce Raynesway should refuse to power it."

	

	
August
10th 	Deal with the Root Causes of Terrorism
10th August 2006 
Deal with the Root Causes of Terrorism	

Statement in response to today’s reports of suspects being arrested for planning to plant bombs on aircraft. 
Trident Ploughshares abhors all forms of violence and believes that plans to plant bombs on planes is terrorism.
Trident Ploughshares believes that individual acts of terrorism are likely to continue as long as the root causes of terrorism are not dealt with, i.e., British Foreign Policy. The UK must stop supporting terrorist states like the USA and Israel and must stop its illegal war and occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan. The UK must end its arms trade which fuels conflict around the world, must stop supporting repressive regimes, and start acting in a responsible manner. Acting responsibly means upholding international law itself by respecting the Non-Proliferation Treaty and dismantling its own weapons of mass destruction so it is not seen as being hypocritical and by implementing a real security policy that includes global initiatives to deal with poverty and global climate change. Until these deep changes are made within the British establishment Trident Ploughshares fears that the vicious circle of structural violence fuelling terrorism will make us all more insecure.
	
9th	Activists Paint Peace Words On Nagaski Day
9th August 2006 
Activists Paint Peace Words On Nagaski Day	

The Trident Ploughshares campaign to expose the reality of Britain’s nuclear weapons continued tonight as two activists painted peace slogans on the roadside walls of a railway bridge close to the main entrance of Faslane Naval Base. 
Barbara Dowling (61), a retired local government officer from Glasgow and Morag Balfour (33) a member of the Iona Community and co-chair of the Scottish Socialist Party marked Nagasaki Day by spray painting slogans including "No nukes - not now - not ever" "No Trident -not today - not ever" and "Trident is terrorism". They were charged with malicious mischief.
On Monday night Barbara and Morag were arrested after painting another railway bridge on MoD land.
Barbara said "Today we are remembering one of the worst ever acts of terrorism when 70,000 people lost their lives at Nagasaki. Britain’s nuclear weapon, Trident, based here in Scotland, have the potential for even greater terror."
	
9th	Report From the Citizen’s War Crime Detectives Inspection of Prestwick Over Last 3 Days
9th August 2006 
Report From the Citizen’s War Crime Detectives Inspection of Prestwick Over Last 3 Days	

For 3 nights running (5th/6th Aug; 6th/7th Aug; and 7th/8th Aug) Trident Ploughshares activists organized citizens’ inspections at Prestwick Airport. The inspectors have produced the following report that will hopefully go some way to correcting some media errors. 
Background.
Trident Ploughshares had been alerted to the possibility that Prestwick civilian airport is still being used by the US military to supply Israel with munitions that would be used in their military bombardment of civilian areas of Lebanon. There were credible reports that these munitions had included large "bunker busting" bombs, cluster bombs and depleted uranium. Trident Ploughshares, an organisation dedicated to nonviolent and accountable disarmament of the UK’s illegal weapons of mass destruction (the Trident nuclear weapons system) is very concerned about ongoing UK breaches of international humanitarian law and the use of Prestwick Airport by the US seemed to be yet another example of a flagrant breach of international law - the aiding and abetting of war crimes. The fact that Israel also has illegal weapons of mass destruction and is illegally occupying the West Bank (Palestine) and is in grave breach of the Geneva Conventions were other reasons for concern. Official denials that Prestwick is not being used by the US military could not be trusted - officials have lied before. Therefore, Trident Ploughshares decided to act in the public interest and send in citizen inspectors to find out the truth of the matter.
Inspections.
5th/6th August 2006 - 4 War Crime Inspectors [1] were inside Prestwick Airport for over 2 hours. They found the military area and monitored the flights. They noted 3 Atlas Aircraft alongside 1 USAF plane. Then they witnessed the arrival of another Atlas plane that was escorted by fire engines, which suggests there was a hazardous load aboard. They approached this last plane to inspect it and were arrested before they could confirm the load.
6th/7th August 2006 - 2 Teams of War Crime Inspectors entered Prestwick from 2 separate locations. The first team of 4 inspectors [2] was apprehended by airport security within 5 minutes of entering the airport and within 100 yards of the security fence.
The second team of 3 inspectors [3] entered the airport, spending over 2 hours collecting evidence. They noted a Polar Air Cargo (N920FT) next to a USAF (40208) plane alongside another USAF (N123AQ) plane. There were more planes in a well-lit hangar where repairs were being carried out. They then spotted an engineer (who later stated he was repairing the radar equipment) in front of an open USAF military aircraft numbered C130. The team entered the plane behind the back of this engineer (only 10 yards away). Marcus was sitting in the cockpit reading a manual when he was apprehended by a US serviceman. Angie and Chris were apprehended while searching the body of the plane which contained the personal possessions of servicemen (confirmed by one of the US servicemen) and the empty seats awaiting the servicemen.
7th/8th August 2006 - A further Team of 5 War Crime Inspectors [4] were in the airport grounds for around 40 minutes before being apprehended. They saw 2 USAF C130 Hercules aircraft. They opened the door of one which they found was unlocked and entered. It was labelled Air National Guard, the 1st State (which is Delaware) and was numbered 40208. (This was the same aircraft that had been seen by the previous Team the night before). 2 airport ground-workers saw the entry and tried to stop the inspection from proceeding. The Team examined the cargo area and found supplies but no ordinance. Anna-Linnea went to the cockpit and examined documentation and manuals and took photos. The Team, accompanied by the 2 ground-workers, then proceeded to examine a Polar Air aircraft that was also present in the area. One of the engines was wrapped in white sheets and one of the ground workers said it was scrapped. Proceeding to the other USAF plane, Ludd was thrown to the ground by one of the ground-workers, and the door was then blocked by the ground staff. The Team were then arrested.
Conclusions.
1.	A busy civilian airport is being subjected to unnecessary and dangerous risks by the close proximity of military planes that may contain explosives and munitions that are being transported through Prestwick. Landing and taking-off are the most dangerous times for any aircraft and the scene of most air accidents. It is inappropriate that military aircraft are using Prestwick. 
2.	It is widely known and accepted that the US military aircraft are engaged in supplying weaponry to Israel. Israel is known to be engaged in war crimes in that it has targeted civilian areas all over Lebanon, in a disproportionate and indiscriminate manner. 
3.	Airport and Government sources cannot be trusted to tell the truth. In these circumstances it is imperative that citizen groups check out all information and put it into the public domain. 
4.	Citizen groups should not have to do the work of a police force. It is time now for an independent and serious enquiry into the use of the civilian and military airports by the USA in the light of international humanitarian law.
More information available from 0845 45 88 361
Photos of the inspection teams before and during their inspections, including photos of inside the planes are available from here
[1] The 4 inspectors were Sylvia Boyes (62) from Yorkshire, Roz Bullen (36) from Edinburgh, Stefan van Elsen (23) from Belgium, and Kate Holcombe (45) from Worcestershire. Two inspectors (Roz Bullen and Kate Holcombe) have been released on bail awaiting trial and two others (Sylvia Boyes and Stefan van Elsan) are on remand awaiting trial. Their trial dates have been set for 4th September (intermediate) and 11th September (trial) at Ayr Sheriff Court.
[2] The four inspectors were Matt Bury (50) from Somerset, Sarah Lasenby (68) from Oxford, Jean Oliver (48) from Biggar and Douglas Shaw (56) from Biggar. Their driver Olivia Agate (65) from Yorkshire was also arrested outside the Airport. Their trial dates are 7th November (intermediate) and 21st November (trial) at Ayr Sheriff Court.
[3] The 3 inspectors were Marcus Armstrong (46) from Milton Keynes, Chris Bluemel (25) from Southampton, and Angie Zelter (55) from Cromer. Their trial dates are 7th November (intermediate) and 21st November (trial) at Ayr Sheriff Court.
[4] The five inspectors were Ludwig Appeltans (35) from Belgium, Richard McKean (38) from Glasgow, Joe McLoughlin (35) from Perth, Pippa Robertson (21) from Edinburgh and Anna-Linnéa Rundberg (26) from the Aland Islands in Finland. Their trial dates are 23rd August (intermediate) and 6th September (trial) at Ayr Sheriff Court.
	
