News index 2004	
December
22nd 	Activists, including Santa Claus, Disrupt WMD Base at Faslane
22nd December 2004 
Activists, including Santa Claus, Disrupt WMD Base at Faslane	

This morning four people were arrested at Faslane, home to the UK’s Trident missile submarines, after blockading the main gate of naval base for two hours. 
At 7.20 a.m. the protesters lay down in the gateway and attached themselves to each other, using tubes and climbing clips. One lock-on gave the MoD especial difficulty it was 9.20 a.m. before they cut Morag Balfour loose. The blockade was timed to disrupt the arrival of the morning shift and led to long tailbacks of worker traffic before the traffic was diverted to an auxiliary entrance.
Morag, an SSP activist from Glenrothes, was arrested along with Jean Oliver, an office administrator from Biggar, Barbara Dowling, from Glasgow, and David Nicholson, also from Glenrothes. All are currently in custody inside the base.
The blockaders included Santa Claus (David Nicholson) and were all in colourful festive gear.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: “Today’s blockade may or may not be the last disruptive action at the Clyde WMD bases in 2004. We are determined to maintain the pressure on Britain’s illegal nuclear weapons for as long as it takes. Next year will be especially significant, given the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Conference in May. The nuclear weapon states, including Britain, have totally failed to fulfil their commitment under the NPT to eliminate their nuclear arsenals. This undermines the credibility of the Treaty and simply encourages further proliferation. We cannot let them away with this hypocrisy.”

13th	Activist Challenges Faslane Court on Disabled Access
13th December 2004 
Activist Challenges Faslane Court on Disabled Access	

There were dramatic courtroom scenes yesterday as Trident Ploughshares pledger and Scottish Socialist activist Morag Balfour (31), from Glenrothes, added to the growing challenge to the failure of the District Court in Helensburgh to make its hearings accessible to people with disabilities.
Morag, a wheelchair user, was due to plead yesterday on a charge of breaching the peace at the blockade of Faslane naval base. She was able to negotiate a ramp at the entrance of the building but the first floor which houses the courtroom was inaccessible. Morag remained at the foot of the stairs.
When her case was called, a friend in the courtroom told the officials that Morag was downstairs and was willing to enter a plea if someone from the court would go to her. The response of Procurator Fiscal Gordon Boyd was to decide that he was not calling the case after all. When Morag was told of this response she left her wheelchair, crawled up the stairs into the courtroom and demanded that the court recognise her. When there was no response she called out to the PF: "Do you recognise that I exist? Look at me , will you?"
The court then briefly adjourned. When it was again in session the clerk went on to the next case on the list. Morag again interrupted the proceedings, pointing out that she had crawled up the stairs to give her plea. Justice of the Peace Nicholson said that the matter was out of his hands. If the PF decided not to call a case then there was nothing he could do about it. At this point several people on the public benches called out that the case had been called. Addressing the JP directly Morag said: "If you find I am in contempt of this court, then fine, because I have nothing but contempt for it. You are breaking the law and I am disgusted with you all." The JP said that he had no intention of taking action on contempt of court but he could not debate the matter. "Can’t debate it or won’t debate it?" said Morag. " I won’t" said the JP. "At least you are being honest." said Morag.
The same issue was raised earlier in the day by Jane Smith and David Mackenzie who were due to appear for a deferred sentencing. Before the hearing could begin they made a submission, arguing that the court was invalid and asking for the hearing to moved to a fully accessible building. The European Convention on Human Rights and the Scotland Act of 1998 made it mandatory for court hearings to be held in public. The Disability Discrimination Act now made it unlawful for buildings offering public access to be inaccessible. As a result a hearing in this court was invalid. When the JP rejected the submission, Jane and David said they could not take part in the hearing, left the dock and returned to the public benches. After a long adjournment to consider his response the JP admonished them as if they were absent.
Afterwards Morag said: "It is several years now since we began to urge the court here to get its house in order and at least show some willingness to comply with the legislation. At the moment the Council wants to pretend the problem does not exist. We want to resolve this issue in a rational and amicable way but we are not about to be palmed off with pathetic excuses. This is a court that lectures peace activists about the need to obey the law whatever their consciences say but it is quite prepared to flout the law when it suits."

November
23rd 	Defendants found Guilty in Burghfield fence-cutting case
23rd November 2004 
Defendants found Guilty in Burghfield fence-cutting case
- but only ordered to pay token fines	

Six ‘Trident Ploughshares’ anti-war activists from Leicester, London and Norwich, who this June entered Burghfield, one of Britain’s WMD bases, and put it out of action for over an hour - left Reading Magistrates’ Court this afternoon disappointed that the Magistrate had found four of them guilty of criminal damage (the other two had accepted ‘bindovers’ and so the charges against them were dropped), but pleased that their arguments about why their actions were valid under international law were at least heard sympathetically by the Court. 
The Magistrate’s sympathy with the sincerity, seriousness and “high moral fibre” of the six, who he understood clearly to be “uncommonly conscientious people”, was shown by the fact that the total of the fines and costs they have been ordered to pay is just £380, which is less even than the MoD’s estimate for the cost of the repairs to the fence which the six cut.
In their summing up, the defendants argued that the very ownership of assembled and ready-to-use nuclear weapons is not only immoral but criminal under international law. The presiding Magistrate agreed that Britain’s having joined the ICC was a new factor, which opened up the possibility of activities that aided and abetted internationally illegal activities, such as Geoff Hoon’s threats last year to use of nuclear weapons against Iraq, being adjudged criminal. If so, then acting to prevent that crime - the crime of maintaining our nuclear threat, as Burghfield/Aldermaston does - might not after all constitute criminal da mage.
The Magistrate also made very clear that, under the Nuremberg principles, simply obeying orders is no defence in law. This was especially striking after one of the defendants, Kathryn Amos (a Ph.D in Environmental Science from UEA Norwich, now doing post-doctoral studies in Leeds), cited in her defence a discussion with her interviewing police officer in which the officer declared that he was happy simply to obey orders, in manning Burghfield base. (The ‘Burghfield six’ undertook their action partly so as directly to inform all Burghfield personnel of their rights and responsibilities under the Geneva Conventions and the Nuremberg Laws.)
Very disappointingly, however, the Magistrate found the activists guilty anyway, concluding that the case of the six was still not sufficiently dissimilar to a previous case decided against a Trident Ploughshares activist (‘Hutchinson’) in a higher Court on a previous occasion, a decision which (at least in relevantly similar cases) is binding on magistrates.
Rupert Read, press contact for the defendants, said after the verdict, “American Supreme Court Justice John P. Stevens recently declared, in relation to the detention and torture at Guantanamo Bay, that “We must not wield the tools of tyranny even to resist the forces of tyranny.” Nuclear blackmail, which Geoff Hoon recently employed against Iraq, is an obscene tool of tyranny. It must be stopped. ‘The Bughfield six’ have played a real part in the gradual process of stopping it.”
Kathryn Amos added, “It is crucial that our message is understood by those working on nuclear bases: We have no personal enmity against you. We believe that you need to be told the truth about your responsibilities under international law as well as British law. If you were told the truth, we think you would see that what you are engaged in is criminal activity that must end. We hope that you will draw this conclusion, before, one day, it may be too late. We encourage all citizens to do similar actions to that that we took in Burghfield this June, until Britain’s WMDs are disarmed.”
The activists who cut into Burghfield comprise a 47 year-old History teacher, a 19 year-old bar-worker, a 43 year-old self-educated single parent, a 30 year-old violin teacher, a 27 year-old sustainable policy adviser, and a 25 year-old university researcher.
Notes

  For details of Geoff Hoon’s threat to use nuclear WMDs against Iraqi soldiers and civilians, please goto Yorkshire CND. 
  BBC News Story (1st June 2004). 
  BBC News Story (29th October 2004). 
  Scotsman News Story (29th October 2004).	
23rd	Wacky Court Does Not Disappoint
23rd November 2004 
Wacky Court Does Not Disappoint	

"I never cease to be astonished!" "Just when you think they have exhausted their potential for peculiar behaviour they pull another rabbit out of the hat!" "Knowing this place, I am gobsmacked to be gobsmacked again, but yes, I am gobsmacked." "Well, they defend Tony Blair’s weapons of mass destruction, so I suppose it is optimistic to expect either logic or courtesy."
These were the comments made after another bizarre day in Helensburgh District Court, where peace campaigners active at Faslane and Coulport, the nearby nuclear weapons bases, are held to account for breaching the peace, malicious mischief and other crimes of the darkest die.
As a starter, we had another example of the new found enthusiasm of the Crown for early notice of defence witnesses. Falling foul this time was the Rev. Colin Morton, from Edinburgh, who intended to argue (like Alan Wilkie yesterday) that he had been unfairly arrested at the April 2003 Faslane blockade when others were not. Procurator Fiscal McCrae said he needed the witness information to prepare for the case properly (the thought of the PF being prepared for one of our cases caused much sniggering on the public benches). Colin pointed out: that giving witness information was not a legal obligation, only a matter of courtesy; that the Crown had not requested witness information; that the papers which called him to his trial had not mentioned this as a requirement. JP Viv Dance went the Crown way and adjourned the trial until March next year.
Next up was Sue Brackenbury from Helensburgh, for the second day running. She was also to be tried for breaching the peace at the April 2003 blockade but the JP suddenly decided that she could not hear Sue’s case, since she had dealt with her yesterday. In an attempt to get the matter done with, Sue changed her plea to guilty, but the JP still insisted she could not deal with her and deferred it to January when a different magistrate will preside. Sue then entered a plea of not guilty for another case and this was set for trial in February before JP Dance. Presumably by that time any prejudicial residue will have been successfully eroded. At this jaws dropped all around on the public benches the magistrates in this court are accustomed to seeing the same peace protesters in the dock on a regular basis.
But now for the main course. The JP then left the court without explanation. In time the shuffling and gathering of papers by officials implied that the day’s business was over, leaving Jean Oliver from Biggar completely bewildered. She had been called for trial today and had five witnesses lined up ready to give evidence in her defence. It was only when Jean approached the PF that she was told the case had been dropped. No explanation of this was forthcoming except that the decision had been made several days ago. There was no apology to her and her witnesses.
	
22nd	Faslane Court Moves Goalposts Again
22nd November 2004 
Faslane Court Moves Goalposts Again	

The trial of a Faslane protester who claims he was unfairly treated by being arrested at a Faslane was adjourned today at Helensburgh District Court when the Procurator Fiscal suddenly decided that in this instance he needed advance notice of the witnesses. 
Alan Wilkie (72), from Edinburgh, was all set to argue in his defence that he was the subject of discrimination when police at the April 2003 blockade arrested him, but did not arrest a group whose conduct was identical to his. The group who were not arrested included MSP Tommy Sheridan and other candidates for the Scottish Parliament elections which were held the following week. Among Alan’s witnesses for today were MSP Francis Curran and Chief Superintendent E.M. Roger. Campaigners strongly suspect that police were politically motivated in their decisions at the April 2003 blockade and did not want to grant publicity to the candidates by arresting them.
When Alan’s case was called Procurator Fiscal Boyd asked for an adjournment on the basis that he had received no intimation of the defence witnesses. Justice of the Peace Viv Dance granted an adjournment of the trial until 15th February. She felt it was only fair since in this case since the defence had been given witness statements by the Crown. Alan pointed out he had only got these statements after asking for them. It was up to the Procurator Fiscal to make a similar request if he wished.
There is no legal obligation on either side to provide such information and in this court it is frequently not supplied when requested by people who are defending themselves. Alan himself has been able to call witnesses in his defence in previous trials in this court without having to provide lists and statements.
At a preliminary hearing on the case Alan lodged a submission that the arrest breached his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. When the magistrate rejected this submission Alan appealed to the High Court of Justiciary. Although that appeal was rejected on 5th August, Lord MacLean, presiding, said that the rejection was simply due to the lack of facts in the case and that the legal issues Alan raised were new and would deserve consideration, should the case return to the High Court. As a result Alan is keen to make sure that all the facts relevant to the claim of discrimination emerge at his trial - hence the nine witnesses.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: "This is another example of the criminal justice system here moving the goalposts to suit itself. For whatever reason, the Procurator Fiscal did not want this trial to go ahead and as a result there is further delay in dealing with the case and nine people have been put to considerable and unnecessary inconvenience. Alan still believes he has a good case and will persevere."
	
22nd	Abuse of Attendance Order at Faslane Court
22nd November 2004 
Abuse of Attendance Order at Faslane Court	

Today a magistrate in Helensburgh District Court, in spite of her stated intention to keep a peace activist out of prison, has in fact by her decision made a longer prison term inevitable. 
Today Sue Brackenbury, from Helensburgh, was appearing before Justice of the Peace Viv Dance for failing to pay three fines. The JP said that prison was inappropriate in this case and instead imposed three 20 hour SAOs, rather than send Sue straight to prison for defaulting on the fines.
Through her solicitor, Clare Ryan, Sue had already made it clear that she would not abide by such an Order. If offenders fail to comply with SAOs the result is a much longer prison sentence than for simply defaulting on the fines.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: "The best that can be said for JP Dance on this occasion is that she perhaps hoped that Sue might be persuaded to comply with the Order. Sue is adamant that she will refuse on principle to comply. She has done nothing wrong and will not willingly participate in any punishment. The JP is de facto contradicting herself and imposing a longer prison sentence."
Today the same JP also fined Sue £60 for a breach of the peace at the blockade of Faslane on 23rd August.
* NOTE: A Supervised Attendance Order is an Order of a Scottish Criminal Court whereby the person is required to attend a designated place and undertake specified activity for between 10 to 100 hours maximum. It is open to significant variation in interpretation by the local authorities, to whom the oversight of the Orders is delegated, but is generally held to include constructive activities and supervised activities aimed at personal development and rehabilitation. The hours imposed relate to the level of the fine which has not been paid. If the Order is breached a much heavier prison sentence than would have been given for the failure to pay the fine may then be imposed. Under a pilot certain courts due are certified in relation to SAOs and in these courts the judge will have no option but to impose such an Order if an offender defaults on a fine.
	
14th	Senior Police Officer to Give Evidence for Defence in Faslane Trial
14th November 2004 
Senior Police Officer to Give Evidence for Defence in Faslane Trial	

A Faslane protester who claims he was unfairly treated by being arrested at a Faslane blockade has called a senior police officer, Chief Superintendent E.M. Roger of Strathclyde Police, to give evidence for the defence at his trial in Helensburgh District Court this coming Monday (22nd November).
Alan Wilkie (72), from Edinburgh, will claim that he was the subject of discrimination when police at the April 2003 blockade did not arrest a group whose conduct was identical to his, and which included MSP Tommy Sheridan and other candidates for the Scottish Parliament elections which were held the following week.
Campaigners strongly suspect that police were politically motivated in their decisions at that blockade and did not want to grant publicity to the candidates by arresting them.
At a preliminary hearing on the case Alan lodged a submission that the arrest breached his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. When the magistrate rejected this submission Alan appealed to the High Court of Justiciary. Although that appeal was rejected on 5th August, Lord MacLean, presiding, said that the rejection was simply due to the lack of facts in the case and that the legal issues Alan raised were new and would deserve consideration, should the case return to the High Court.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: "Strathclyde Police always claim that their interventions at Faslane are even-handed. We have always disputed this. Even if we leave aside their complete failure to address or investigate the breaches of international law that are at the core of the Faslane operation, they have also sided with the British state by arresting people there for Breach of the Peace, a charge that is utterly discredited in its application to peaceful protest. On April 2003 their bias was even more blatant.
Politicians who risk arrest by challenging Britain’s weapons of mass destruction are not band-wagoning, they are providing clear evidence to the electorate of where they stand on a critical issue. We just wish there were more of them."
	
10th	Lockheed Martin: Whereabouts of manufacturer of W.M.D. exposed
10th November 2004 
Lockheed Martin: Whereabouts of manufacturer of W.M.D. exposed	

At lunchtime today local residents, shoppers and those who work near the building housing the headquarters of Lockheed Martin, wrote letters telling Lockheed Martin what they thought of their bloody business dealing in death. 
Lockheed Martin is the world’s largest maker and exporter of arms, and is actively engaged in developing the UK’s next generation of nuclear weapons at Aldermaston. By doing so they are violating the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, signed by the UK.
Their UK headquarters are hidden away in an unmarked building in Carlisle Place, a quiet residential street near Victoria. Many local residents and even some employees from other companies working in the same building, did not know of their presence there.
Protesters from Trident Ploughshares drew attention to Lockheed Martins whereabouts with banners, arrows, fake missiles and by distributing leaflets. Many people stopped to write letters to Lockheed Martin telling them what they thought of them. The envelope containing the letters was delivered to 22 Carlisle Place later in the day.
Lyn Bliss, 53, a member of the group said, "This company have been involved in making parts for Trident (the four submarines that carry Britain’s nuclear weapons with a destructive power equal to 1,000 Hiroshimas) and now they are planning to develop the next generation of nuclear weapons at Aldermaston. It is ironic that this company whose business is to kill and maim people are housed in Cardinal Manning House. Cardinal Manning promoted peace not the death and destruction that this company is making its profits from".
	
6th	The Vanunu 5
6th November 2004 
The Vanunu 5
Blowing the whistle on Britain’s WMD	

On April 21st 2004, five of us broke into the command and control centre for Britain’s very own nuclear Weapons of Mass Destruction. (WMD) The same day, whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu walked free having served 18 years in prison for exposing Israel’s nuclear weapons programme. We acted to follow on in Vanunu’s footsteps and blow the whistle on Trident. 

We entered Northwood Military HQ in London, dressed in “whistleblower” overalls and Vanunu masks intending to carry out a citizen’s weapons inspection of the base. We were looking for evidence of the threat of the use of nuclear weapons in breach of customary international law and the Non-Proliferation Treaty. (NPT) The aim was also to expose the hypocrisy, secrecy and illegality of this government’s WMD Programme.
We were arrested and charged with Criminal Damage and will go to trial later this year. The inspection was carried out just a week before the start of an NPT conference in New York.
"I’m a little man, a citizen, one of the people, but I’ll do what I have to. I’ve heard the voice of my conscience and there’s nowhere to hide. I’m on your mission. I’m doing my duty. Take it from me. Come and see for yourselves. Lighten the burden. Stop the train. Get off the train. The next stop - nuclear disaster." - Mordechai Vanunu, taken from a poem called, “I am your spy” which he wrote whilst in prison.
Meet the Vanunu 5
Philip Gordon 
Phil is a photographer who has documented the manufacture of nuclear weapons in the former Soviet Union, and the consequences of nuclear warfare in Japan for a number of international media organisations including Newsweek and Der Spiegel.
Graham Thompson
Graham is an experienced peace activist and professional campaigner who has organized numerous actions including the “Judges 4 Justice” whitewashing of Downing Street (following the publication of the Hutton Report) and Greenpeace’s scaling of Big Ben, both in opposition to the Iraq war.
Sarah Shoraka
Sarah is a full-time campaigner and activist who works for action on Climate Change, as well as for peace and disarmament. She was one of the “Judges 4 Justice” and has managed to enter Britain’s biggest nuclear power station, twice.
Joss Garman
Joss is a frequent spokesperson for Trident Ploughshares and has taken direct actions against WMD at Faslane and Coulport, as well as stopping a nuclear convoy transporting radioactive material on British roads. During the war in Iraq he entered USAF Fairford and USAF Menwith Hill with the intention of disarming US Military equipment. Last year Joss was a winner of the National Anne Frank Award for Moral Courage.
Bryony Tomlins
Bryony is an environmental and peace activist who has taken part in a number of direct actions on a range of issues and is an active member of Greenpeace. She runs a local campaign group in East London which is concerned especially with action on global warming and disarmament issues.
Vanunu 5 Press Releases

  22nd June 2005: Celebrity Support for Vanunu Activists as they Prepare for Trial 
  21st April 2004: Campaigners Break Into Top UK Nuke Base As Vanunu Walks Free 
  22nd April 2004: "Northwood 5" Charged After Security Breach 
  29th October 2004: Court to Quiz Hoon over Nuclear Threats 
Links to Press Reports from the Action
Some links to more news items about this
  BBC: link here 
  Haaretz Daily: link here 
  Jerusalem Post: link here 
  Reuters: link here 
  The Scotsman: link here
Weapons Inspection Report
Following the inspection of the base, a Weapons inspection report was produced for presentation to the UN and is available to read here. Belgian NGO, For Mother Earth International has compiled a collection of citizen’s weapons inspection reports from nuclear bases around the world which are available to see here, and which have been formally presented to the UN and the IAEA. 
Vanunu on Trident
Vanunu has campaigned tirelessly against nuclear proliferation worldwide and for complete and immediate disarmament not only of Israel’s WMD, but also of Trident. 
In breach of the ban on speaking to the media which the Israeli state is attempting to enforce, Vanunu told the International Human Rights Festival in Glasgow, “I know very well that Scottish people are acting and working against nuclear weapons. I want to send them my encouragement. Scotland should reject Trident submarines. There is no justification for nuclear submarines; England does not have any enemies to justify possessing them.”
In a separate interview, Mordechai told journalists Patrick Ward and Stewart Halforty, “I want to send my message to British people and all the students in British universities that we in this age - post Cold War, in this new century - can live without nuclear weapons.
“We don’t need nuclear weapons - not in Israel, not in France, not in the United States. England too should not have nuclear weapons. England does not have any enemies. There is no real justification for nuclear weapons in any state.”
“The Cold War, which gave a justification for nuclear weapons, has now disappeared, so we the people can demand from any government the abolition of nuclear weapons, the banning of nuclear weapons in every state.”
“I hope the British people, with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, can go and raise the demand that the British abolish nuclear weapons.”
Referring to Trident nuclear submarines, Vanunu explained that they “have no justification to go along in the oceans.” “I hope the British people follow me. We must keep campaigning until we see the world a nuclear-free zone.
Support the Vanunu 5
If you would like to donate to the campaign, please send cheques payable to “The Vanunu 5” and send them to Trident Ploughshares, 42-46 Bethel St, Norwich NR2 1NR. We urgently need money to pay for legal and campaign costs. 
Links

  Free Vanunu Campaign, UK 
  Free Vanunu Campaign, US 
  Irish Ploughshares Campaign	
5th	South Wales Councillor Jailed for Peace Actions
5th November 2004 
South Wales Councillor Jailed for Peace Actions	

Popular Caerphilly councillor and veteran anti-nuclear activist Ray Davies, was sentenced to 28 days in prison today, for “wilful refusal” to pay fines of over £2000. The peace protest fines were incurred while taking non-violent direct action at UK nuclear bases. 
Ray, who is a member of Trident Ploughshares, had undertaken disarmament actions at the nuclear submarine yard in Plymouth and the nuclear bomb factory at Aldermaston. Previously, he took part in the sit-downs and blockades at Faslane naval base, where Trident submarines are berthed.
When asked why he refused to pay the fines, Ray said: “To pay these fines would be to condone the deaths of one hundred thousand Iraqi civilians, and the deaths of British and American soldiers. Nothing you could impose on me would make me pay.”
Members of Welsh CND, the Cardiff Red Choir and Trident Ploughshares were in court to hear the sentence.
[Ray is in Cardiff prison. Mail can be sent to him at HMP Cardiff, Knox Road, Cardiff, CF24 0UG (or e-mail prisoners@tridentploughshares.org and we will send it to Ray. A personal card or letter is nicer if there is time.)]

	

	

October
29th 	Court to Quiz Hoon over Nuclear Threats
29th October 2004 
Court to Quiz Hoon over Nuclear Threats	

Geoff Hoon could face awkward questions in court, after making explicit threats to launch a nuclear attack against Iraq from Trident System Submarines. 
Today, leading civil rights lawyers, Bindman and Partners, on behalf of Trident Ploughshares activists, issued a formal request to the Defence Secretary to appear at their trial.
The case relates to a citizen weapons’ inspection at Northwood Military Headquarters, carried out in April this year, to mark the release of Israel whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu. Central to the legal argument of the defence are the conditions under which the UK would start a nuclear war.
Trident Ploughshares spokesperson Joss Garman said: "After years of living under the shadow of a supposed nuclear deterrent, we now learn that this Government was planning a possible nuclear first strike against Iraq."
He added: "Hoon has made exactly this threat in public and in Parliament (1), and we are seeking clarification as to exactly how many laws he was planning to break."
Notes
Click here for more about last April’s citizen weapons’ inspection of Northwood Military Headquarters.
On the 20th March 2002, Hoon told the House of Commons Select Committee on Defence that, states such as Iraq "can be absolutely confident that in the right conditions we would be willing to use our nuclear weapons."
On the 24th March 2002, Hoon appeared on ITV’s Jonathan Dimbleby show, insisting that the government "reserved the right" to use nuclear weapons if Britain or British troops were threatened by chemical or biological weapons"

28th	Defendants found Guilty in Burghfield fence-cutting case
28th October 2004 
Defendants found Guilty in Burghfield fence-cutting case
but only ordered to pay token fines	

Six ’Trident Ploughshares’ anti-war activists from Leicester, London and Norwich, who this June entered Burghfield, one of Britain’s WMD bases, and put it out of action for over an hour - left Reading Magistrates’ Court this afternoon disappointed that the Magistrate had found four of them guilty of criminal damage (the other two had accepted ’bindovers’ and so the charges against them were dropped), but pleased that their arguments about why their actions were valid under international law were at least heard sympathetically by the Court.
The Magistrate’s sympathy with the sincerity, seriousness and "high moral fibre" of the six, who he understood clearly to be "uncommonly conscientious people", was shown by the fact that the total of the fines and costs they have been ordered to pay is just £380, which is less even than the MoD’s estimate for the cost of the repairs to the fence which the six cut.
In their summing up, the defendants argued that the very ownership of assembled and ready-to-use nuclear weapons is not only immoral but criminal under international law. The presiding Magistrate agreed that Britain’s having joined the ICC was a new factor, which opened up the possibility of activities that aided and abetted internationally illegal activities, such as Geoff Hoon’s threats last year to use of nuclear weapons against Iraq, being adjudged criminal. If so, then acting to prevent that crime - the crime of maintaining our nuclear threat, as Burghfield/Aldermaston does - might not after all constitute criminal da mage.
The Magistrate also made very clear that, under the Nuremberg principles, simply obeying orders is no defence in law. This was especially striking after one of the defendants, Kathryn Amos (a Ph.D in Environmental Science from UEA Norwich, now doing post-doctoral studies in Leeds), cited in her defence a discussion with her interviewing police officer in which the officer declared that he was happy simply to obey orders, in manning Burghfield base. (The ’Burghfield six’ undertook their action partly so as directly to inform all Burghfield personnel of their rights and responsibilities under the Geneva Conventions and the Nuremberg Laws.)
Very disappointingly, however, the Magistrate found the activists guilty anyway, concluding that the case of the six was still not sufficiently dissimilar to a previous case decided against a Trident Ploughshares activist (’Hutchinson’) in a higher Court on a previous occasion, a decision which (at least in relevantly similar cases) is binding on magistrates.
Rupert Read, press contact for the defendants, said after the verdict, "American Supreme Court Justice John P. Stevens recently declared, in relation to the detention and torture at Guantanamo Bay, that "We must not wield the tools of tyranny even to resist the forces of tyranny." Nuclear blackmail, which Geoff Hoon recently employed against Iraq, is an obscene tool of tyranny. It must be stopped. ’The Bughfield six’ have played a real part in the gradual process of stopping it."
Kathryn Amos added, "It is crucial that our message is understood by those working on nuclear bases: We have no personal enmity against you. We believe that you need to be told the truth about your responsibilities under international law as well as British law. If you were told the truth, we think you would see that what you are engaged in is criminal activity that must end. We hope that you will draw this conclusion, before, one day, it may be too late. We encourage all citizens to do similar actions to that that we took in Burghfield this June, until Britain’s WMDs are disarmed."
The activists who cut into Burghfield comprise a 47 year-old History teacher, a 19 year-old bar-worker, a 43 year-old self-educated single parent, a 30 year-old violin teacher, a 27 year-old sustainable policy adviser, and a 25 year-old university researcher.
Notes
For details of Geoff Hoon’s threat to use nuclear WMDs against Iraqi soldiers and civilians, please goto Yorkshire CND.
BBC News Story (1st June 2004).
BBC News Story (29th October 2004).
Scotsman News Story (29th October 2004).
	
27th	Magistrate allows arguments based on international law in Reading courtroom!
27th October 2004 
Magistrate allows arguments based on international law in Reading courtroom!	

Direct action peace campaigners who penetrated Burghfield (Aldermaston) A.W.E. are allowed to present their full arguments for why their action was legal under international law. 

The ’Burghfield 6’ - six direct action anti-nuclear activists from Leicester, London and Norwich, who this June entered Burghfield, one of Britain’s WMD bases, and put it out of action for over an hour - were in Reading Magistrates’ Court all day this Wednesday (27 October), to contest the charges against them of Criminal Damage. All 6 pleaded not guilty, although the fact of their having cut the fence and entered the base is not in dispute. The defendants were then very pleased by the presiding Magistrate’s willingness to hear full arguments for the defence based on principles of international law, including crucially Britain’s recent accession to the International Criminal Court.
The case will resume at 11 a.m on Thursday morning in Court 1 of Reading Magistrate’s Court, for the completion of final arguments and the presiding Magistrate’s verdict. The proceedings are expected to be finished by lunchtime.
Cllr. Rupert Read, main press contact for the defendants, said, "It is shameful that these six brave citizens are in the dock. Instead, it should be Geoff Hoon and Tony Blair who are prosecuted, for having made no effort whatsoever to disarm Britain of its own illegal WMDs. How shameful, that the British government holds on jealously to its own nuclear arsenal, even after it has been proved beyond any doubt that the alleged threat to us from Iraq was completely non-existent. There is however some ground for optimism in that the magistrates presiding over the court here in Reading, unusually, seem so far to be taking seriously their responsibilities under international law, and may yet choose to uphold the law as our government has already failed to do. The Magistrates’ doing so would send out a powerful signal that Britain may manage to overcome its international image at present as a rogue state, a nuclear bully state, an international outlaw."
[PHOTO: The defendants, along with their press reps., outside Reading Magistrates’ Court today. The banner is to make clear that there are (nuclear) WMDs in Britain -- indeed, in Berkshire.]
	
25th	Trident Court Flummoxed by Human Rights Challenge
25th October 2004 
Trident Court Flummoxed by Human Rights Challenge	

Today a Trident Ploughshare activist set Helensburgh District Court back on its heels when she claimed that it was incompetent because the courtroom is not accessible to people with disabilities. 
Jane Tallents (46), from Helensburgh, was cited to appear today at a Means Enquiry to explain why she had not paid a fine of £150 for cutting the perimeter fence at the Coulport Trident base on Loch Long. Rather than address the question of the fine Jane read out a submission in which she explained that provisions in the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) regarding access to public services, which applied to the court, had come into force on 1 October. This gave additional strength to the entitlement under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights to a fair and public hearing. Since the court was not accessible to people with disabilities, any hearing within it could not be said to be public.
She told Justice of the Peace Fraser Gillies that the Trident Ploughshares campaign has had no response to a letter sent over a month ago to the Clerk of the Court asking what plans the Council has to make the court compliant with the act.
JP Gillies attempted to continue with the Means Enquiry but Jane insisted on a response to her submission. The JP then adjourned the court for over 40 minutes to consider the position. On his return he did acknowledge that there were issues to be resolved but said that the Means Enquiry was competent. Jane then told him that since it seemed to be in order for the court to use the excuse lack of funds to cover for its failure to abide by the law over access, then it was in order for her to say that she could not afford the fine, which she asked him to remit. She did make it clear that even if she were a millionaire she would still refuse to pay. The JP then avoided the issue by giving her another 14 days to pay.
Later Jane said: "It’s immoral for the court to exclude disabled people in this way, but given its attitude to people who protest peacefully against WMD, this is hardly surprising. However the court does have to operate within the law and no explanation was forthcoming today about how they will do that. Mr Gilliesuncharacteristic reluctance to jail me today could be a recognition that a challenge on this issue to the High Court could prove hugely problematic, not just for this court, but for courts across the land."
	
24th	Won’t Pay to Hide Weapons of Mass Destruction
24th October 2004 
Won’t Pay to Hide Weapons of Mass Destruction	

Chris Gwyntopher, Debbie Mace and Olivia Agate helped expose the nuclear weapons being manufactured and developed at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, Berkshire on 12th May 2001 by cutting down three panels of the first of three fences. They were part of a nonviolent disarmament camp organised by Trident Ploughshares. 
We had written to MPs, the Ministry of Defence and the Prime Minister calling on them to begin decommissioning the Trident Nuclear Missile system. This they are obliged to do under the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, the International Court of Justice Opinion on the illegality of Nuclear Weapons and their own consciences. Nuclear weapons kill indiscriminately, threaten future generations and destroy the beautiful and delicate natural systems that sustain life on the planet.
The Government is now investing heavily in research to develop a new generation of nuclear weapons. They are intended to politically easier to use. In order to avoid the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty they have bought a massively powerful computer and are building a laser facility at AWE Aldermaston.
Chris Gwyntopher is appearing again on 26th October at 9.30am in Stratford Magistrates Court to explain why he has consistently refused to pay compensation to the Ministry of Defence to hide such immoral and illegal activities.
	