8th	Third Strike for Prestwick as Weapons Inspectors Again Gain Access to US Military Plane
8th August 2006 
Third Strike for Prestwick as Weapons Inspectors Again Gain Access to US Military Plane	

Hot on the heels of three Trident Ploughshares Weapons Detectives getting into a US Air Force plane on Monday, another team, also searching for evidence of War Crimes, got into another US military plane at Prestwick in the early hours of this morning. 
Both groups aimed to gain further evidence to support that reported by a group of Citizens Weapons Inspectors who went into Prestwick Airport on Saturday night - making it the third time in four days that Prestwick has been inspected by concerned citizens. A total of 17 people will now be in police custody as a result of these actions.
Tonight’s inspectors searched a USAF Air National Guard plane and examined documentation and manuals before moving on to attempt to examine a Polar Air aircraft that was also present. Polar Air are a known military contractor.

International Weapons Inspectors	

The five inspectors were Ludwig Appeltans from Belgium, Richard McKean, Joe McLoughlin and Pippa Robertson, all from Scotland and Anna-Linnéa Rundberg from the Aland Islands in Finland.
More information available from 0845 45 88 361
A photo of the team prior to setting off is available from here
	
7th	Prestwick War Crime Detectives Arrested after Boarding US Plane
7th August 2006 
Prestwick War Crime Detectives Arrested after Boarding US Plane	

Early this morning Trident Ploughshares activists boarded a US military plane at Prestwick Airport in the process carrying out an investigation of the involvement by the British authorities in covert and active collusion in Israeli war crimes in Lebanon. 

Weapons Detectives	

The group, Marcus Armstrong (46) from Milton Keynes, Chris Bluemel (35) from Southampton, and Angie Zelter (55) from Norfolk, spent some time in the plane before being arrested by civilian police. Another group, Sarah Lasenby (68) from Oxford, Douglas Shaw (56) and Jean Oliver (48), both from Biggar, and Matt Bury (50) from Somerset, also took part in the investigation and are now in custody in Kilmarnock police station. They are all expected to appear in Ayr Sheriff Court on Tuesday.
Air freighters run by Atlas Air, a civilian airline contracted to the US military, were spotted at Prestwick on 5th August and one of them is suspected of carrying armaments, which could include "bunker buster" bombs tipped with depleted uranium. The Detectives have looked for evidence of such flights and attempted to interview security personnel.
Entering Prestwick	