24th	Sunday Herald: Faslane protest minister faces jail
24th October 2004 
Sunday Herald: Faslane protest minister faces jail
By William Dick	

A CHURCH of Scotland minister last night vowed to swap his pulpit for a prison cell. 
Peace campaigner the Rev David McLachlan insisted he will stick to his principles after law lords threw out his appeal against a £150 fine imposed at Helensburgh District Court for a blockade of Faslane naval base, near Glasgow, in February 2001.
McLachlan, 48, spoke in his own defence at the High Court in Edinburgh last Tuesday, arguing that Trident is illegal under international law and that sitting in the road was not a breach of the peace.
He also told Lords Hamilton and Gill and Lady Cosgrove that police witnesses at his original trial in May 2002 gave conflicting evidence, and one had not even been present during his arrest. However, the judges ruled that Justice of the Peace Viv Dance was justified in finding him guilty. Now the minister is refusing to pay the fine and is prepared to go to jail to defend his beliefs.
Speaking from his manse last night, McLachlan said: "I said two years ago that I wouldn’t pay the fine, even if the appeal went against me.
"I may be the first Church of Scotland minister to go to prison over this issue. While I am acting as an individual when I take part in the demonstrations at Faslane, I am also representing the mainstream view of the Kirk."
The veteran of five blockades at the home of Britain’s nuclear submarines added: "I believe nuclear weapons are an affront to Jesus Christ and it is my duty to highlight the danger they pose."
McLachlan admitted that his 300-strong congregation at Langside Parish Church, Glasgow, know little of his criminal record. However, he is confident of their support . He said: "I was minister at Elderslie Church in Renfrew when I first appeared in court, and the response was so positive."
McLachlan was one of 13 protesters who had appeals thrown out during the week. He added: "I feel a sense of overwhelming sadness that our criminal justice system is letting the people down over this issue and my own experience of the courts has been deeply frustrating.
"A guy in a wig came up to me after my case and said I’d put up a great defence and should consider becoming an advocate. He turned out to be the prosecutor, but the judges didn’t pay any attention."
Meanwhile, Trident Plough shares, the group behind many of the Faslane blockades, insists the campaign will go on. A spokesman said: "The notorious charge of breach of the peace is now in greater disarray than ever as far as peaceful protest is concerned.
"When a law is corrupted in this way the only just way to respond is to disobey it. Blockades at Faslane will continue."
	
20th	"Strong, Independent and Courageous Judges Needed!"
20th October 2004 
"Strong, Independent and Courageous Judges Needed!"
Protester’s plea as Faslane appeals are refused	

Today peace protester Pat Sanchez, during her appeal against a conviction for a breach of the peace at Faslane naval base, challenged the Scottish High Court in Edinburgh to play their part in confronting the British state over Trident. 
Pat, who is from Littleborough, said: "When we have politicians who have so lost sight of morality and any sense of humanity that they are prepared to use nuclear weapons, we need strong, independent, courageous judges to remind them of their duty to honour the law. In other more dangerous days or countries, such judges risked their lives to be truthful to the spirit of the law. So it is even more disheartening that in our country, where all they risk is the opprobrium of ruthless, irresponsible politicians, or the chance of promotion, that they fail the people by choosing to serve their political masters rather than the cause of justice they have sworn to uphold."
Pat’s appeal was one of seven that Lord Gill, Lord Hamilton and Lady Cosgrove refused today. The three judges claimed that they were bound by the judgement of five law lords in the recent Gaynor Barret appeal. The implication of that judgement is that lying in the road, no matter how peacefully, and regardless of the presence or absence of traffic, will always amount to a breach of the peace. This stance was seen at its most absurd today in the appeal of Morag Balfour from Glenrothes, who was arrested at a sombre Hiroshima commemoration outside Faslane, when the atmosphere was so peaceful that she fell asleep as she lay in the gateway.
Appellant Inigo Ayarza, from Glasgow, told the court of his sense of grievance that peace protesters and environmentalists were treated as criminals. Marlene Yeo, from Loughborough, complained that the magistrate who had convicted her had not listened to her defence but had given a stock judgment based on previous cases. Three other protesters were represented by solicitors but fared no better, other than a small reduction in a fine.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said:
"The notorious charge of breach of the peace is now in greater disarray than ever, as far as peaceful protest is concerned. The Scottish criminal justice system, from Helensburgh District to the High Court of Justiciary, is prepared to twist the law to prevent peaceful protest and defend Britain’s weapons of mass destruction. When a law is corrupted in this way to serve a political end the only just way to respond is to disobey it. Blockades at Faslane will continue."
Note: Lloyd Quinan’s appeal was not heard today and will be called at a later date.
	
19th	Anti-Trident Protesters Rejected But Not Dejected
19th October 2004 
Anti-Trident Protesters Rejected But Not Dejected	

Today the High Court in Edinburgh rejected all six of the appeals that it heard today against convictions for protesting against British nuclear weapons - mainly at Faslane naval base. 
The court rejected appeals against breach of the peace convictions from Brian Quail from Glasgow, who was appealing two convictions, Barbara Dowling also from Glasgow, David Turner from Edinburgh, Andrew Gray from Newcastle and Rev. David McLachlan, minister of Langside Church in Glasgow. There was a crumb of comfort for Andrew Gray who had his fine reduced from £250 to £175.
Lord Gill, Lady Cosgrove and Lord Hamilton took as their benchmark the rejection in May this year of the appeal of Gaynor Barrett by five law Lords and gave their view that each of today’s cases were legally identical to the Barrett conviction.
At one point, during David McLachlan’s appeal, Lord Gill said that protesters had many options for protest, without sitting down in the gateway at Faslane. As "respectable people" they could for instance stand on the pavement with a placard.
A second batch of appeals will be heard tomorrow.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: "The appellants today gave powerful and dignified presentations and were not in any way intimidated by their surroundings. The court was left in no doubt what the basic problem is Britain’s weapons of mass destruction.
After a couple of appeals had been heard it became obvious that their Lordships would perform any contortion required to avoid taking on board the arguments that they heard today. We presume Lord Gill would have told Rosa Parks to stand meekly and respectably by the roadside with a banner protesting against segregated buses in Alabama rather than confront the abuse directly by sitting on a white-only seat. The basic reason for our peaceful confrontation is that the legal justice system in Scotland has not lifted one finger to challenge the Trident crime."
	
18th	Former MSP and Church Minister among High Court Faslane Appeals
18th October 2004 
Former MSP and Church Minister among High Court Faslane Appeals	

On Tuesday and Wednesday (19th and 20th October) the Scottish High Court of Justiciary will hear around 15 appeals against convictions and sentences connected to protests at Faslane naval base. 
Most of the cases relate to the series of mass blockades of the WMD base which began in February 1999. Among those appealing are former MSP Lloyd Quinan and Rev. David McLachlan, minister of Langside Parish Church in Glasgow. Lloyd, whose case is on Wednesday, is appealing against a conviction for breaching the peace at the blockade of Faslane in October 2001. David, who has taken part in five of the mass blockades, is appealing on Tuesday against a similar conviction after being one of the 385 people arrested at the Big Blockade of the base in February 2001.
It is expected that the appellants will present a variety of arguments, including the illegality of Trident, the right to peaceful protest as enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights, and various procedural issues. Some will have legal representation and others will represent themselves.
In May of this year a panel of five judges heard five appeals against breach of the peace convictions in an apparent attempt to clarify the nature of the offense. Three of these appeals concerned anti Trident protests. All were rejected and an eleven-page written judgment was issued, which in general reflected the status quo but provided enough latitude for magistrates in Helensburgh to continue with their routine convictions. It now appears that the High Court has decided to deal with the appeals which were held back to await the judgment.
Jane Tallents of Trident Ploughshares said: "We are delighted that Trident is being dragged into the High Court yet again. These two days of appeals will be packed with interest. The legal establishment may be hoping to stem all future Faslane related appeals, but given the inevitability of continued protest so long as Britain’s WMD remain actively and threateningly deployed, this issue will keep coming up. Behind all our individual appeals lies a common plea for the Scottish legal system to take seriously the principles of international law and apply them to Trident."
Press call: Parliament Square at 10 am Tuesday 19th October
	
11th	’Trident sub’ that Blockaded Downing Street All Day Today Lives to ’Fight’ Another Day
11th October 2004 
’Trident sub’ that Blockaded Downing Street All Day Today Lives to ’Fight’ Another Day	

Today, Monday 11th October, peace activists from all over Britain brought a huge model Trident submarine to the seat of British governance to challenge Labour to abandon its WMD and to comply fully with its international treaty obligations. 
International experts including Kate Hudson, the Chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, watched as events unfolded. From 10a.m. til 3.30pm, the ’sub’ blockaded the entrance to Downing Street, preventing vehicles from entering and leaving. Following a deal struck between the police and the 28 ’submariners’ inside it, the sub was dismantled by the peace activists rather than destroyed by the police.

During the final minutes of the blockade, at the gates of Downing Street, Trident Ploughshares spokesperson Angie Zelter handed a letter in to a rep. of Tony Blair, calling on him to ensure that Britain will refuse to renew the 1958 nuclear cooperation pact (Mutual Defence Agreement (’MDA’)) with the United States, and will comply fully with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (’NPT’), which requires Britain to take steps to engage in nuclear disarmament. (By contrast, renewing the MDA would see Britain continuing to work together with the world’s biggest nuclear nation, the U.S.A., which shows no sign at all of fomenting or participating in disarmament.)
The letter urges the Prime Minister to uphold international law, reject the pact’s renewal and get rid of the Trident nuclear weapons system. This call follows publication of an authoritative legal opinion from Matrix Chambers, which concludes that Britain will be in breach of the NPT if it continues with the MDA with the US, which both parties are set to renew this year.
Trident Ploughshares spokesman Angie Zelter, said to the representative of Number 10 who accepted the letter, "Please take this personally to Mr. Blair, and remind him that when two treaties are incompatible, one has to give way! Britain cannot claim the moral high ground on proliferation while it plans to extend its own arsenal. The nuclear collaboration with the United States has to stop and both countries must face up to their obligations under the NPT."
Norwich City Councillor Rupert Read, who acted as a spokesperson for Trident Ploughshares today, added, "The intention of today’s event - an intention that has plainly succeeded -- was to help make it politically impossible for the government to stay in the nuclear-WMD business without at least a serious public and Parliamentary discussion of whether we in Britain ought to violate the NPT and hold onto our illegal nuclear weapons, or not. While Iraq has now been conclusively shown not to have had any WMDs, Britain has them aplenty, and -- in flagrant disregard of international law and treaty obligations, like an outlaw state -- is doing nothing to rid itself of them. On the contrary, it is co-operating with the reactionary Bush regime to expand its WMD capacity. This intolerable situation was graphically highlighted today by this large group of brave peaceful protesters prepared to put their bodies on the line, on Whitehall. All right thinking-people should support and salute them."
Messages of support were received from numerous Parliamenatarians, including Green Party members of the Scottish Parliament, Green MEP Caroline Lucas, the Scottish Socialist Party, the Scottish and Welsh Nationalists, and backbench Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn, Alice Mahon, and Alan Simpson. Kate Hudson, the Chair of CND, said at the scene, "The time has come to end our government’s WMD hypocrisy! Contact your MPs now, and urge them to seek to block the MDA, and to enforce the NPT."

Appendix:
No to co-operation with the Bush regime on building and maintaining nuclear WMDs! Yes to Britain obeying international law! An accessible summary of what happened today at Downing Street, and why: 
Eminent lawyers, Rabinder Singh QC and Professor Christine Chinkin of Matrix Chambers advised in July that the NPT takes precedence over the MDA under international law. The advice, which found that the MDA was directed towards "improving the UK’s state of training and operational readiness ...[and] atomic weapon design, development or fabrication capability", was particularly concerned with Article I of the NPT, which forbids the transfer of nuclear weapons or devices, and Article VI, which requires that all NPT parties should pursue nuclear disarmament. Renewal of the MDA, intended to continue and enhance Britain’s nuclear programme, would hence breach the NPT.
Renewing the MDA would pave the way for replacing the Trident nuclear weapons system, options for which are already being considered. On June 14, President Bush recommended the amended US text for Congressional consideration, saying "it is in our interest to continue to assist [the United Kingdom] in maintaining a credible nuclear force". This is in direct conflict with the "unequivocal undertaking" given by the nuclear weapon states in 2000 "to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals leading to nuclear disarmament", in accordance with their NPT obligations. The British government has ignored requests from MPs for a parliamentary debate, appearing anxious to rush through the renewal of this bilateral nuclear collaboration accord on the quiet.
And so, representatives of some leading radical peace groups today highlighted through non-violent direct action Britain’s utter failure to carry out its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (’NPT’): namely, progressively to disarm itself of nuclear WMDs.
Said Rebecca Johnson, the director of ACRONYM and editor of the international journal ’Disarmament and Diplomacy’, who stepped out of a major diplomatic conference on Whitehall to express her solidarity with the action, "I am pleased to see citizens endeavouring to prevent US-UK nuclear co-operation that is illegal under international law. It is high time that all responsible citizens took on this responsibility to uphold Britain’s legal and treaty commitments to their fullest extent."
Notes and Links: Rabinder Singh QC and Professor Christine Chinkin, ’Mutual Defence Agreement and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty: Joint Advice’, July 20, 2004, available from www.acronym.org.uk/dd78
The original MDA, entitled "Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for Cooperation on the Uses of Atomic Energy for Mutual Defense Purposes", was agreed on July 3, 1958. The last renewal was in 1994, for ten years, so both governments are pushing for a further 10 year extension before the end of 2004.
The text is available at http://www.acronym.org.uk/dd77
The 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons entered into force in 1970. The next Review Conference of states parties will be held in New York, May 2-27, 2005. For the NPT text and reports on the Review Conferences and outcomes of 1995 and 2000, see www.acronym.org.uk
George W. Bush, Message to the Congress of the United States, and Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy on Proposed Amendment to the United States/United Kingdom Agreement for Cooperation on the Use of Atomic Energy for Mutual Defense Purposes, June 14, 2004, available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/rele...
The US Congress, which adjourned until September 7, has 60 session days to consider the MDA.
’US-UK nuclear weapons collaboration under the Mutual Defence Agreement: Shining a torch on the darker recesses of the special relationship’ BASIC report, available at http://www.basicint.org/nuclear/MDAReport.pdf
By the time the UK parliament recessed on July 22, 43 MPs had signed Early Day Motion (EDM) 1407, which raised concern that the MDA could undermine the NPT and called for a parliamentary debate on the MDA in advance of its possible ratification.
Key relevant points, selected from the Matrix Chambers lawyers’ ’Joint Advice’: "In our view, for the reasons set out below, it is strongly arguable that the renewal of the Mutual Defence Act is in breach of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty." (para 2)
The subject matter of the NPT and MDA are relevant to each other. Since the MDA has been amended and renewed several times since 1958, most recently in 1994, it becomes a treaty later in time to the NPT. Two or more parties to a multilateral treaty may conclude an agreement to modify the treaty as between themselves alone. "Such agreements inter se are therefore permissible only if they do not affect the enjoyment by other treaty parties of their rights under the multilateral treaty, or it does not relate to a provision essential to the effective execution of the object and purposes of the treaty." (para 13)
"A Declaration of a Review Conference such as that adopted by consensus [in 1995 or 2000] would fall within the wording of article 31 (3) (a) [of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT)] and is thus an appropriate source of interpretation of the obligations of the NPT." (para 20)
"The importance of Article VI to the objects and purposes of the NPT is shown both by the negotiation history of the NPT and by the reaffirmation of its significance by the 2000 Review Conference. The Review Conference also emphasised that strict observance of the NPT is required, that is observance with both the letter and spirit of its articles." (para 36)
"In addition, in 1996 the ICJ [International Court of Justice] in an Advisory Opinion unanimously asserted that ’There exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective control.’" (para 37)
"Assertions about the importance of renewal of the MDA are not in conformity with the obligations of Article VI and the commitments made in the 2000 Review Conference. The MDA itself, as amended 1994, article 3 b, is directed towards ’improving the UK’s state of training and operational readiness ...[and] atomic weapon design, development or fabrication capability’. These both imply continuation and indeed enhancement of the nuclear programme, not progress towards its discontinuation". (para 39)
"...determination of material breach of a multilateral treaty ’entitles (a) the other parties by unanimous agreement to suspend the operation of the treaty in whole or in part or to terminate it either: (i) in the relations between themselves and the defaulting State, or (ii) as between all the parties.’ However performance and compliance are what is required, not termination of the [NPT] either as between all parties or between other parties and the UK." (para 49)

	

	

	
	
September
14th 	Weapons Inspectors Fined
14th September 2004 
Weapons Inspectors Fined	

Yesterday (13th September) two peace activists were fined in Helensburgh District Court for carrying out a weapons inspection at a British nuclear warhead store. 
Jane Tallents (46), from Helensburgh, and Adam Conway (25), from Northumberland, were fined respectively £150 and £120 for cutting the perimeter fence at the Coulport nuclear weapon depot on Loch Long in Scotland in August last year.
Jane explained to the court that she and Adam had been attempting a citizen’s weapons inspection of the WMD base, and that their authorisation to do so came from the UN through its nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty. This was not a symbolic gesture since evidence from citizen’s inspections like theirs was regularly presented to NPT conferences. Her action at Coulport had come after many attempts to report the presence of nuclear weapons at Coulport, including submitting a complaint to the police.
Adam, who was in Greenock Prison last week for refusing to pay a fine for a previous anti-Trident action, reminded the court that Britain was the only country in recent years which had specifically threatened to use nuclear weapons. He wanted to draw attention to this and to double standards about WMD. It was apparently alright to kill thousands of people in order to respond to a WMD threat as in Iraq, but those who intervened peacefully and nonviolently in this country were arrested. The charge against him referred to malicious damage, but there had been nothing malicious in his actions, which were deliberate and considered.
	