The Detectives said: "We acted as War Crime Detectives. Britain is breaching international law by allowing Prestwick to be used by the US to fly bombs to Israel. Britain is also defying the law by deploying weapons of mass destruction and developing a new generation of these weapons. We need a international humanitarian law to restrain warmongering governments. It is vital that international law is upheld and equally vital that ordinary citizens take the initiative in exposing state crime.
The US military air traffic here is more extensive than we had known. The security is extremely lax."
Trident Ploughshares is an open and non-violent campaign against the UK’s nuclear weapons. At the same time as the War Crime Detectives were at Prestwick, fellow activists at the Trident Ploughshares camp at Coulport on Loch Long were planning further actions against the nuclear weapon bases there, RNAD Coulport and Faslane.
A spokesperson said: "The weapons which devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki 61 years ago are still a horrifying reality. As our friends expose the crimes at Prestwick we will be active at this end of the chain of terror. For the US Israel is a key strategic partner, especially because of Middle East oil. As a result anything they do is played down and their nuclear weapons are accepted, all of which undermines international law."
Better quality copies of the photos available here
	
3rd	Two Arrested for Publicising Britain’s Terror Weapons
3rd August 2006 
Two Arrested for Publicising Britain’s Terror Weapons	

Last night two peace activists were arrested after painting a prominent peace message outside Faslane naval base, where Britain’s Trident nuclear weapon submarines are berthed. 
For years a rock slab at the perimeter of the fence has been an important additional notice board at the base, alerting unsuspecting passers-by to what is going on behind the razor wire. Last year the base authorities had the slogan painted over but last night Sylvia Boyes (62), from Keighley inYorkshire, and Jane Tallents (48), from Helensburgh, repainted it with the legend: TRIDENT IS TERROR. They had time to complete the task before being arrested and charged with malicious mischief. They were released after a few hours in custody.
Sylvia said: “Britain’s Trident is the ultimate terror weapon. We were determined that the true nature of Faslane is publicised.”
Anti-Trident protesters have gathered for a disarmament camp at Peaton Wood on Loch Long, just half a mile away from RNAD Coulport where nuclear warheads are stored and loaded onto Trident submarines.
The camp, organised by the non-violent direct action campaign Trident Ploughshares, has been an annual event since 1998 and in recent years has involved a wide range of protest and disarmament activity, including swimming into the Trident submarine berths, intrusions into the secure areas of the Faslane and Coulport bases, blockades at the gates of the bases, and “redecoration” with graffiti.
Specific Opportunities:
  Sunday 6th August, evening. Lochside candle floating ceremony in commemoration of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. 
  Monday 7th August. Blockade of Coulport, from early morning.
Location
Photos of todays action
More information

	

	
July
25th 	Delight at Important Acquittal of Pitstop Ploughshares
25th July 2006 
Delight at Important Acquittal of Pitstop Ploughshares	

Anti-Trident activists have expressed their delight that a Dublin jury has unanimously acquitted five anti-war protesters, including Scottish Trident Ploughshares pledger Karen Fallon, who disarmed a US warplane in 2003. 

The five, Karen, Deirdre Clancy, Nuin Dunlop, Ciaron O’Reilly and Damien Moran, known as the Pitstop Ploughshares, damaged the plane at Shannon airport in February 2003 to prevent it being used in the impending invasion of Iraq. Their acquittal comes after three years of waiting and three trials.
In a statement the Pitstop Ploughshares said:
"The jury is the conscience of the community chosen randomly from Irish society. The conscience of the community has spoken. The government has no popular mandate in providing the civilian Shannon airport to service the US war machine in its illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. In 1996 in Liverpool the Jury acquittal of the four ’ploughshares’ women contributed to the end of arms exports to the Suharto dictatorship in Indonesia and the independence of East Timor."
"The decision of this jury should be a message to London, Washington DC and the Dail that Ireland wants no part in waging war on the people of Iraq. Refuelling of US warplanes at Shannon Airport should cease immediately."
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson added: "We are absolutely delighted for Karen and the others. The case shows that people who act to stop war crimes have every chance of acquittal if they get the opportunity to put their case fairly and directly to a jury. As far as international law goes, ordinary people are light years ahead of governments and state serving judges."
Background at: www.peaceontrial.com and www.indymedia.ie
	
14th	Protesters Gather at Sharp End of Trident Debate
14th July 2006 
Protesters Gather at Sharp End of Trident Debate	

From 29th July to 12th August anti-Trident protesters will gather for a disarmament camp at Peaton Wood on Loch Long, just half a mile away from RNAD Coulport where nuclear warheads are stored and loaded onto Trident submarines. 
The camp, organised by the non-violent direct action campaign Trident Ploughshares, has been an annual event since 1998 and in recent years has involved a wide range of protest and disarmament activity, including swimming into the Trident submarine berths, intrusions into the secure areas of the Faslane and Coulport bases, blockades at the gates of the bases, and "redecoration" with graffiti.
A highlight of the camp will be the blockade on Monday 7th August of the Coulport base. The camp will this year have an additional function as a focus for training and preparation for Faslane 365, the continuous blockade of Faslane which begins on 1st October.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: "While it has been good to hear at last some public debate about whether Britain’s nuclear weapons should be replaced some time in the future, Trident is a current and ever present threat to humanity. That’s what we will be protesting about."
Camp Location
More information
	
10th	Ten Arrests as Builders Blocked at AWE	
10th July 2006 
Ten Arrests as Builders Blocked at AWE	

Ten people were arrested this morning as Block the Builders returned to AWE Aldermaston in a continuing campaign to prevent a new nuclear weapon being built there. Most of the arrests were for locking-on across the gates to AWE while one was for breaching the section 14 order. The protestors succeeded in closing one gate for 45 minutes. 