8th	Seven Days in Jail for WMD Protest
8th September 2004 
Seven Days in Jail for WMD Protest	

Adam Conway (25), from Northumberland, was sent to prison today by a magistrate in Helensburgh District Court for refusing on principle to pay a £175 fine he received for taking part in a protest at Coulport in Scotland, the storage depot for the United Kingdom’s weapons of mass destruction. 
The case has been a long time in the pipeline. On 31st July 2001 Adam was one of a group of four who blockaded the Construction Gate at the Trident base, while three others blocked the main gate. In October 2002 he was found guilty of a breach of the peace by Justice of the Peace Fraser Gillies.
It was the same magistrate who dealt with the case today, as Adam was asked to give an account of why the fine had not been paid. Adam told the court that his conscience did not allow him to pay. The JP summarily sentenced him to seven days.
It is likely that Adam will serve his sentence in Greenock prison and be released on Friday, with the result that support mail to the prison is unlikely to reach him in time. However, messages of support can be sent to prisoners@tridentploughshares.org and they will be given to Adam on Monday when he again attends the Helensburgh court, this time for cutting through the perimeter fence at Coulport during the Trident Ploughshares camp there last August.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: "This magistrate’s distaste for peaceful protest against Trident is well known, so the outcome is no surprise. Adam was expecting a jail sentence and accepts that it is the natural result of persistently challenging the criminal behaviour of the British state. Meanwhile the real criminals sit comfortably in Whitehall."
	
8th	Jail for Peace Activist "Not in public interest" says JP
8th September 2004 
Jail for Peace Activist "Not in public interest" says JP	

In a sharp break with the usual practice in dealing with peace protesters, an Edinburgh magistrate today told an activist that it would not be in the public interest to jail her for refusing to pay fines for anti-Trident actions. 
Roz Bullen, from Edinburgh, told the JP in the city’s district court that on principle she would not pay the fines, totaling £320, which were imposed for taking part in three blockades at the Trident bases on the Clyde. The fines had been transferred from the originating court in Helensburgh. The JP took the rare option of "remitting" the fines in effect deciding that the court would take no further action. His other options were to impose a Supervised Attendance Order, give her more time to pay, or jail her for 14 days.
Although there has been an increase in the use of Supervised Attendance Orders, peace activists who refuse to pay fines are still regularly sent to prison. This morning Adam Conway from Northumberland was given seven days in jail by Helensburgh District Court for refusal to pay and in the past 6 years Trident Ploughshares activists have spent a total of over 2000 days in UK prisons.
Roz said: "I am delighted that at last I got some justice from the courts!"

	
August
31st 	Activists Arrested Highlighting Weapons of Mass Destruction on the Clyde
31st August 2004 
Activists Arrested Highlighting Weapons of Mass Destruction on the Clyde	

A group of four peace protesters were arrested shortly before midnight on Monday, after spray painting anti-nuclear slogans on the walls of the Faslane Naval Base "Media Reception Centre". The slogans refer to the presence of British nuclear weapons of mass destruction on board Trident nuclear submarines based at Faslane. All four are members of the Trident Ploughshares disarmament campaign, which is currently holding its annual disarmament camp outside the nearby Coulport nuclear weapons depot. 
The activists painted the slogans "Evil Illegal WMD", "NO WMD", "Trident Illegal", "Peace" and "No nukes in the world" on the walls of the reception centre, in letters several feet high. They also painted the phrase "WMD Murder" on the road leading into the reception centre. After finishing their painting, three of the activists sat in the road to block the entrance to the site. It is thought that all four have been arrested for malicious mischief.
The Media Reception Centre is located in Rhu, near Helesburgh, 30 miles west of Glasgow. It operates as an off-site reception centre for journalists visiting the Faslane and Coulport Naval Bases.
Sue Brackenbury, one of those arrested last night, said "The Faslane Media Reception Centre is obscuring the truth about the presence of weapons of mass destruction on the Clyde. We are doing our own media work here, to point out the fact that the British government has a stockpile of nuclear weapons with a fire power equivalent to 1000 Hiroshima bombs. For once, people will be hearing the truth about these weapons."
This action brings the number of arrests for the two week disarmament camp to 95. The camp is scheduled to end on Wednesday.
	
31st	Campaign Against Clyde Nuclear Bases To Continue
31st August 2004 
Campaign Against Clyde Nuclear Bases To Continue	

As the Trident Ploughshares camp at Coulport draws to a close anti-Trident activists have declared themselves well satisfied with the two-weeks of direct action against the Clyde WMD bases and are looking ahead to continuing and intensifying the campaign. 
In spite of intense police surveillance protesters have been able to blockade, break into and swim into Faslane and paint peace slogans on walls and buildings in order to expose the ugly nature of the business being conducted behind the security fences. Trident Ploughshares has also decided to continue its ’Non-Stop Nuke-Stop’ campaign which aims to cause disruption to Faslane and Coulport all year round through secret and unannounced blockades and intrusions.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: "It would be all wrong if these illegal bases only had to tolerate disruption for a couple of weeks in the summer or at mass actions like the Big Blockades. Those involved in this ongoing crime need to have regular reminders of how appalled ordinary people are by Trident. There is a growing understanding that these massive nuclear weapon systems are a key and integral part of the process by which powerful nations gang up together to dominate and exploit the rest of the world. If a government is amoral enough to threaten others with nuclear weapons, we should not be surprised when it deceives and defies its own people in order to pursue an illegal war in which thousands are killed or when it uses the threat of ’terrorism’ to erode civil rights."
There have been 95 arrests so far during the Trident Ploughshares camp, which ends tomorrow.
	
30th	Disruption Continues at Clyde Trident Bases
30th August 2004 
Disruption Continues at Clyde Trident Bases	

Peace activists camped at Coulport continued their disruptive action against the nearby WMD with a break-in to the Faslane base overnight. 
Sam Jones, David Heller and Jonatan Hellberg cut through the chainlink fencing at the north of the base. This allowed them to reach the inner perimeter, and David was halfway through a hole they cut in the weldmesh fence there when they were apprehended by police. They have been charged variously with malicious mischief and breaching bye-laws by being in an prohibited area. They were released from police custody early in the morning.
Sam Jones (18), is a student from Helensburgh in Scotland. David Heller (28), is based in Gent in Belgium and works with the For Mother Earth campaign. Jonatan Hellberg (23), is from Ockelbo in Sweden and is part of the OFOG peace network there.
During the Trident Ploughshares camp which began on 18th August there have so far been 8 determined attempts by activists, with varying degrees of success, to break into the Trident bases, in spite of the fact that the policing of the base has been considerably enhanced for the period of the Trident Ploughshares camp.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: "Even when the Mod police know we are camped here and have drafted in vanloads of officers from other bases they cannot stop our intrusions, disruptions and inspections. These will continue, both during and after the camp. It would be intolerable if the operation of Trident, with all its present and potential horror, were to go on unhindered."
There have been 91 arrests during the camp so far.
	
27th	Anti-Nuke Swimmers Get Into Faslane Again
27th August 2004 
Anti-Nuke Swimmers 15 metres from Trident Sub	

For the second time in five days, anti-nuclear protestors have swum into the top security berths at Faslane Nuke Base near Glasgow, and very nearly reached a Trident nuclear submarine. 
Anna Göransson, 24, was one of the swimmers who also breached security at the base on Monday morning. The others were Inge Karnvapen and Nejtill Karnvapen, also from Sweden.
All were released from police custody early this morning and face charges of breaching bye-laws by being in a prohibited area. On her release Anna said:
"When I was apprehended by the marine police I was no more than 15 metres from the Trident submarine in its berth beside the ship-lift. Because of us they set off the bandit alarm which means all work stops and for a brief time the world was a safer place. We did it to prevent genocide and the people in charge of Trident should be the ones brought to court. We wanted to draw attention to Britain’s weapons of mass destruction. WMD are insane whatever country has the power to press the button."
	
27th	Anti-Nuke Swimmers 15 metres from Trident Sub
27th August 2004 
Anti-Nuke Swimmers Get Into Faslane Again
MoD Security Breached as activists enter top security zone	

For the second time in five days, anti-nuclear protestors have swum into the top security berths at Faslane Nuke Base near Glasgow, and very nearly reached a Trident nuclear submarine. 
Anna Göransson, 24, was one of the swimmers who also breached security at the base on Monday morning. The others were Inge Karnwapen and Nejtill Karnwapen, also from Sweden. According to a source inside the base, they were apprehended by police inside the security boom, close to the "ship lift", which is used for submarine maintenance.
Also last night, Faslane was swamped with activists who broke into the base by land. At 11.30 PM, the "bandit alarm" was heard around Faslane signalling the first of the protestors had gained entry to the base through the perimeter fence. In total eight activists were arrested inside the base including the swimmers.
A Trident Ploughshares Spokesperson, David Heller, said, "Nuclear weapons are the most destructive weapons ever developed. We must make a stand against this inhumanity and protect current and future generations. The British State protects these weapons by arresting and imprisoning our activists. However, we will continue disrupting the illegal work being carried out within Faslane."
This brings the total number of arrests during this year’s Trident Ploughshares International Disarmament Camp to 88.
	
26th	Tony Told, "They are here"
26th August 2004 
Tony Told, "They are here"	

At 10pm last night, two Trident Ploughshares activists painted, "They are here, Tony" and radiation symbols on a bridge near to the North Gate at Faslane to highlight the presence of nuclear WMD in Scotland. 
Olivia Agate, a retired nurse from Yorkshire, and Morag Balfour, Disarmament Spokesperson for the SSP, were both charged with Malicious Mischief and released in the early hours of this morning.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson stated, "Britain’s Weapons of Mass Destruction are not just a potential threat to the world, but also an ongoing disaster. By illegally deploying Trident, radiation is leaked into the environment causing untold damage and creating a stockpile of nuclear waste. It is absolutely necessary for citizens like Olivia and Morag to raise the alarm."
Last night’s arrests bring the total count so far at this year’s disarmament camp to 80. At four o’clock this afternoon, Rupert Eris, a Nature Reserve Warden from Norfolk, will appear in Helensburgh District Court for non-payment of two fines relating to previous blockades of Faslane.
The Trident Ploughshares International Disarmament Camp on the Clyde will continue until 1st September.
	
26th	Community Service Results From a Real "Community Service" at Faslane
26th August 2004 
Community Service Results From a Real "Community Service" at Faslane	

Helensburgh District Court has today broken its habit of jailing non-Scottish activists for non-payment of fines relating to direct actions against Trident. An environmentalist who did not pay fines resulting from two separate blockades of Faslane Nuke Base was today instead given 30 hours of voluntary community service. 
Rupert Eris, a Nature Reserve Warden from Norfolk, told the court that he did not intend to pay his fines of £150 but that he would be happy to do community service because he considered his original actions at Faslane to be community services. After JP Dance was told she couldn’t enforce a SAO (Supervised Attendance Order) outside of Scotland, she proposed an informal arrangement by which he could send the court some evidence that he had done thirty hours of community service of some kind (other than protesting) by December 22nd.
Rupert Eris explained, "I consider my actions at Faslane to have been community services carried out to protect the environment from the ongoing destruction caused by the creation and deployment of nuclear weapons."
A Trident Ploughshares Spokesperson, Joss Garman said, "For once a Helensburgh Magistrate has thought of a more creative solution than prison for those from outside Scotland who refuse to pay Trident related fines. I hope this will not be a one-off and that this court has learned that prison is not a deterrent against those of us who are actively opposing Britain’s Weapons of Mass Destruction."
	
25th	Anti Nuke Swimmer Who Climbed on N-sub in Court
25th August 2004 
Anti Nuke Swimmer Who Climbed on N-sub in Court	

A Trident Ploughshares activist, who swam into Faslane and rang the bell on a Trident submarine in August 2002, today appeared in court. Dave Rolstone, a boat builder from Wales, was ordered to do 20 hours of supervised attendance after refusing to pay his fine. 
His action was one of the most successful actions by campaigners who have climbed in, on and around Britain’s nuclear fleet to highlight the threat that they pose.
Gillian Sloan, who swam into the base with Dave, attended court to give her support, and said, "By the time Dave and I swam into Faslane, this government had threatened Iraq with Trident three times. The hypocrisy never ceases to astound me."
Also, at Ayr Sheriff Court today, Sue Brackenbury was given 30 hours of supervised attendance for non-payment of a £400 fine relating to the blockade of a Rolls-Royce facility in Derby.
Sue explained, "Rolls-Royce are aiding and abetting a war crime by manufacturing components for Trident. By shutting them down, we put the spotlight onto this company’s dirty business dealings."
	
24th	Blockade Puts More Pressure on Local Court
24th August 2004 
Blockade Puts More Pressure on Local Court	

Following yesterday’s blockade of Faslane, which disrupted the WMD base for nearly nine hours and led to 76 arrests, the local court at Helensburgh has been attempting to deal with some of its aftermath and with cases arising from previous actions. 
Sue Brackenbury from Faslane Peace Camp and Micah Barratt from Edinburgh were each fined £150 for a five-person of blockade last October which caused a huge tailback to base worker traffic at Faslane. Justice of the Peace Viv Dance gave Micah 28 days to pay and a Supervised Attendance Order of 30 hours should he fail to pay, but she respected Sue’s determination not to do a Supervised Attendance Order. Sue is the only one of those arrested yesterday who is still in custody, having been detained to appear in Ayr Sheriff Court tomorrow to explain why she has not paid a fine for a previous Trident action.
Yesterday a number of foreign nationals arrested at the blockade were released on an undertaking to appear at court today. In an unexplained change of tack by the Procurator Fiscal, when they turned up at court they were told that this was no longer required.
Morag Balfour and Brian Brown appeared for trial, only to be told that the Crown had now accepted their not guilty pleas. The case against David Turner was dropped after the police witnesses had given particularly unimpressive testimony.
The 76 arrests have added to the extensive backlog of protest cases that this court faces. On average the court deals with these cases on two days in every week.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: "The solution for the overstretched and disorganised local criminal justice system is obvious. Drop all the Trident cases now. It is clearly not in the public interest to prosecute people for peaceful protest against weapons of mass destruction which the people of Scotland do not want."
	