This mornings protest, which was attended by 60 people including Caroline Lucas MEP, continued for longer than expected after the police imposed an order under section 14 of the Public Order Act, preventing anyone from leaving before midday without seeking permission from the senior officer present. The senior officer refused to reveal the grounds on which he would release protestors. This raises concerns that protestors are suffering arbitrary detention as defined by the Human Rights Act. Legal advice is being sought by the protestors. 
In issuing a Section 14 notice, the senior police officer announced that the protestors had severely disrupted the lives of the community. Sian Jones from Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp said, “We are very concerned about police imposing detention conditions on peaceful protestors - including on a number of children under 5. We strongly oppose this clampdown on peaceful protest.”
Kate Hudson, Chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said, “We condemn this attempt to stifle public protest. We have been promised a full debate on Trident replacement, yet everything suggests work is proceeding at Aldermaston already. We demand an end to all building work at Aldermaston until a democratic decision is made on Trident replacement following a full debate.”
Trident Ploughshares are actively supporting the Block the Builders campaign. For more info see www.blockthebuilders.org.uk

June
30th 	Nuclear Trains Day of Action
30th June 2006 
Nuclear Trains Day of Action	

On Friday 30 June Trident Ploughshares organised a nuclear trains day of action highlighting the transport by rail of the old, highly radioactive fuel rods from the Trident submarines being re-fitted in Devonport. They are taken almost the length of the country to Sellafield in Cumbria, passing through major urban areas. 
Affinity groups and their friends were out in force in Plymouth, Bristol, the West Midlands, the North West, and Glasgow (where the inter-city trains to Penzance which cover the same route start).
In Plymouth, 3 large banners were hung around the station, and leaflets were given out. The Bristol group also gave out leaflets as people came into the station. In the West Midlands, they travelled on morning commuter trains between Wolverhampton and Stafford giving out leaflets to a captive audience. Further north travellers between Lancaster and Preston were also given leaflets. In Glasgow, leaflets were given to passengers boarding the morning Penzance trains, and leaflets were also put on the tables in the trains.
Those leafleting at stations were all asked to move by British Transport Police. In Plymouth and Bristol the leafleting continued beyond railway property, and at Glasgow, they had just finished anyway! On the trains, there was hardly any hassle from train managers, and again, the leaflets had already been given out by the time they were challenged. There was a sense of how a small number of people can have a big effect, and of being part of a bigger group. Both the Lancashire and Scottish contingent found leaflets already in the trains they were targeting, from further south. Leaflets were readily accepted and read by passengers. Local newspapers have reported the story, at least in Plymouth and the West Midlands.
	
26th	Disruption at RNAD Coulport

Press Releases & Updates 2006
26th June 2006 
Disruption at RNAD Coulport	

In the week that the Defence Committee meets to demand that ministers start preparing immediately to replace Trident, disruption was caused during yesterdays early morning workshift entering RNAD Coulport. 
Despite MoD officers being parked at the entrance to the gateway on the Kibble roundabout, Micah, and Roz managed to lock-on in front of the main gate, but Joe was grabbed by officers. Police directed workers traffic around one side of the pair in the road and after a while the two unlocked as they were told that the driver, who had been stopped by police, would definately be arrested and the vehicle impounded if they did not desist.
Upon unlocking it came as little suprise when the three were charged with a Breach of the Peace despite being told earlier that they would be free to go. However, the police then went on to charge the driver too, afterall, and objections were voiced to the Inspector in charge!
Along with the other officers present, the Inspector was passed a statement describing how Trident, Trident Replacement, and any new nuclear weapons system will encourage global instability and proliferation as well as further tie UK foreign policy to the US. The statement called for disarmament of Trident and to ditch any ideas of mini-nukes or other replacement WMD system.
	
12th	Block the Builders Take Protest To Chippenham
12th June 2006 
Block the Builders Take Protest To Chippenham	

This morning, as a delegation of Scottish MSPs, church leaders and NGO representatives visited Britain’s nuclear weapons factory at AWE Aldermaston, anti-nuclear nonviolent direct action group Block the Builders took their protest to the UK office of German firm M+W Zander in Chippenham, Wilts. 

Zander have a contract for AWE’s controversial Orion laser facility, reportedly worth £20m. Plans for the facility, designed by the company and dated 10 August 2005, were on display at a Berkshire planning meeting about the project last November (pictured).
The five-year project to build the laser facility is part of a massive building programme at AWE which the plutonium profiteers have themselves compared to Heathrow’s Terminal 5 and which campaigners believe will facilitate the development of the next generation of nuclear weapons.
While Chippenham residents were surprised that their town had been visited by the group, they were overwhelmingly supportive. Most had no idea of the German firm’s role in Britain’s WMD programme. During the morning’s protest, Block the Builders representatives hand-delivered a formal letter to a Zanders (pictured) requesting they cease their work for AWE.
This morning’s Block the Builder’s action is part of an ongoing campaign of nonviolent resistance to new facilities being developed at AWE Aldermaston.
Trident Ploughshares are supporting and participating in the Block the Builders Campaign. 

	
	