23rd	Anti-Nuke Swimmers Kick Off Day of Action at Faslane
23rd August 2004 
Anti-Nuke Swimmers Kick Off Day of Action at Faslane	

Early this morning, two Scandinavian women swam into the Faslane nuclear naval base to issue a personal demand for disarmament. The demand kicks off "The Carry on up the Clyde" action day on which hundreds of people will bring massive disruption to the work carried out at Faslane. 
Tiina Sarkinen, 23, a plant scientist from Finland, and Anna Goransson, 24, a student from Sweden, swam into the base to hand in a demand for immediate disarmament.
In a statement, Tiina and Anna from Trident Ploughshares said, "Tony Blair hypocritically deploys Trident - the UK’s own WMD, whilst attacking and threatening to attack other countries because of their suggested WMD. Trident is nothing less than preparation for genocide, in blatant disregard of international law. Blair must lead by example, disarm and thereby honour his legal and moral obligations."
At 7am, Faslane nuclear base will be closed down by hundreds of blockaders who are taking part in "The Big Blockade" organised by Trident Ploughshares and Scottish CND. The purpose of the action, which is to involve 8 MSPs as well as members of the Clergy, is to highlight the hypocrisy, secrecy and illegality of Britain’s deployment of nuclear weapons in breach of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Reacting to the news of the swimmers success, Trident Ploughshares spokesperson, Adam Conway said, "The real security breach is the global proliferation of nuclear weapons. If we want to be safe, we must stop Trident."
This is just the latest in a series of swimming actions by Trident Ploughshares who have in the past climbed on, in and around the nuclear submarines both at Faslane, and at Devonport in Plymouth.
This action is part of the Trident Ploughshares International Disarmament Camp which is underway until 1st September and involves people from countries including the US, Australia, Finland, Sweden, Belgium, Spain and Germany.
	
23rd	All Gates Blocked at British Nuke Base
23rd August 2004 
All Gates Blocked at British Nuke Base	

This morning there are long tailbacks of worker traffic at Faslane on the Clyde as peace activists continue to block the entrances to the Trident nuclear weapon base. 
The blockade began around 6.30 a.m. as a group of campaigners locked themselves to each other at the main gate of the base. At the time writing (8.30 a.m.) all five gates are blocked. A large banner reading "Nuclear Free Scotland" is being held above the main gate by two climbers who have scaled lamp-posts. So far there have been 18 arrests.

Overnight two Scandinavian activists, Tiina Sarkinen, 23, a plant scientist from Finland, and Anna Goransson, 24, a student from Sweden, swam into the high security berths where the Trident submarines are berthed and got 200 metres inside the boom before being apprehended. Early this morning Petter Joelson (27), from Goteborg in Sweden, and Per Hilkrstrom (22), from Nosrkoping in Sweden breached security at the Trident nuclear warhead store at Coulport on Loch Long, five miles from Faslane.
A particular feature of this morning’s protest is the presence of around 12 members of the Scottish Parliament, one of whom, Mark Ballard, is locked on to other protesters at the main gate. Many other parliamentarians have sent their messages of support, including Westminster MP Alan Simpson who said: "Today’s demonstration is the genuine anti-terrorist movement. Rogue states (and rogue super states) break international weapons treaties to develop new weapons of mass destruction. In turn, this creates rogue movements that develop weapons of mass panic. To break the cycle we have to assert the right to live without nuclear weapons and to oppose those who do so by stealth or power. This is why the movement you are a part of is so important. I am proud to be associated with you."

23rd	70 Arrests as Peace Activists Block British WMD Site
23rd August 2004 
70 Arrests as Peace Activists Block British WMD Site	

70 people, including four members of the Scottish Parliament, have been arrested during the blockade of Faslane naval base on the Clyde. 

From 6.30 this morning there were long tailbacks of worker traffic as the protesters besieged the gates of the base, sitting down in the roadway and locking on to each other. Two climbers scaled lamp-posts and hung across the main gate of the base a large banner reading "Nuclear Free Scotland". The base was disrupted for almost nine hours as gates cleared by police were blocked again by activists.
The MSPs arrested are Mark Ballard, Francis Curran, Rosie Kane and Patrick Harvie. Along with the others they are likely to be released from police custody this evening.
The blockade has now been closed with a formal ceremony but further actions against the base may be taken during the rest of the day.
Overnight two Scandinavian activists, Tiina Sarkinen, 23, a plant scientist from Finland, and Anna Goransson, 24, a student from Sweden, swam into the high security berths where the Trident submarines are berthed and got 200 metres inside the boom before being apprehended. Early this morning Petter Joelson (27), from Goteborg in Sweden, and Per Hilkrstrom (22), from Nosrkoping in Sweden breached security at the Trident nuclear warhead store at Coulport on Loch Long, five miles from Faslane.
A Big Blockade spokesperson said: "We are delighted that so many people have been willing today to take a stand against Britain’s weapons of mass destruction."
The Trident Ploughshares camp at Coulport continues until 1st September, with the prospect of further direct action against the Trident bases.
	
18th	Campaigner Jailed as Activists Prepare for Faslane Blockade
18th August 2004 
Campaigner Jailed as Activists Prepare for Faslane Blockade	

As hundreds of people, including eight members of the Scottish Parliament, get ready to protest at Faslane on Monday, a peace campaigner has been jailed for refusing to pay a fine imposed for taking part in a previous blockade. 
David Heller (29), from Gent in Belgium, was sentenced to seven days at Dumbarton Sheriff Court. He told the sheriff that while the UK deployed illegal and immoral nuclear weapons he would not pay a £50 fine for an alleged breach of the peace at the blockade of Faslane in February 2002. It is not yet known which prison he has been sent to.
The aim of Monday’s blockade, which begins at 7 a.m., is to cause as much peaceful disruption as possible to the WMD site. This will be mainly achieved by people sitting and lying in the gateways to the base to stop worker traffic getting in, though other types of disruptive activity are also possible, including cutting through the security fencing.
The blockade, organised jointly by Scottish CND and Trident Ploughshares, will have an international character, with people coming from Finland, Sweden and Belgium, as well as from all over the UK. A number of members of the Scottish Parliament will attend, including Linda Fabiani, Robin Harper, Frances Curran, Patrick Harvie and Eleanor Scott, Mark Ruskell, Rosie Kane and Marilyn Glen, some of whom are likely to risk arrest. A group of Scottish clergy will hold a communion service at the north gate of the base at 9.30 a.m.
The recent series of blockades at Faslane, which have caused considerable disruption to the base and have led to nearly 1200 arrests, are well known for their peaceful, good-humoured and carnival atmosphere. The Blockade takes place during the Trident Ploughshares disarmament camp at Coulport which runs from 18th August to 1st September
	
9th	Security Breach at Faslane Trident Base Highlights UK Government Hypocrisy
9th August 2004 
Security Breach at Faslane Trident Base Highlights UK Government Hypocrisy	

At 12.30 am, three peace activists entered the high security Faslane Naval Base on the Clyde and remained inside the base for over 2 hours. On the anniversary of the US bombing of Nagasaki, the two women and one man highlighted the continuing and illegal development of the UK’s own weapons of mass destruction. 
The activists stated that "the global proliferation of nuclear weapons makes the world a more dangerous place and is terrorism on a global scale."
The three, as part of Trident Ploughshares, cut into the high security base, through an outer perimeter fence and through a second weld mesh fence. The bandit alarm was triggered closing all gates to the base for approximately 2 hours, and consequently causing a queue of traffic at the main gate for this time. Two activists headed inside a high security area, before being detected by MOD police. They remained situated between the fence and the razor wire until after 2.30am when the MOD finally cut a hole through the weld mesh to reach the activists who were then arrested.
In a joint statement the three stated: "We have chosen the anniversary of the destruction of the Japanese city of Nagasaki by the atomic bomb, on 9th August 1945, to take action to highlight the British Government’s own weapons of mass destruction , present at Faslane.
As concerned and responsible citizens we are appalled by the hypocrisy of our government, which claims to be committed to disarmament under the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT), yet shows no signs of fitting actions to words."
Earlier this summer the US and UK governments were accused by the British American Security Information Council (BASIC), of conspiring to break the international agreement to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. BASIC, along with another nuclear think tank, the Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy in London, have detailed evidence of a large scale collaboration by the two countries to develop their nuclear arsenals, an activity that the NPT is specifically designed to prevent. The horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki must never be allowed to happen again, yet the US and UK governments are doing nothing to lessen that risk."
Peace slogans were also painted on buildings within the area. A picture of the destruction of Nagasaki was hung within the base. All three, Jean from Biggar, Micah from Edinburgh and Roz also from Edinburgh, were arrested for Breaching MOD Byelaws, and one for two sets of malicious damage. They were released later in the morning.
On August 23rd, many activists from the UK and abroad will be protesting, blockading and taking action at Faslane for ’Carry on up the Clyde’. Meanwhile there promises to be many more actions at bases on the Clyde during the two week Trident Ploughshares Disarmament Camp which begins on August 18th.
	
6th	Two Weeks in Jail for Leuchars Protester
6th August 2004 
Two Weeks in Jail for Leuchars Protester	

Swedish peace activist Petter Joelson was today sent to prison for fourteen days by a Glasgow sheriff for refusing to pay a compensation order of £400 imposed on him for cutting into Leuchars airbase in Scotland last March and painting anti-war messages there. 
Just ten days before attacks by "Coalition" forces began, Petter (24), along with Roz from Edinburgh, painted the messages on signs and vehicles at the Fife base, which is home to Tornado aircraft which had been involved in attacks in Iraq. The aim was to draw attention to an illegal war and the threat to innocent civilians. It is estimated that up to 40000 people have so far died in the conflict.
Following his appearance at the Sheriff Court Petter was taken to the city’s District Court to deal with another unpaid fine, this time for blockading the Trident nuclear weapons base at Faslane. Glasgow District Court is currently part of a pilot exercise in which offenders with minor fines cannot be sent to prison for default, but instead are given Supervised Attendance Orders. Petter told the magistrate that this disposal was inappropriate and the magistrate gave him more time to pay.
Petter handed himself in to a Glasgow police station last night. The timing was deliberately chosen to coincide with the commemorations today of the dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima, in which people all over the world will remember the horror of that day and reflect on the fact that the mentality which perpetrated the incineration of thousands of innocent people is still alive and well in Washington and Whitehall, and in the other nuclear weapon states.
It is likely that Petter is in Barlinnie Prison HMP Barlinnie , Lee Avenue Glasgow G33 2QX.
Update:Petter is now at HMP Low Moss, Crosshill Road, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow.
	
4th	Action at Lockheed Martin
4th August 2004 
Action at Lockheed Martin	

On Wednesday 4th August around lunch time eight members of the Muriel Lester’s affinity group decided to draw the attention of people travelling nearby and residents to the UK headquarters of US company Lockheed Martin in Victoria, London. 
We particularly focused on their leading part in developing a new generation of nuclear weapons at Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston. The large red arrow with the words "Lockheed Bomb Makers" pointing from the busy Vauxhall Bridge Road to the relatively modest appearing offices in Carlisle Place did its work well. Many people took leaflets and several were seen reading them. Some engaged in lively discussion.

One angry man accused us of creating a terrorist target. He worked in the same building but said not for Lockheed Martin. He said that if there were an almighty explosion there in a few weeks time he would blame us. It was the week the US had issued warnings of likely terrorist attacks in the US, British Police had arrested 13 people on suspicion of terrorism and it was announced the Home Office is planning even tighter terrorism laws. He was not willing to hear us pointing out that Lockheed Martin was creating a terrorist target and also creating the means of terrorizing people by developing more "useable" nuclear weapons.
Despite several visits by community support police we were neither warned nor arrested. We were apparently not regarded as a potential terrorist threat.
	
2nd	Fourteen days of disruption at Clyde WMD bases from 18th August
2nd August 2004 
Fourteen days of disruption at Clyde WMD bases from 18th August	

On 18th August Trident Ploughshares activists will set up camp at Coulport on Loch Long, Scotland, for 14 days of direct action against the Trident warhead store close by and against Faslane, the base for Britain’s WMD submarines. 
Activists will seek to disrupt what they see as the illegal activities of the bases by blockades of the entrances, by cutting through perimeter fences, by swimming into the docks where the Trident submarines are berthed, and by other creative actions.
A highlight of the fortnight will be Monday 23rd August when hundreds, including church ministers, members of the Scottish Parliament, and activists from as far afield as Finland, are expected at the Big Blockade of Faslane, beginning at 7 a.m.
David Mackenzie said:
"The Trident business that goes on at Faslane and Coulport is not normal or legitimate. Each Trident warhead is 8 times as powerful as the bomb dropped on Hiroshima 59 years ago and this government repeatedly threatened to use these WMDs during the Iraq war. Trident is about planning to commit mass murder. It is nothing less than an outrage. We have to break through the tolerance and complacency with which this monstrosity in our midst is treated."
Journalists are welcome to drop in at the photogenic woodland campsite just south of Coulport and may even negotiate an extended visit.
	
2nd	Security vow after protester is fined
2nd August 2004 
News Story
Security vow after protester is fined	

ABSOLUTE SECURITY of the RAF Leuchars perimeter fence is "almost impossible" but breaches during an Iraq war protest have been studied and lessons acted upon. 
That assurance was given by an RAF Leuchars spokesman last night as a wheelchair-bound peace campaigner, who caused damage at the base during a protest last year, told how "amazingly and scarily easy" it had been for her to break into the Fife base and remain undiscovered for around two hours.
Bullen ... told The Courier it had been "quite simple" for her and another war protester to cut through wire fencing and remain undetected as they spray-painted slogans on a hangar door.
Yesterday, however, Bullen failed in her bid to make Scottish legal history as Cupar Sheriff George Evans said that while her case was "emotive", this was not a defence in Scots law and found her guilty of causing damage at the RAF Leuchars base. He admonished her on the charges and ordered her to pay a £400 compensation order to Leuchars.
Bullen, who has previously been convicted of breaking into the naval base at Faslane, denied that on March 10 last year at RAF Leuchars, she maliciously damaged a wire mesh perimeter fence, cutting it in five places. She further denied that within RAF Leuchars she maliciously damaged three buildings and three vehicles by spray- painting slogans on them.
The case was first called around 15 months ago but, while a co-accused who pled guilty had his case concluded in May last year, Bullen’s case had been continued for various reasons.
Yesterday morning, after eleventh-hour discussions, Bullen’s legal counsel withdrew after making it clear to her that they did not think she had a chance of winning.
Bullen stood her ground, however, and in the afternoon, Sheriff Evans agreed, without opposition from the Crown, to let her state her "special defence."
Reading from a prepared statement, she said her actions had to be put in the context of the time and had been a "last resort".
She stressed that her actions had not been carried out lightly, but she believed them to be reasonable, proportionate and morally right on March 10 last year when it was thought the Iraq war would start the next day. In fact hostilities began around 10 days later.
She said she and a co-accused, ’professional peace worker’ Petter Joelson, of Glasgow, were aware that Leuchars Tornados were to be a major player in the Iraq war.
She was also aware, she said, that Leuchars Tornados had been involved in patrolling the Iraqi southern no-fly zone, and she argued that destruction of Iraqi infrastructure during that period, and the imposition of trade sanctions, would make the impact of war even greater on ordinary Iraqi people.
She argued that the forthcoming war led by the USA and UK was illegal due to the absence of a second UN resolution.
She had exhausted all other routes by participating in anti-war protests and writing to MPs, but this had been a "last resort". Her actions had been "wilful, but not malicious", she argued.
Sheriff George Evans told the accused that whether she was right or wrong, she clearly had a genuine belief that what she was doing at the time was correct. However sincerely she held these views, however, she was not legally entitled to cause deliberate damage to property and her argument that she had committed the offence "out of necessity" did not stand under Scots law.
Referring to cases elsewhere, the sheriff said it would not be supported by the high court. He was "completely and utterly bound" by this and therefore found her guilty.
He added, "Obviously, what you have said was very emotive and there was mitigation but there is no legal alternative to finding you guilty."
Presenting a set of previous convictions, fiscal Edward Russell said damage to the Leuchars fence had been £1200, although there was no valuation of cost to vehicles.
Sheriff Evans ruled that the admonishment and £400 compensation should be the same as her accomplice, Petter Joelson, who appeared last year.
Last night, a spokesman for RAF Leuchars said as with all security incidents there had been an investigation and lessons about base security had been learned.
By Michael Alexander. ©All copyright D C Thomson & Co Ltd., 2004

	

	

	

	

	

	
July
28th 	Fife Peace Activist Acquitted After Court ’Farce’
28th July 2004 
Fife Peace Activist Acquitted After Court ’Farce’	

A ’catalogue of procedural errors’ resulted in an anti-nuclear protester being cleared of breach of the peace at Helensburgh District Court on Tuesday. Jim Balfour (32), a student mental health nurse from Glenrothes in Fife had been charged after lying in the road outside Faslane nuclear submarine base in December last year. 
Justice of the Peace, Viv Dance, was forced to acquit Mr Balfour after it was revealed that he had not been warned or cautioned before being taken into custody, nor had he been allowed an opportunity to receive clarification of the charge.
The Scottish Socialist Party activist was scathing in his criticism of the process leading up to his trial:
"This case has been a farce from start to finish," said Mr Balfour afterwards. "The suggestion that a peaceful protest against weapons of mass destruction would cause any reasonable person alarm is laughable. But if the police feel they must unnecessarily arrest non-violent activists, they should at least follow proper procedures."
To make matters worse for the beleaguered Procurator Fiscal, neither of the police witnesses called by the Crown had been the arresting officers. Unrepentant afterwards, Mr Balfour vowed to return to Faslane to continue the ongoing campaign.
"This catalogue of procedural errors demonstrates the impact that a concerted campaign of peaceful disobedience against injustice can have. Britain’s Trident nuclear weapons remain illegal, so we will be back at Faslane before long."
	
28th	Pitstop Ploughshares: Still Waiting for Justice
28th July 2004 
Pitstop Ploughshares: Still Waiting for Justice	

The five ’Pitstop Ploughshares’ were once again in court in Dublin on Monday. They were once again hoping to set a trial date, however once again this did not occur. The defendants decided to allow the prosecution to try and complete it’s job of giving the defence disclosure of evidence, and also to allow Ciaron his request to go back to Oz to see his parents.
The five will be back in court in Dublin on October the 11th 2004 when hopefully the trial date will be set. It looks like it may be a 2005 trial now.
Justice of the Peace, Viv Dance, was forced to acquit Mr Balfour after it was revealed that he had not been warned or cautioned before being taken into custody, nor had he been allowed an opportunity to receive clarification of the charge.
The Scottish Socialist Party activist was scathing in his criticism of the process leading up to his trial:
"This case has been a farce from start to finish," said Mr Balfour afterwards. "The suggestion that a peaceful protest against weapons of mass destruction would cause any reasonable person alarm is laughable. But if the police feel they must unnecessarily arrest non-violent activists, they should at least follow proper procedures."
To make matters worse for the beleaguered Procurator Fiscal, neither of the police witnesses called by the Crown had been the arresting officers. Unrepentant afterwards, Mr Balfour vowed to return to Faslane to continue the ongoing campaign.
"This catalogue of procedural errors demonstrates the impact that a concerted campaign of peaceful disobedience against injustice can have. Britain’s Trident nuclear weapons remain illegal, so we will be back at Faslane before long."
	
21st	Fairford: Mention of Iraq War "Not necessary"
21st July 2004 
Fairford: Mention of Iraq War "Not necessary"	

At the end of June, the Court of Appeal heard pre-trial submissions from both Crown and defence lawyers in the cases of the five peace activists who undertook to damage US-owned military hardware at the air base at Fairford, Gloucestershire, in the weeks before the Iraq war. Paul Milling and Margaret Jones disabled support vehicles used to supply bombs and fuel to B-52 bombers. In two further separate incidents, Philip Pritchard and Toby Olditch, and Josh Richards, were arrested while on their way to disable a plane. 
The main point at issue: the defendants’ right to argue that they carried out their actions to resist an illegal war.
This morning the Appeal Court judges hearing the appeal - Lord Justice Latham, Mr. Justice Gibbs and Judge Richard Brown - ruled it is "not necessary" to consider the legality of the war in Iraq, for the accused to have a defence in law. There is no need, the judges say, even to debate whether an English court has the right to rule on government policy in the case. The judges find no "established rule" which defines the international crime of aggression by a government as being also a crime in English law. So the accused are unable to claim "preventing the crime of aggression" as the basis of their defence.
At trial, the defendants will still be able to rely on the defence of "lawful excuse." They will be able to argue from the Criminal Damage Act of 1971 that, in damaging support vehicles for B-52 bombers, or in breaking into Fairford air base to try and disable a plane, they were defending a "property, right or interest," that they honestly believed was in need of protection.
Since this defence under the Criminal Damage Act does not specify whether the action a defendant seeks to prevent must be something illegal, the Appeal Court judges again found it possible to avoid considering the possible unlawfulness of the Iraq war.
Three weeks ago, at the start of the hearing that led to today’s ruling, a four-page witness statement was submitted to the Appeal Court by Sir Michael Jay, head of the Diplomatic Service. In the statement, Sir Michael said he had been instructed by the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, to warn that for a UK court to express any opinion on the legality of the Iraq war would have negative effects on UK foreign relations. Any such ruling would, Sir Michael wrote, "provide encouragement" to terrorists, "weaken the Government’s hand in its negotiations with other states," and "tend to undermine the new Iraqi Interim Government."
In view of this warning from the highest levels of government, today’s Court of Appeal judgement comes as no surprise. Defendants will now discuss with their lawyers whether they have grounds to for a further appeal, to the House of Lords.
In the Court of Appeal hearing, Paul Milling and Margaret Jones were represented by James Lewis QC, and Josh Richards by Keir Starmer QC. Professor Vaughan Lowe represented Philip Pritchard and Toby Olditch.
	
12th	Anti Nuclear Oratorio Premieres In Parliament Hall
12th July 2004 
Anti Nuclear Oratorio Premieres In Parliament Hall	

Today a new oratorio, "Trident: A British War Crime", was given a special premiere in Parliament Hall, Edinburgh, for the benefit of the Scottish High Court Judges, Advocates and Lawyers. 

Members of Trident Ploughshares in Parliament Hall
(JPEG, 75 kb)	

Performed by 17 non-violent peace activists from Trident Ploughshares this new oratorio highlights the hypocrisy of "justice" around Trident, Britain’s nuclear weapons system. Peace protestors are branded criminals for taking action against these illegal weapons of mass destruction, while Trident itself continues to be maintained, sucking resources away from other vital public services.
The oratorio was specially written by Camilla Cancantata, an improvising musician and composer based in London. "I wanted to challenge the idea that art and politics are separate. Bringing music to these oft-repeated words reveals their true meanings and will, hopefully, bring the message home to the Scottish judiciary that Trident is a crime."

Second performance outside Parliament House
(JPEG, 26.7 kb)	

The singers were resurrecting the 19th century tradition of music making in Parliament Hall. Shortly after the performance started security at the Hall became agitated and seemed insistent on halting the performance. Several advocates and lawyers, and even a judge, stopped to listen to the oratorio and commented on how much they enjoyed such an innovative way of making a point - although few were so eager to pledge their support for the message being conveyed.
This performance will be the first of many, with plans to take the oratorio to USAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, where US nuclear weapons are stored, to a tribunal considering the legality of nuclear war plans in London, and possibly even to the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in New York next year. The next Scottish performance will be on August 23rd and form part of "Carry-on up the Clyde", an action to disrupt business at all the Trident related sites on the Clyde.
Trident Ploughshares Reinstates an Old Tradition in Parliament House With a Performance of an Oratorio
Trident - A British War Crime
Parliament House was built in the 1630’s at the request of King Charles I, to provide accommodation for the Scottish Parliament, Court of Session and the Privy Council. Nowadays it is used as a meeting place for lawyers and their clients and is part of a complex of buildings used by the Scottish Judiciary, including the High Court of Justiciary. With its parliamentary and law court connections, Trident Ploughshares felt it was an ideal place to sing their message to the lawyers and judges of the Scottish Judiciary and to remind them of Nuremberg.
In 1815, 1819 and 1824, Parliament Hall was the scene of a series of musical festivals, with choral works being favourites. Trident Ploughshares are thus reinstating a long-lost musical tradition, and hope that the event will be taken in good spirit. The performance will only take 20 minutes - unless we are asked for an encore.
The performers are all peaceful, responsible citizens who are passionately concerned about the integrity of the Scottish legal system. Many of them are Trident Ploughshares Pledgers and have been before the Scottish courts in connection with their acts to prevent the UK Government from threatening mass destruction with the nuclear weapons on the Trident System.
They believe that the independence of a just and wise judiciary is essential in any democratic nation and is a necessary check to the power of the Executive. This is why they are so concerned at the way in which the Scottish courts are dealing with the protests around Trident. They believe that the judges are failing to control the excesses of the UK Government in its pursuit of narrowly defined national interests that are actually against the interests of humanity as a whole. They would like to remind the High Court of Justiciary that the essence of the law is to protect the innocent from wrongdoing. They believe that there is no greater crime than to threaten mass destruction whilst leaving all the underlying causes of conflict unresolved.
Trident Ploughshares hope that the power of this specially written choral music may help reach into the soul of the Courts of Scotland and inspire all who are in them to do all they can within the law to help rid the UK of all weapons of mass destruction. On future occasions when asked to judge on the rights and wrongs of civil resistance against Trident and war-mongering. We hope the courts will remember the music and judge for the benefit of humankind as a whole.
The Message the Scottish High Court Needs to Hear
Today’s performance of the oratorio, "Trident - A British War Crime", in the Parliament Hall at the heart of the Scottish High Court has a very serious purpose. Judges in this court have repeatedly failed to take seriously the fact that this country is committing a serious crime by threatening the survival of millions with its weapons of mass destruction.
The most obvious example of this failure is the Lord Advocates Reference of 2000 on the trial of the Trident Three, who were acquitted by Sheriff Gimblitt after disarming the Trident research barge Maytime. In nine days of hearings the panel of three judges, Lords Prosser, Penrose and Kirkwood were given a mass of evidence about Trident - its capabilities and effects and the fact that it is threateningly deployed - along with an exposition of the relevant principles of International Humanitarian Law.
In spite of this their Lordships issued an Opinion which completely let down all who had hoped that our judiciary would have the courage and independence to rule that the British State must obey the law. They failed to answer the basic question: how could a 100 kiloton warhead ever be used against a military target without unlawfully affecting protected citizens?
Meanwhile the lower courts continue, on a weekly basis, to prosecute ordinary individuals who do take a principled stand on nuclear weapons and the High Court backs them up on this.
Ordinary people believe that the senior judges in Scotland, who have the power to act to uphold the law, are failing to control the excesses of the UK Government in its pursuit of narrowly defined national interests. Let us remember that the essence of the law is to protect the innocent from wrongdoing.
The message is one that the legal establishment must hear. This is why we are here today. We are committed to non-violent direct action against Britain’s nuclear weapons. Though our focus is on Britain, we are an international campaign, reflecting the world-wide frustration with nuclear weapon states, like Britain, which refuse to disarm.
Hall rings to chorus of nuclear protest
Raymond Duncan, July 13 2004, The Herald.
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/19849.html
THE heart of Scotland’s law courts has never seen, or heard, anything like it.
Parliament Hall, in Edinburgh, where advocates and solicitors confer, was invaded yesterday by protesters who formed a choir to perform a specially-commissioned anti-nuclear oratorio.
The move by 17 members of Trident Ploughshares, a campaign to rid Britain of nuclear weapons, caught visibly unimpressed security staff at Parliament House off their guard with their rendition of Trident: A British War Crime.
In an incident which one legal figure described as "an unwarranted invasion of privacy", the demonstrators, dressed in black, spent almost 30 minutes in the hall, home of the first Scottish Parliament.
A Scottish Court Service spokeswoman said later: "Today’s incident did not cause any disruption to court business."
Trident Ploughshares, whose members had taken up discreet positions within Parliament House before converging on the hall at 10am, said the performance, applauded at the end by some onlooking advocates, had been staged because judges had repeatedly failed to take seriously Britain’s weapons of mass destruction.
Jane Tallents, 45, of Helensburgh, a veteran of protests at Faslane, said the action had been in protest at the treatment of anti-nuclear activists who are regularly prosecuted in the courts.
"We had invited Scotland’s judges to a premiere of the work at St Augustine’s Church, in Edinburgh. They didn’t come, so we have come to them," she said.
Protesters in note of disapproval
BBC News, 12th July 2004.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/3887595.stm
Anti-nuclear campaigners have staged an informal concert at the Court of Session in Edinburgh to protest against repeated legal rulings against them.
The 16 Trident Ploughshares campaigners sang a collection of anti-war songs specially written for the event. They invited judges to listen to them in Parliament Hall but none did.
Earlier this year, five judges at the appeal court refused to quash breach of the peace convictions against Ploughshares campaigners.
Lawyers, court clerks and members of the public clapped loudly following the 14 anti-war songs.
But security guards were less impressed and complained at having been taken by surprise when the activists suddenly gathered together inside the hall and started singing at 1000 BST.
At the end the campaigners filed outside and delivered an impromptu concert in Parliament Square, to the amusement of passing tourists.
Veteran campaigner Jane Tallents, originally from Sheffield, said the action was part of an ongoing campaign against Britain’s Trident nuclear weapons system, which is based at the Faslane naval base on the Clyde.
She said the aim was to highlight the need for an "just and wise" judiciary to condemn the hoarding of massive nuclear weapons by the British Government.
And she said the action was in protest over the treatment of anti-nuclear activists who are regularly prosecuted in the courts.
She said: "Every time this is put to the judges they just duck and we were trying to find a creative and peaceful way to express our frustration.
"Let us remember that the essence of the law is to protect the innocent from wrong-doing.
"The protesters believe that there is no greater crime than to threaten mass destruction whilst leaving all the underlying causes of conflict unresolved."
In May five top judges at the Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh refused to quash breach of the peace convictions for three protesters, including Ms Tallents, who now lives in Helensburgh.
The activists were found guilty of the public order offence during protests at the Scottish Parliament and the Faslane base between 1999 and 2002 and the judges ruled that their convictions should be upheld.
"The protesters believe that there is no greater crime than to threaten mass destruction whilst leaving all the underlying causes of conflict unresolved." - Jane Tallents.
	
7th	Activists break into Aldermaston WMD factory
7th July 2004 
Activists break into Aldermaston WMD factory	

This morning two Trident Ploughshares activists are in police custody after entering the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston in Berkshire, where the main components for British nuclear weapons are manufactured. 
Andrew Gray, from Newcastle, and Sue Brackenbury, from Faslane Peace Camp in Scotland, cut their way through the perimeter fence and spray-painted peace messages on a cluster of buildings just inside the main gate of the site. The slogans included "Disarm Now" and "No Convoys", a reference to the transportation by road of Trident nuclear warheads from Aldermaston and Burghfield to Coulport in Scotland.

Andrew said: "My reason for this action is to draw attention to the ongoing breach of international law that the Trident nuclear weapon system represents and to highlight the intention of the government to develop new illegal weaponry with the laser facility which will be built here."

Sue said: "The nuclear weapon convoys that take these weapons to Scotland pose great dangers for people all along the route. They pass through small villages and go very close to schools."

The action is part of the Trident Ploughshares (TP) disarmament camp at Aldermaston which continues until Friday. TP is an open and nonviolent campaign to disarm Britain’s illegal weapons of mass destruction. TP members have taken a pledge as responsible citizens to do what they can to disarm Trident. There have been spectacular actions like the raid on HMS Vengeance in 1999 when Rosie and Rachel damaged radar equipment on the sub and delayed it for a month and when the Trident Three emptied a Trident research barge of all its computers in June of the same year, as well as mass blockades at the Faslane base and lots of smaller actions by TP groups. There have been over 2000 arrests and TP people have spent over 2000 days in prisons across the UK.