May
22nd 	Devonport Camp 2006
22nd May 2006 
Devonport Camp 2006	

There were lots of differences with this year’s peace pirate’s camp. We were not in Plymouth nor even Devon but camped in Thanckes Park in Torpoint with a view across the river to submarines in Devonport dockyard. The TP camp was a glorious site despite the severe downpours of rain with two rows of twenty flags on bamboo poles at the edge of the site. The huge banners were well positioned in the trees and firmly tied to withstand the gale force winds without coming down. One of the banners showed our campsite "peace pirate’s camp" and then all in red with toxic signs the dockyard direcly the other side of the river. There was a glow in the dark skull and crossbones as you approached from the water.
The camp was set up on Thursday and we were generously treated by the Torpoint residents and the council who arranged to leave the toilets open during the night during the camp. We were surprised at the number of residents who were glad we were there and felt the camp was a good addition to the park. Lots of good discussions were had and even some ex-dockyard workers were quite sympathetic to our case. It was certainly a great site to have contact with the local people. There were late arrivals of campers Thursday and then a few more Friday.
We had help from some interested young people that knew one of the Tamarians and that was a great contact as a number of their friends got involved over the weekend. I think the average age of campers dropped from 50 to 30ish this year.
Friday there was a lot of preparation for the Lord Mayor’s parade and some great props accompanied our bid to enter the parade. CND had been banned from having a float so the TP group decided a bit of street theater and joining right in was required. Quite a few people had been disturbed by the ban and were really happy to see us there to right a wrong. We were joined by some local young people who held our banner high and loved the chant started by A-L wearing a WMD "Immoral, illegal, expensive and useless!!!" This colourful cohort of pirates, weapon inspectors, reporters, submarine and our dedicated police escort with the high tech eye piece to film followed us through town.
We were really excited when the two peace boats were sailing along beside us in the water on the way down to the Barbican. One of those boats made a quick stop on Drake’s Island which got a cheer from the TP landlubbers in the parade. One of the boats had come down from Penzance (complete with peace symbol on the sail) for camp sailed by Peter and Sarah.
Finally Saturday night was dry when we returned and we were able to have a fire on the beach with the water quite still and rising up to meet our tealight display of a peace symbol. It was beautiful and moving, so although we missed our multi-faith circle this year, this event had all that kind of power...and was facing the Trident refit berth.
Sunday we packed up with some delay by the military police due to some decoration of the Thanckes fuel tanks beside our camp. The sniffer dog chose one of the tents, nearly the only one left standing and a search was required. They considered unpacking the van but there was a bit of complaint and they then left us to finish packing. One elderly local helped carry something up the hill for us and said to me, "That seemed a bit overzealous just to make sure you left."
A very good camp for networking and building support, and thanks to all who did brave the wild weather. There are lots of individual stories and I hope people will share them with everyone.
Photos available here
	
21st	Trident Ploughshares Devonport Camp Is Now Closed
21st May 2006 
Trident Ploughshares Devonport Camp Is Now Closed	

The Trident Ploughshares Devonport Disarmament Camp 2006 is now closed.
The site, at Thancke’s Park in the Torpoint area, has been left as clean and tidy as it was when we arrived, as is our standard practice.
All tents and equipment were packed and removed and Pledgers departed the site by around 4:00PM today.
This is NOT the end of our work for the year, as unannounced actions can occur at any time. This is merely one event of many under consideration.
Trident Ploughshares would like to thank the people of Plymouth and Torpoint for the generally positive reception we received during this camp. We felt welcome and our relations with the surrounding community were generally positive and friendly.
We’ll be back again next year or before.
One TP member said: "We’ve enjoyed being here and the camp has generally been a success. Our relationship with local people has generally been positive and friendly and we have encountered no major problems."
	
18th	Ploughshares Pirates Set to Defy New Laws
18th May 2006 
Ploughshares Pirates Set to Defy New Laws	

Trident Ploughshares, the internationally-recognised anti-Trident organisation, have opened our fifth annual Devonport disarmament camp at Thancke’s Park in the Torpoint area. Thancke’s Park is directly across the River Tamar from the Dockyard 
The action camp will be open from Thursday May the 18th until Monday May the 21st.
We will be gathering in open challenge to, and full defiance of, the latest politically-motivated repressive legislation under the Serious and Organised Crime and Policing Act (SOCPA) and the Terrorism Act 2006. This legislation threatens those who infiltrate HMNB Devonport or trespass on any other ‘Designated Area’ with up to 51 weeks imprisonment and/or a fine of up to £5,000 and is aimed squarely at groups such as Trident Ploughshares.
The forthcoming camp will be an action camp, with various forms of explicitly non-violent action and peaceful protest planned.
One member of the local TP group, the Tamarians, said: “As the local Trident Ploughshares group it is now more important than ever to assert our right to non-violent action and peaceful protest, and do so in spite of the repressive and politically-motivated SOCPA legislation. SOCPA will not stop us.”
	
16th	Trident Ploughshares To Visit Dockyard
16th May 2006 
Trident Ploughshares To Visit Dockyard	

Representatives of the Plymouth Trident Ploughshares group, the Tamarians, will be arriving at Camel’s Head gate at 2:30PM TODAY to deliver a letter to Commodore Simon Lister (Commander of HMNB Devonport) regarding the illegal, dangerous and immoral refits of Trident submarines currently being carried out at the base. Copies of this letter will be available to the media on request.
This will be a curtain-raiser for the fifth annual Trident Ploughshares Devonport Disarmament Camp, to be held at an as-yet undisclosed location somewhere in the Plymouth area. A release announcing the opening of the Camp, providing the precise location and directions thereto, will be released to the media as soon as the Camp is set up. The Camp will be open from some time on Thursday May 18th.
A Tamarians member said: ‘We are here to register the strongest protest at the illegal, immoral and dangerous work being carried out here. We may well step things up a level when the Devonport camp opens from Thursday.’
	