	

June
28th 	First Performance for WMD Oratorio
28th June 2004 
First Performance for WMD Oratorio	

On Sunday 11th July an intriguing link will be made between the world of music and the realm of law, protest and disarmament with the first performance of Camilla Cancantata’s oratorio "Trident a British War Crime." 
The stimulus for the progressive 20-minute piece is on the one hand the reality of Trident as an actively deployed and threatening weapon of genocidal scale and on the other the failure of the Scottish criminal justice system, especially the Scottish High Court, to address this ongoing state crime.
A particular issue is the way the High Court undermined the judgment of Sheriff Margaret Gimblett who in 1999 acquitted the Trident Three of criminal damage to the Trident research barge "Maytime", on the grounds that their actions were justified under international law. In giving its judgment on the Lord Advocate’s Reference dealing with the case, the High Court claimed that the UK government was not breaking the law by deploying Trident. The High Court has also heard many appeals by anti-Trident activists against convictions, heavy fines, and imprisonment.
Trident Three member Angie Zelter said: "The Scottish High Court has been given many opportunities to rule on the side of peace and justice and against the Government and will continue to hear cases where they could, if they wished, use their wisdom and knowledge of the law to judge according to the basic human right to life. They could help stop the UK’s preparations for mass murder."
Camilla Cancantata is a London based composer, improviser and multi-instrumentalist. She specialises in working for and with children, young people and women, as in community-based workshops or in her environmental opera Soya Susie and the Gene Dictators (1999). There is also a very strong international interest in her work, with workshop programmes and tours in Japan, Mexico, Guatemala and Palestine. She said: "This Oratorio has been written to appeal directly to the Scottish High court judges. We offer it to all the Judges and Lawyers of Scotland in remembrance of the fundamental message of Nuremberg that everyone, whatever their formal roles, has to take responsibility for challenging war crimes."
The Oratorio will have its first performance at 2.30 pm on Sunday 11th July 2004, in St Augustine’s United Church, George IVth Bridge, Edinburgh. The performance will be followed by discussion of its major themes, international law and weapons of mass destruction, and of the connections between politics and the arts. All are welcome. Seats are free

28th	Peaceful "re-offending" to the fore as Faslane blockade looms
28th June 2004 
Peaceful "re-offending" to the fore as Faslane blockade looms	

Anti-Trident protesters undeterred by convictions for peaceful action at Faslane will gather at the nuclear weapon submarine base on August 23rd, bent on causing further disruption. 
The Scottish and UK presence there will be strengthened by protesters from Scandinavia, Belgium and Germany. The event, known as "Carry On Up The Clyde" - The Big Blockade 2004, will mainly involve a blockade of the gates of Faslane, but other disruptive activities are likely, such as cutting through the fences, or getting into the base in other ways. It is also likely that action will be taken against the Trident warhead depot at nearby Coulport. The blockade co-incides with the Trident Ploughshares disarmament camp at Coulport, which runs from 18th August to 1st September.
Among those determined to return in August is Kate Joester, who was fined £120 in Helensburgh today for taking part in the blockade of the base last April. As she left the court the 27 year-old Green Party Activist from Edinburgh said: "Being taken to court and fined will not inhibit me in the slightest from coming along in August with my friends and helping to block the Faslane gates. Nothing has changed it is still up to me to do what I can to protest peacefully against Trident."
As well as previous "offenders" who form the unending stream of Trident cases at the local courts organisers are confident that there will be many new people willing to take part in Carry On Up The Clyde.
	
24th	Wheelchair User Breaks Into Nuke Base
24th June 2004 
Wheelchair User Breaks Into Nuke Base	

Last night anti-Trident protesters again exposed serious flaws in security at the Faslane as three activists, one in a wheelchair, broke into the high security nuclear weapon base. 
The three, Roz Bullen from Edinburgh, Morag Forbes and Sue Brackenbury, both from Faslane Peace Camp, entered the base at the north end, cutting a hole in the perimeter fence large enough to admit the wheelchair, made their way without interruption to the inner fence, and were in the process of cutting their way through that when they were detained. They also painted peace slogans, such as “No WMD” on buildings inside the base.
Roz, who relies totally on her wheelchair for mobility, has been charged with causing £200 worth of damage to the outer fence and £600 damage to the inner one. Sue and Morag were charged with causing £200 worth of damage to the outer fence and £600 damage to the buildings. Sue also has physical disabilities and hearing impairments.
The trio, who were released from custody this morning, were delighted with the progress they had made in again exposing poor security at the base and in highlighting UK hypocrisy over weapons of mass destruction.
	
23rd	Weapons Inspectors Detained at British Nuke Base
23rd June 2004 
Weapons Inspectors Detained at British Nuke Base	

Yesterday morning three Trident Ploughshares activists were arrested at RNAD Coulport as they carried out a citizens’ weapons inspection of the Loch Long nuclear weapons depot. 
Morag Balfour (31), from Glenrothes, Jane Smith (49), from Granton-on-Spey and David Mackenzie (59), from Tillicoultry, made their way through an outer security barrier and reached the secondary entrance to the base, known as the “construction gate”, which is used by nuclear weapon convoys bringing Trident warheads to and from Coulport. No security personnel were in view and the trio set about cutting their way through the fence beside the double gateway, watched by intrigued maintenance workers. Good progress was made before police arrived.
The three were held at Faslane naval base and charged with malicious mischief before being released.
David Mackenzie said: “Every UK citizen ought to be a weapons inspector. For one thing, it is easier to do in the UK since you know that Britain’s WMD is factual rather than mythical. Also, finding the labs, the storage and the delivery system is simple just follow the signs. But Trident is psychologically hidden, partly because for many people it is too big a concept to take on and something they feel they can do nothing about. So it is really important that people go and see for themselves the arrangements that are in hand to commit mass murder in their name.”
At Helensburgh District Court yesterday the routine of punishing anti-Trident protesters continued. Sue Brackenbury from Falsane Peace camp was fined £40 for breaching by-laws by being inside a prohibited area at Faslane while Roz Bullen from Edinburgh, Graham Kayes and Morag Forbes, both from Faslane Peace Camp were fined £120 each for a blockade of Faslane.
	
18th	Fairford Five go to the Court of Appeal
18th June 2004 
Fairford 5 Press Briefing
Fairford Five go to the Court of Appeal	

On Tuesday June 29th the Court of Appeal will begin hearing appeals from both Crown and defence lawyers in the cases of the "Fairford Five" - peace activists who undertook to damage US-owned military hardware at the air base at Fairford, Gloucestershire, in the weeks before the 2003 war on Iraq. 
The three cases - of Paul Milling and Margaret Jones, Philip Pritchard and Toby Olditch, and Josh Richards - will be tried separately, but have been joined for the purpose of pre-trial hearings. All five accused have consistently offered a similar defence - that they carried out their actions to resist what they believe to have been an illegal war.
High Court judge Mr. Justice Grigson, ruled in May on the defence arguments available to the defendants at trial. He granted the accused the right to claim they had a "lawful excuse" for their actions - provided they spoke only about whether crimes were committed in the way the war was conducted, and not about the legality of the war itself. The Crown will appeal against the decision.
What could not be permitted, Mr. Grigson declared after the pre-trial hearing at Bristol Crown Court, was any discussion of whether the act of launching the war against Iraq was in itself illegal, regardless of the way in which the war was fought. The basic principle of a British government’s decision to go to war, the judge ruled, is a matter of "Crown Prerogative"- something a British domestic court cannot be allowed to decide. According to barrister Hugo Charlton, who is representing one of the defendants, any such ruling sets the British government above the law. It allows the government, in Charlton’s words, "a James Bond licence to kill." Lawyers for all three groups of defendants are appealing against this "non-justiciability" ruling .
In the Court of Appeal next week, Milling and Jones will be represented by James Lewis QC, and Josh Richards by Keir Starmer. A third QC, Anthony Jennings, will represent Pritchard and Olditch. The hearing is expected to continue until Thursday 1st July
	
14th	Son’s peaceful protest is tribute to mother
14th June 2004 
Son’s peaceful protest is tribute to mother	

Helensburgh resident Eric Wallace (68), today told his local court that he took part in a protest blockade at Faslane naval base as a mark of respect to his mother, who had died a few weeks previously. 
Eric was charged along with Jane Smith (50), from Granton-on-Spey and David Mackenzie (59), from Tillicoultry, with causing a breach of the peace for their two-hour blockade of the main gate of the base which caused long delays for worker traffic waiting to enter. The blockade was part of the Non-Stop Nuke-Stop campaign which has caused frequent, regular and unannounced disruptions to the Clyde Trident bases.
Defending himself Eric said:
"To my mother, speaking up about social justice, about wasting resources and removing fear from people’s lives, was something a responsible citizen would be only too willing to do. To remain silent, however, to say nothing, to keep your head down, was to her the height of irresponsibility. My mother could especially not comprehend why successive governments could continue to spend ever more money on weapons and weapons of mass destruction, whilst world poverty increased. After her death the family debated whether or not to plant a tree or invest in a park bench in her memory. When I heard this protest was due to take place I realised what she would have required of me."
Justice of the Peace Nicholson found all three guilty but deferred sentence for six months. If they are "of good behaviour in the interim" they will be admonished and avoid other punishment. A supporter in court was heard to remark: "Fat chance".
	
9th	Blair’s Ongoing Devotion to WMD
9th June 2004 
Blair’s Ongoing Devotion to WMD	

The Trident Ploughshares campaign has given a strong welcome to the growing appreciation that the British government is already making firm plans for how it will replace the current Trident nuclear weapon system. 
In today’s "Scotsman" journalist Tim Ripley gives an account of indications of new designs and plans, in particular for a new class of nuclear weapon submarine, which might also have a conventional weapon function.
In spite of government claims that no decisions have been made it has been obvious to campaigners for some time that planning has begun, given the heightened activity at Aldermaston and the proposed laser facility there. The political indications are also strong, given the stance at the recent NPT Prepcom, when the UK joined other nuclear weapon states in attempting to change the NPT agenda by downplaying the obligations on current nuclear weapon states to disarm and focusing solely on new states acquiring these weapons. In this context the likelihood that designs for a new nuclear weapon submarine fleet are in hand is hardly surprising.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said:
"This government is committed to digging itself ever deeper in the nuclear morass and is prepared to flout international law and its treaty obligations to do so. We need a new public awakening to what these weapons do to millions of people and to the planet. This is why our direct action campaign will continue this summer, with the disarmament camp at Aldermaston (2nd to 9th July) and the Big Blockade at Faslane on 23rd August."
	
8th	Guilty Verdict But No Punishment for Protesting Grandmother
8th June 2004 
Guilty Verdict But No Punishment for Protesting Grandmother	

Grandmother Joan Meredith (74), from Malpas in Cheshire, was today admonished* for her part in a protest at Faslane, the base for Britain’s nuclear weapon submarines, after claiming that Britain is poised to repeat the atrocity of Hiroshima. 
Joan was charged with a breach of the peace at the base on August 6th last year, when she was one of number of people lying down in the main gateway in symbolic commemoration of those who had been the victims of the first atomic bomb 58 years previously.
Joan told Helensburgh District Court: "My grandchildren have a right to grow up in a world free from violence and terror. A culture of nuclearism means just that. But we cannot have a world that recognises human rights if we do not take our human responsibilities seriously. Having experienced one war and the advent of the atomic bomb I would be failing in my human responsibilities not to protest against a government ready to repeat the wicked catastrophe of Hiroshima. Lying down on the road that day was an outward and visible sign that I believe in peace."
I was sixteen years old when this bomb was dropped. I did not read about or glean it secondhand and I have a moral duty to protest about it while I am still alive. What I did was reasonable in the circumstances. Nuclear submarines are not reasonable in any circumstances."
Justice of the Peace John Duncan found her guilty and began to say that because of her age, he would only admonish her. Joan broke in and told him not to take that into account, since she had no intention of changing her ways. The JP, however, adhered to his decision.
At the other end of the age spectrum the court accepted the not guilty plea of Bryony Macleod (17), a student from Edinburgh when for the second time a prosecution witness was unavailable.
* In the Scottish criminal justice a person found guilty of an offence can be “admonished”, literally reprimanded, which means that no sanction is applied. Usually this means that the judge says “ I am admonishing you” without issuing a reprimand in specific terms.
	
2nd	Activist Jailed for Resistance
2nd June 2004 
For Mother Earth Scotland Press Briefing
Activist Jailed for Resistance	

On 1 June, 2004, Ludd, a For Mother Earth Scotland and TP activist handed himself in to the police. A hearing was anticipated on 2 June, 1994. He is spending this time in jail for refusing to pay a £550 fine, imposed on him for opposing Government’s Weapons of Mass Destruction. He was charged only with of a breach of the peace. He was immediately taken to jail for 28 days on an extract warrant.
He states: ’I have no intention whatsoever to pay any money into a justice system that protects war criminals such as Bush and Blair, and Weapons of Mass Destruction, that are clearly a death sentence to innocent, ordinary people all over the globe. These weapons are used to threaten millions of ordinary people with a slow and horrifying death, with the sole purpose of protecting and enlarging the financial assets of the State and United Kingdom’s elite.
Further, these weapons that I seek to cease being used are certainly the most outrageous, immoral and illegal things on the face of this earth, in other laws higher than this court itself and most of all in the face of humanity. Because this court refuses to oblige to international law, I am left with no choice but to stand my ground and state here and now, and forever, that I do not and will not recognise the authority of this court. I refuse to be deterred by the Crown, by the States or this Government, or their representative here, Magistrate Gillis, from opposing the government in their illegal activities. It is my belief that history will prove me right.’
Ludd, 33, received the unusually high fine for performing a civil inspection on a heavy goods vehicle leaving the home base of the Vanguard submarines at Faslane Naval Base in Scotland. Growing opposition against nuclear weapons and waste is increasingly pushing anything nuclear north inside Scotland. Suspicion has arisen that the fine is so high because Ludd accused the police witnesses of lying under oath. Although he was able to prove it, this proof has been completely and dishonestly disregarded by this justice system. As has happened hundreds of times over prior to this in many instances. The ’heavy goods vehicle’ which was inspected by this citisen continued on its deadly way despite this activist’s and others’ attempts. The nuclear submarines that the vehicle services can fire nuclear missiles, which can obliterate every major and semi-major city in the world and put the rest of the world in dire straits.
Magistrate Gillis prior to this time had stated "Your action is the most suicidal activity I have ever seen brought in front of me for the duration of my entire bench career". It is interesting to note that Magistrate Gillis was not talking about the nuclear weapons that can wipe out humanity in a blink of an eye, but about the attempt of this activist to immobilise a suspicious heavy goods vehicle leaving the base by trying to lock on to it. In final statement, Ludd said: "The heavy fine and the unusually long sentence for a breach of the peace, will only strengthen me to take more action against various illegal Government and State activities."
E-mail: support@scotland.motherearth.org. Messages will be forwarded via print out and delivery. Languages covered by the support team are: English/Spanish/Dutch/French/German/Gaelic. But messages of support are welcome in any language. The prison address is unknown yet, but will be provided on simple request.
Support the struggle against nuclear weapons: For Mother Earth Scotland
Two people from Faslane Peace Camp and another in Trident Ploughshares attempted to block the storage facility. Prince Andrew was due to be in the area later that day. Consequently, a larger police presence than usual was at the gate and the protestors were quickly grabbed and pulled apart from a lock-on by the MOD police before getting into position.
Nevertheless, the peaceful protest continued and slowed down traffic entering the establishment for over 1 hour. Two lay in the road with cones placed around them, accompanied by rain, midges, and several MOD police each. They were dragged by their arms across the road by the MoD, and held, but later crawled on elbows safely into the road again. Skipping and running around the entrance also continued during this time.
All three were arrested for a Breach of the Peace, but disagreed on what basis they were arrested, as caused alarm and distress to no one. One of those arrested said "It is the deadly horrific weapons accommodated behind the fences, which back up the West’s domination of the world, which are one of the major causes of global alarm and distress."
Two were held for 6 hrs in Faslane base till Prince Andrew had left, with an undertaking to appear in Dumbarton Sheriff Court the next morning, and one was held overnight.
	
1st	Peaceful Disruption at WMD Storage Facility
1st June 2004 
Peaceful Disruption at WMD Storage Facility	

On Tuesday, 1st June at 7.15 am, workers entering the base at RNAD Coulport were disrupted by peaceful protest against the UK’s Weapons of Mass Destruction. 
Two people from Faslane Peace Camp and another in Trident Ploughshares attempted to block the storage facility. Prince Andrew was due to be in the area later that day. Consequently, a larger police presence than usual was at the gate and the protestors were quickly grabbed and pulled apart from a lock-on by the MOD police before getting into position.
Nevertheless, the peaceful protest continued and slowed down traffic entering the establishment for over 1 hour. Two lay in the road with cones placed around them, accompanied by rain, midges, and several MOD police each. They were dragged by their arms across the road by the MoD, and held, but later crawled on elbows safely into the road again. Skipping and running around the entrance also continued during this time.
All three were arrested for a Breach of the Peace, but disagreed on what basis they were arrested, as caused alarm and distress to no one. One of those arrested said "It is the deadly horrific weapons accommodated behind the fences, which back up the West’s domination of the world, which are one of the major causes of global alarm and distress."
Two were held for 6 hrs in Faslane base till Prince Andrew had left, with an undertaking to appear in Dumbarton Sheriff Court the next morning, and one was held overnight.

1st	Exposing Britain’s W.M.Ds
1st June 2004 
Exposing Britain’s W.M.Ds
Anti-war activists enter Atomic Weapons Establishment Burghfield	

Six peace campaigners from Norwich, Leeds, Leicester and London, today (at 11.45a.m.) successfully cut their way into A.W.E. Burghfield, near Reading. They then scattered over the base, to distribute leaflets to the base personnel. They did this as part of Trident Ploughshares, a national campaign of open, accountable and non-violent disarmament of the Trident nuclear weapons system. 