16th	Trident Ploughshares Poorly Treated At Dockyard
16th May 2006 
Trident Ploughshares Poorly Treated At Dockyard	

Representatives of the Plymouth Trident Ploughshares group, the Tamarians, arrived at Camel’s Head gate at 2:30PM TODAY to deliver a letter to Commodore Simon Lister (Commander of HMNB Devonport) regarding the illegal, dangerous and immoral refits of Trident submarines currently being carried out at the base.
We had been in touch with an MOD Press Officer over a week ago to confirm our arrival and had been told that delivering a letter would not be a problem, although no naval officer would be available to accept it. We accepted this. The Navy now denies this conversation took place and claim they had no warning of our arrival.
Today, within 20 minutes of my departure for a final conference with other Trident Ploughshares members in attendance, I was called and told of the following conditions:
We were not to be allowed up to the gate.
The gate could not be photographed or filmed.
There was to be no photo opportunity.
The guards on the gate may not even accept the letter, let alone deliver it the Commodore.
The security personnel would not be photographed or filmed. This we were happy to accept.
Given that I was within 20 minutes of leaving, I had no time to alert the media to this sudden, unexpected and barely workable change of plan. To any media representatives present, we issue an unreserved apology for a situation that was NOT of our making.
If these conditions were standing security procedures, then the original MOD Press Officer could have informed us of this when I contacted him over a week ago.
And, given that National CND have successfully delivered at least one letter to HMNB Devonport, and had it received by a Naval officer, we wonder about the motivations behind our shabby and disrespectful treatment at Camel’s Head gate today.

	

April
19th 	Sound of Silence in Faslane Court
19th April 2006 
Sound of Silence in Faslane Court	

The local court closest to the British nuclear weapon base at Faslane on the Clyde was today given unusual testimony in the form of silence as a peace activist gave her evidence in her defence against a charge of malicious damage. 
Morag Balfour (32), from Glenrothes, co-chair of the Scottish Socialist party, appeared in Helensburgh District Court along with Jean Oliver, an administrator from Biggar and Barbara Dowling, a retired local government worker from Glasgow, charged with malicious damage. On 7th August last year they painted peace messages on the roadway, road barriers and notice boards at the north gate of the base.
Morag began her evidence with a long period of silence. When Justice of the Peace Andrew Nicholson asked her to proceed she told him that the sound of silence is all that would follow a nuclear attack. She was not a criminal and in painting the road had acted lovingly to prevent nuclear terrorism. The British state was hypocritical in its denunciation of Iran’s alleged nuclear weapon ambitions and used its own nuclear arsenal to gain selfish advantages.
Summing up, Procurator Fiscal Sheila McDermid said that Morag had no defence in law. For a defence of necessity there had to be some chance of the action in question actually affecting the situation. Morag responded that as a woman with disabilities she did what she could.
Taking account of her means the JP did not fine Morag but admonished her. Jean and Barbara were acquitted, the JP accepting that they had no case to answer following confusions and contradictions in the police evidence.
Stills of the women’s artwork at here and here.
	
10th	Protestors Prevent Contractors Work at Nuclear Site
10th April 2006 
Protestors Prevent Contractors Work at Nuclear Site	

This morning nonviolent direct action group "Block the Builders" took their protest against the controversial the Orion laser facility to the gates of one of current contractors working on a range of building projects at AWE Aldermaston. 
Tadley-based haulage, site clearance and aggregate company - John Stacey - were unable to take vehicles out of their main vehicle compound for more than 40 minutes after campaigners chained the gatesclosed.
Police from Hampshire and Thames Valley arrived after approximately 15 minutes, but no arrests were made. Although the police did have cutting equipment with them they elected not to use it. Eventually workers at Stacey’s took their own boltcutters to the chain and freed themselves.
At AWE Aldermaston itself, a substantial group of protesters maintained a noisy and high visibility presence from around 7am. By 8am there had been two arrests.
This morning’s actions are part of an ongoing campaign of nonviolent resistance to new facilities being developed at the Aldermaston site which campaigners believe will facilitate the next generation of nuclear weapons.
ENDS For further information and interviews plese ring 0796 9739812 or 07780 568040 Hi-res photos of Stacey’s blockade available and attached.
For further information about Block the builders go to www.blockthebuilders.org.uk

March
13th 	AWE Aldermaston: Block the Builders Strike Again!
13th March 2006 
AWE Aldermaston: Block the Builders Strike Again!	

Despite a massive police presence, including mounted police, around the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston, Block the Builders have again managed to interrupt the morning traffic entering the nuclear weapons factory in Berkshire. 
Six people have been arrested, including four who had "locked-on" to each other in an attempt to block the entrance to the base.
Although the group did not manage to stop workers entering the base today, a spokeswoman said, "We’re not disappointed. We’re here as a visible opposition to the building of the next generation of nuclear weapons here at AWE, and the size of the police presence indicates the level of resources that have to be deployed in order to stop us."
This morning a flustered Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, failed to give a direct reply to John Humphries on the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme, when asked whether the UK was developing a successor to the Trident war-head.
Block the Builders are calling on the government to come clean and admit that the current programme of building works - including on a new laser facility - are designed to equip the UK to build a successor to Trident,as detailed in yesterday’s Sunday Times.
The protest was held in advance of the Defence Select Committee’s opening session on Tuesday 14 March [1], which is apparently being conducted to inform a decision on the future of the UK nuclear weapons. As far as Block the Builders can see, that decision has already been made, and work has already started.
[1] The Defence Committee has announced that it will hold a series of inquiries over the course of the current Parliament into the future of the UK’s strategic nuclear deterrent. The first inquiry will focus on the strategic context and the timetable for decision making. It will consider the threats which the strategic nuclear deterrent is currently intended to combat and how this context might change over the next two decades. It will consider what other states or organisations could develop nuclear weapons capabilities by 2025, and how this might affect the strategic context in which decisions on the UK deterrent will be made. And it will consider the timetable in which these decisions will have to be taken and implemented.
	
February
24th 	War Criminal Flees Country
24th February 2006 
War Criminal Flees Country
Local Heroes Affinity Group Outing to John Reids Constituency	

A group of Citizen Weapons Inspectors (CWI) arrived at the office of John Reid today, to question him about his complicity in war crimes.
John Reid is head of a sinister criminal gang known as the ‘Ministry of Defence’ who are known to be in possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), and who have invaded and occupied Iraq and are further responsible for the beating and torture of Iraqi prisoners.
Using red and white caution tape, the Weapons Inspectors (including two undercover Rebel Clowns) cordoned off a Scene of Crime outside one of Reid’s known hangouts a ‘Constituency Office” in Airdrie. Using a metal detector, fingerprint dust and magnifying glasses, they searched for clues as to his whereabouts. When they asked inside the office if he had been seen recently, they were told that he was “abroad”.
The CWI team then leafleted the town centre and put up wanted posters offering a Reward of ‘£1,000,000,000 for Health, Education and Poverty’ for information leading to his conviction.
When they learned of his sudden departure, a spokesman for the Citizen Weapons Inspectors team, who are from the Local Heroes affinity group of Trident Ploughshares, warned the public to beware of approaching Reid and said, “This man is heavily armed and dangerous. It comes as no surprise to learn that Reid has fled abroad in an attempt to evade justice, but we will find him wherever he is and hold him accountable for his crimes against humanity.”
Photos available here
	
19th	Important Law Lords Hearing on Iraq
19th February 2006 
Important Law Lords Hearing on Iraq	

On Monday 20th February UK Law Lords will begin a hearing of great importance for political activism as they decide whether a British court can rule on the criminality of a war started by a UK government. 
Among the 14 people whose cases will be directly affected by the hearing are the “Fairford Five”, who seek to know what arguments they will be allowed to use in their defence. Trident Ploughshares pledgers Paul Milling and Margaret Jones, along with Phillip Pritchard, Toby Olditch and Josh Richards, are charged with conspiracy and criminal damage, following their action in March 2003 to prevent or delay the take-off of American B-52 bombers from Fairford air force base in Gloucestershire.
These bombers were waiting to launch the attack on Iraq that would begin the Iraq war. In the case of Milling and Jones, the action involved disabling a fleet of bomb carriers and other support vehicles used to supply the B-52 bombers. All five say they were justified in their actions, because they aimed at preventing the commission of a far greater crime - that of ’aggression’, of starting an unprovoked war against another country.
Lower courts have so far denied them this defence argument, saying that the alleged crime of attacking another country is a matter for international law, which cannot be ruled on in a British court.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: “We hope that the Law Lords will have the courage to unblock the route to the fair trial which would inevitably acquit them. We look forward to the day when it is the war criminals of Whitehall who are in the dock.”
The Fairford Five will stand trial at Bristol Crown Court later this year.
The week-long hearing before the Law Lords is expected to take place before a panel comprising. Lord Hoffman, Lord Rodger, Lord Carswell, Lord Mance, and Lord Bingham of Cornhill.
	
16th	Admonishments and Deferred Sentences for Coulport Activists
16th February 2006 
Admonishments and Deferred Sentences for Coulport Activists	

Unusually, no fines or other punishments were issued yesterday as six people arrested at the Trident Ploughshares disarmament camp in September last year for actions at the nuclear weapon depot at Coulport appeared for trial at Helensburgh District Court. 
Barbara Dowling, a retired local government worker from Glasgow, charged with painting a bollard at the main entrance of the base on 7th September, was found guilty and had her sentence deferred for six months. She told the court that there were no signs outside the base telling the public what its business was and she felt that people should know the truth. As a pacifist and Christian she was compelled to act - there was no justice in an indiscriminate killer like Trident. Justice of the Peace Nicolson told her that he would be taking into account whether or not in the interim she paid the Ministry of Defence compensation amounting to £8.34. Barbara said she would not be paying the MoD one penny.
Carol Chisholm (34), from Glasgow, and Pippa Robertson (20), a student at Aberdeen, charged with blockading the main gate of the base on the same day, were found guilty and had their sentences deferred for six months to be of good behaviour.
The local Ministry of Defence police have developed a 5-step warning process for dealing with this kind of protest. One aspect of this process involves the officer concerned asking protesters to consider the effect on their reputations of being arrested. This caused much amusement at the incident itself and featured in the defences offered by three others also charged with blockading the base of 7th September. Jane Smith (50), a teacher from Granton-on-Spey, Angie Zelter (48), a peace campaigner from Cromer, and Jane Tallents (47), a peace campaigner from Helensburgh, all said that their good reputations depended on challenging crime against humanity. Jane Tallents showed the court a list of her arrests, while Angie displayed the Right Livelihood award she and two others had received for the disarmament of the Trident research barge, Maytime, in 1999. She said that it was likely that nuclear weapons would be used again soon and she urged the JP and the Procurator Fiscal to do what they could in their own roles to lessen that risk.
When the JP found all three guilty Jane Tallents advised him that deferring sentence was pointless since in her terms good behaviour meant continuing to take a stand against Trident. In spite of the many convictions on the records of all three of the accused the JP admonished them, apparently because he doubts the value of imposing fines which will not be paid and will lead to short prison sentences.
	
13th	Trident Ploughshares Wedding at Devonport
13th February 2006 
Trident Ploughshares Wedding at Devonport	

This afternoon, some twenty Trident Ploughshares activists, dressed in unusual Gothic attire, made a colourful and vibrant presence outside the Camel’s Head gate of Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth. 

Wedding Party	

They arrived to enact the deplorable ‘marriage’ of the people and City of Plymouth to Britain’s own Weapons of Mass Destruction, the Trident missile system. A marriage made seemingly without the consent of many resident in the City.
One Trident Ploughshares activist stated: “We come here in the spirit of love, with the news that Plymouth’s of Trident submarines breaks our hearts.”
A huge red and black banner with a dark Valentine’s comment in large letters declaring ‘Trident + Plymouth: A Marriage Made In Hell’ was in attendance at this activity.
Another Trident Ploughshares activist said: “At a time when many of Plymouth’s essential services are strapped for cash, we could better use the resources wasted on the Trident system.”
This action was to highlight the ‘uncivil’ partnership between Plymouth and Trident, a ‘marriage’ that poses a clear health risk to citizens of Plymouth and the surrounding area.
The continued presence of Trident exposes the blatant hypocrisy of the British stance on Weapons of Mass Destruction and nuclear proliferation. It is also a clear and blatant violation of various international laws including the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Hague Principles, the Geneva Conventions and the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion rendered in July 1996, among others.
The continued presence of Trident in Plymouth also makes the City and people of Plymouth complicit in breaking these laws, and in the horrific consequences of their ever being used.

Hearts on Gate	

More photos are available in the photo gallery

	
	
January
30th 	AWE Aldermaston: Building Work Stopped By Peaceful Blockade
30th January 2006 
AWE Aldermaston: Building Work Stopped By Peaceful Blockade	

Anti-nuclear demonstration prevents work on new laser facility at the government’s nuclear bomb factory. Two main gates blocked 6:50am. 
Less than a week after the decision by a local planning committee not to object to plans for a new super-laser facility at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Aldermaston, campaigners are using their bodies to achieve what the planners have failed to do: to stop work on a new generation of nuclear weapons. On 25th January, a West Berkshire Planning Committee decided not to object to plans for the "ORION" laser facility at AWE Aldermaston. This laser is a key part of the infrastructure being developed at AWE: by simulating the effects at the heart of a thermo-nuclear explosion, the laser enables new nuclear weapons to be developed and tested without using full-scale underground bomb tests.
Block the Builders (BtB) is committed to taking non-violent direct action to prevent this work, and members of the campaign are ready to risk arrest to highlight and to stop the developments at AWE Aldermaston. A formal decision is expected within this parliament on whether to replace the Trident (submarine-based) nuclear weapons system, though evidence from the ORION laser and other building work at Aldermaston indicates that the decision to build a new generation of nuclear weapons may already have been made in principle.
At 6:30am this morning, campaigners from around the country gathered at the gates of the bomb factory, and groups began to ’lock-on’ to each other in front of the gates, preventing access to the site. Currently (6:50am), access into AWE is heavily disrupted, with the blockade continuing at both Tadley gate (leading into the West Gate area) and Main Gate. About 50 people are at the blockade, which can be contacted direct on 07887 802879.
"A local planning committee is the only forum that has been available to object to the ORION laser, even though this development will send shockwaves around the world," said a BtB spokesperson at the site. "The government seems determined to flout international law, undermine international security and bypass democratic debate, by putting this infrastructure in place at Aldermaston and making the formal decision to replace Trident a ’fait accompli’. Block the Builders is a growing campaign, and we are equally determined to stop them."
Today’s blockade comes at a time when the government is telling Iran not to develop nuclear weapons, and just weeks after Mohammed ElBaradei received the Nobel peace prize and called on nuclear weapons states to "take concrete steps towards nuclear disarmament." Development of new nuclear weapons further undermines our commitments to disarm, made as part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
www.blockthebuilders.org.uk
	
18th	SSP Peace Spokesperson Fined for Anti-Trident Action
18th January 2006 
SSP Peace Spokesperson Fined for Anti-Trident Action	

Today in Helensburgh District Court Morag Balfour, the peace and disarmament spokesperson for the Scottish Socialist party, was fined and given a compensation order for painting peace slogans at the main gate of the Royal Navy Armament Depot at Coulport on Loch Long. 
Morag, (32), from Glenrothes, was arrested on 7th September last year after painting peace slogans, such as “Jesus Hates Bombs” on bollards at the base, where nuclear warheads are stored and loaded on to Trident submarines.
Her painting was one of a number of similar actions at the Clyde nuclear bases last September, during the Trident Ploughshares disarmament camp, aimed at exposing the illegal activity going on there.
Morag, a member of the Iona Community, argued that Trident is incompatible with a true understanding of Christianity. Quoting a section of the Community’s statement of commitment to justice and peace she said: “The use or threatened use of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction is theologically and morally indefensible and opposition to their existence is an imperative of the Christian faith.”
Justice of the Peace John Macphail found her guilty and fined her £50, with a compensation order of £53.89.
	
9th	Faslane Invaders Admonished
9th January 2006 
Faslane Invaders Admonished	

Two peace activists who broke into Faslane naval base last year were today admonished at Helensburgh District Court after being convicted of breaching byelaws and of malicious mischief. 
Sam Jones (20),a student from Helensburgh and Joss Garman (20), a student from London, cut through the outer security fence at the nuclear weapons base on 2nd January 2005, causing considerable disruption. In the week after the Boxing Day tsunami disaster they acted to highlight the way funds spent on humanitarian relief are dwarfed by the expenditure on useless and illegal weapons of mass destruction.
Sentence had been deferred and today Justice of the Peace Nicholson admonished them in view of their “good behaviour” since their conviction.
Joss said: “A year has passed and funds promised for the tsunami relief have not been delivered while the people of Kashmir are freezing in makeshift shelters. Huge sums are being spent on Trident and at Aldermaston on tooling up for the next generation of genocidal weapons.”