The use of torture in Iraqi prisons this year has shown that MOD personnel are not clearly told their responsibilities and duties under international law. The anti-war activists are taking steps to remedy that situation, at Burghfield WMD base.
Dr. Kathryn Amos, a post-doctoral researcher in Earth Science at Leeds University explained: "A.W.E. Burghfield is essential to the maintenance of Britain’s immoral and illegal Trident nuclear weapons. Burghfield carries out the final stages of manufacture of Trident’s warheads, and is responsible for maintaining them in working order. We are here today to make base personnel aware of their responsibilities under international law for their part in the threat or use of illegal nuclear weapons. Even a direct order to work on illegal weapons systems should not be carried out and could result in prosecution in the future."
Zina Zelter, a Leicester-based music teacher and peace activist added, "Every time a state deploys or tries to justify its deployment of weapons of mass destruction, the use of violence and fear to get what you want becomes more accepted. Trident is illegal, horrific and immoral. The deployment of Trident is state terrorism. Civilians are responsible for making sure their governments abide by international laws. We urge people to take nonviolent direct action against Britain’s illegal nuclear weapons."
Dr. Rupert Read, a Senior Lecturer at the University of East Anglia [Norwich], watched the activists as they entered Burghfield. He said, "This is a good demonstration of what ordinary people, in trying, entirely peacefully, to get the British government to fulfill its obligations under international law. It is a national disgrace that we supposedly went to war against Iraq in order to disarm it of - non-existent! - WMDs, and yet Britain has huge stocks of nuclear WMDs, which are the most deadly WMDs of all."
The activists who entered Burghfield today comprise a 47 year-old History teacher, a 19 year-old housewife, a 43 year-old self-educated single parent, a 30 year-old violin teacher, a 27 year-old sustainable policy adviser, and a 25 year-old university researcher. Their individual statements as to why they took this action are available, on request. A copy of the Flier text given here as a Word Document:

	

	

	

May
29th 	Devonport Disarmament Camp 2004
29th May 2004 
Devonport Disarmament Camp 2004	

Trident Ploughshares activists leafleted Plymouth city centre to raise awareness of the dangers, immorality and illegality of the trident nuclear weapons before gathering on the Hoe at 1:00 p.m. 
Today a few hundred protesters marched through the centre of Plymouth demanding Trident be scrapped. They represented Trident Ploughshares, CND groups from Plymouth, Penzance and Exeter, Unison, Respect, the Green Party the Raging Grannies from Exmouth, and others. They marched through the crowded city centre with many bystanders showing support. The march then proceeded to Albert gate with a dramatic presentation of polluted Tamar mud and a letter to the Comadore of Devonport dockyard. Protestors heard a speech from Kate Hudson, chair of CND and a long term resident of Devonport. There were bands playing in Devonport park to end the successful event and information stalls available for more detail about the work of the groups.
Photos are available on the Trident Ploughshares website here
	
28th	Devonport Disarmament Camp 2004
28th May 2004 
Devonport Disarmament Camp 2004	

The third annual Trident Ploughshares Disarmament Camp has set up with amiable relations between protesters, police liaison and Plymouth City Council. 

The City Council served the camp notice to quit Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. The Council said they will be pleased if the site could be left as it was last year - "we could not tell you had been here".
A number of protesters attended the public meeting at Swarthmore where they were pleased to hear the great majority of politicians acknowledge that the work on nuclear submarines at Devonport Dockyard is more of a liability than an asset. There was a very well-informed audience who demanded more for the people of Plymouth in redevelopment and consultation. A majority of the audience was for scrapping Trident altogether.
More people who will be involved in the boat action have been at camp this morning and the German television crew will be arriving tomorrow.
Representatives from CND have dropped in to the camp today. Also thirteen women from all corners of Devon who were dressed in white performed a simple ritual at the camp. They invoked many qualities including compassion, protection, strength, remembrance and wisdom. All thirteen flowed while singing down to the Camel’s Head gate, and inside the main gate they danced and sang of the times of change they were bringing. Police reinforcements soon arrived but the women were able to dance and block the entrance to the base for ten minutes. At that point they chose to move away into a well placed concrete traffic circle where they were able to complete their songs and release dove feathers to the breeze into the dockyard. One feather was presented to one of the group of security and police.
Benefit gig with Seize the Day at the Cooperage is set for this evening and Theo from the band previously worked in Devonport and is happy to give interviews.
Press were not invited to the women’s ritual event but photos are available on the Trident Ploughshares website here
	
18th	Lockheed Martin Lock-Out
18th May 2004 
Lockheed Martin Lock-Out
Whereabouts of manufacturer of W.M.D. exposed	

Protesters from Trident Ploughshares today locked out Lockheed Martin headquarters staff, to draw attention to the role of this multinational corporation in the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction. Lockheed Martin is the world’s largest maker and exporter of arms, and is actively engaged in developing the UK’s next generation of nuclear weapons at Aldermaston. By doing so they are violating the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, signed by the UK. 

The corporation’s presence in Carlisle Place was highlighted by protesters locking the front doors together with a bicycle lock and unfurling a banner reading "LOCKHEED LOCKOUT: WMD MAKER".
They are hidden away in an unmarked building in a quiet residential street in Victoria. Myra Garrett, age 71, local peace activist and a member of Trident Ploughshares asked "Why are they hiding in this residential area of London without even their name on the front door? Are they ashamed of what they do? This new generation of nuclear weapons will be more horrific than anything we currently have. They will have first strike capabilities."
Other protestors from the group handed out leaflets to local residents and those coming to the building, most of whom had no idea of Lockheed Martin’s presence. Myra said, "We feel the people who share this building and the residents nearby have the right to know that every day people and children are killed by the cluster bombs and other weapons manufactured by their neighbours."
Police eventually removed the protesters without arresting anyone and the whole affair was good-humoured. The bicycle lock was too good for a big set of police bolt-croppers but succumbed eventually to the security officer’s hacksaw. The blockade lasted an hour altogether, from 8 to 9 a.m.
	
10th	Nuremberg Principles Apply, Claim Peace Protesters
10th May 2004 
Nuremberg Principles Apply, Claim Peace Protesters	

Peace protesters on trial today for nonviolent direct action against Britain’s weapon system made the Nuremberg Principles part of their defence - a topical allusion given the current claims by some "Coalition" soldiers accused of prisoner abuse in Iraq, that they were only following orders. 
In April last year, a few days after the Really Big Blockade of Faslane Ceri Gibbons (36), from Buckinghamshire and Noora Jaakkola (22), from Finland, cut into the oil depot at the nuclear weapons base, with a view to getting inside the area where the Trident submarines are berthed.
Ceri told Helensburgh District Court that the Principles, enunciated during the trials of Nazi war criminals at the end of the Second World War, made it mandatory for individuals not only to refuse illegal orders but also to challenge breaches of international humanitarian law, even if it meant breaking the laws of the state. When arrested, Noora and Ceri had handed police an extended statement justifying their action with reference to international law. Supporters in court were pleased to hear it being read out in full by one of the officers.
J P Nicholson found both guilty of malicious mischief and breaching bye-laws by being inside a prohibited area without authorisation, but said he would defer sentence for six months and would admonish them if they exhibited "good behaviour" in the meantime.
Ceri attended court today after being released at 2 a.m. this morning from police custody following his arrest for taking part in stopping a nuclear convoy at Balloch on Loch Lomondside. Those arrested for stopping the convoy at Stirling were released after giving an undertaking to appear at the town’s Sheriff Court this Thursday.

9th	Protesters Stop Nuclear Weapons Convoy in Stirling and Balloch
9th May 2004 
Protesters Stop Nuclear Weapons Convoy in Stirling and Balloch	

There were six arrests this afternoon as anti-Trident protesters twice stopped a nuclear weapons convoy traveling from Burghfield in England to the warhead storage depot at Coulport on Loch Long. 

The first interruption took place just beneath the Stirling castle. One activist waved the leading truck to a standstill and then climbed on top of its cab while others went in front to block its advance.* It was 20 minutes before the trucks could set off again. There were four arrests: Jane and Sam from Helensburgh, Roz from Edinburgh and Morag from Faslane Peace Camp. They were taken to Stirling police station and are expected to be released this evening.
When the convoy reached Balloch on Loch Lomondside there was a heavy police presence but in spite of this the convoy was again halted. Two people were arrested.
The convoys are a regular feature on the roads of Central Scotland. Their task is to take Trident warheads to and from the Burghfield assembly plant to the Coulport store to be checked and maintained. Each warhead is believed to have the destructive power of 8 times the bomb which was dropped on Hiroshima.
The protesters were from Trident Ploughshares, Stirling CND and Faslane Peace Camp. David Mackenzie, a Stirling CND member from Tillicoultry, said: "We were delighted that the convoy was held up in Stirling. We were able to explain to large numbers of passing motorists that they were close to Britain’s very own weapons of mass destruction."
	
5th	More Anti-Trident Activists Fined
5th May 2004 
More Anti-Trident Activists Fined	

Today Helensburgh District Court handed out another three convictions for breach of the peace following the trial of a group of women who blockaded the nuclear weapons depot at Coulport last year. 
On 15th September last year, a 7.30 a.m., Sue from Ayrshire, Roz from Edinburgh and Marilyn from Glasgow, locked themselves to each other using a steel and a plastic tube and lay down in the gateway of the Loch Long base. It was 10 a.m. before they were finally removed. They held a sign saying "Where are the WMD?" since at the time of their action “coalition” forces were scouring Iraq for signs of Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction
Appearing for Sue solicitor Clare Ryan told Justice of the Peace Viv Dance that the opinion of the Scottish High Court on five appeals against breach of the peace convictions, which was issued yesterday, stated that it was up to the justice to assess whether, in the particular circumstances of the case, a reasonable person might have been alarmed or put in a state of fear by the behaviour of the accused. Clare argued that in this day and age, given the very frequent protests against the Iraq war, the women’s action did not constitute a breach of public decorum, nor was it likely to cause a reasonable person to be alarmed.
Marilyn told the court that the government had attempted to justify the war by saying that WMD were ready to be fired from Iraq given 45 minutes warning. So far no WMD had been found there but they were right here, a few miles from the courtroom. Reasonable people were more likely to be alarmed by the 30,000 deaths in Iraq and the chaos that had ensued than by a peaceful protest.
JP Dance had an idiosyncratic take on the High Court opinion. Accepting that the context was critical she said that the context was defined by the "flagrant" behaviour of the accused. Referring to the claim of the accused that a reasonable person was more likely to be alarmed by the WMD in Coulport than by three women lying peaceably in the road, she said they had wrongly assumed that the people in the vehicles knew that Coulport was a WMD base. She fined them £150 each.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: "Although little has changed since yesterday’s opinion from the High Court on breach of the peace, it is at least clearer that it is up to the justice to assess without bias whether a reasonable person would be alarmed by the behaviour of those accused. What is far from clear is the competence of the Helensburgh magistrates to make that assessment. In the meantime we will continue to raise the alarm against Trident".
	
4th	Trident Ploughshares Undeterred by Rejection of Appeals
4th May 2004 
Trident Ploughshares Undeterred by Rejection of Appeals	

The Trident Ploughshares campaign has confirmed that it will continue its programme of peaceful protest against Trident at Faslane and elsewhere in spite of today’s rejection by the Scottish High Court of the appeals of three protesters against convictions for a breach of the peace. 
A five-strong panel of judges (Lord Cullen, Lady Cosgrove, Lord McLean, Lord McFadyen and Lord Sutherland) heard the appeals last month, along with two others unconnected to anti-Trident protest. Jane Tallents (45), from Helensburgh, appealed against a conviction for protesting against Trident in the Scottish Parliament in April 2001; Margaret Jones (55), from Bristol, against a conviction for a blockade at Faslane in February 2002; Gaynor Barrett (25) from Exeter, against a conviction for a blockade of the warhead depot at Coulport in 1999.
The judges have issued a 26-page judgment backing the decision of the magistrates and sheriff who handed down the convictions. Though the judgment has still to be scrutinised in detail, it appears to support the status quo as represented in the Smith v Donnelly opinion. Campaigners say this means that across the country people will be acquitted by unbiased magistrates who find that the actions of the accused were unlikely to cause fear and alarm, while the politically biased justices at Helensburgh District Court will continue to convict peaceful protesters.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: "The High Court judges say that the circumstances are crucial for assessing a charge of breach of the peace that behaviour which is a breach of the peace in one context may not be in another. What they have lamentably failed to do is to show any appreciation of the context for anti-Trident protest. Our actions at Faslane and elsewhere are famed for their peaceful and non-violent nature and our protest is against illegal weapons of mass destruction. Like their colleagues who handed down the notorious Lord Advocate’s Reference judgment in 2001 they seem to have no understanding of what nuclear weapons actually are. In Jane Tallents’ case they have said that prosecuting her was valid since it provides a deterrent. We want to make it clear that this judgment will not deter us from our campaign of direct action against Trident."
The full judgement can be found http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinio...

	

	
	
April
28th 	Deadline for Disarmament, Activists Oppose UK Nuclear Weapon Policy
28th April 2004 
Deadline for Disarmament, Activists Oppose UK Nuclear Weapon Policy	

Brussels.
Today activists from the Belgian NGO For Mother Earth met with a representative of the British Embassy in Brussels in order to publicly demand that the UK government fulfils its treaty obligations to eliminate its nuclear arsenal. They presented a letter outlining their concerns and copies of reports into British nuclear weapons and U.S. nuclear weapons based in Europe (including Britain), which were compiled by teams of ’Citizens’ Weapons Inspectors’.
Outside the embassy a demonstration took place with protestors wearing bomb costumes and holding a banner reading ’no nukes’. The delegation who met with a representative of the embassy informed them that their letter and the reports would be passed on to the British Foreign Office, who would respond.
The event was part of the ’Deadline for Disarmament’ initiative, organised by Trident Ploughshares, which has seen people all over the UK asking their MPs to pass on the disarmament demand to the Prime Minister. Meetings have also taken place at the British embassies in Gothenburg and Helsinki as well as Brussels.
Trident Ploughshares is a group of activists who have pledged to disarm the UK Trident nuclear weapons system in a non-violent, open, peaceful, safe and fully accountable manner. For Mother Earth has played an active role in Trident Ploughshares for the past 6 years.
The ’Deadline for Disarmament’ initiative is timed to coincide with the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Preparatory Committee meeting, which is currently taking place in New York. The NPT contains a legally binding obligation for all signatories to pursue complete disarmament of their nuclear weapons. Activists are concerned that although the UK gave an "unequivocal undertaking to accomplish the total elimination of its nuclear arsenal" at the last NPT Review Conference in 2000, no steps have been taken towards achieving this.
For Mother Earth spokesperson David Heller said, "Despite being a signatory to the NPT, the British government continues to maintain and develop the Trident nuclear weapons system. It also hosts a number of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk. These weapons of mass destruction are not only illegal under international humanitarian law, but are also deployed in a highly secretive manner, preventing any open debate on the subject. This is at a time when the British Government is pushing for weapons inspections in countries such as Libya, Iran and North Korea, and has shown that it is even willing to go to war on fabricated evidence of the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. We are presenting the British Ambassador with evidence of his government’s complicity in illegal actions, and demanding that he puts pressure on the British government to comply with international law."
Photos are available http://www.motherearth.org/news?art=dfd.
The text of the ’Citizens’ Weapons Inspections’ reports into the U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe, and the British Trident system can be found http://www.motherearth.org/nuke/ins....
	
27th	Court Asked to Support Protest Against Injustice
27th April 2004 
Court Asked to Support Protest Against Injustice	

For the second day running JP Fraser Gillies heard well founded legal arguments against a charge of Breach of the Peace as well as passionate justification on the need to take action against illegal and immoral Trident nuclear weapons. 
Michael Smith, 40, a social worker from Glasgow appeared in Helensburgh District Court today for taking part in the Really Big Blockade on 22 April last year. After both police witnesses had given a straightforward account of the facts Michael argued that there was no case to answer as the necessary test for a Breach of the Peace had not been passed. He quoted at least five major High Court rulings but JP Gillies rejected his argument without even adjourning to study them.
Michael then went on to present his own defence outlining all the International Laws breached by the Trident weapons system and said
Given the weight of international law indicating the illegality of these weapons I suggest that the only just and moral thing to do it to oppose their deployment and indeed take steps to prevent their deployment. Do we want to live in the kind of society where principled action is considered in the same way as drunken yobbery? I suggest that people in Scotland dont want that kind of society. I ask the court to support a society where people have the freedom to protest against great injustices.
After a short adjournment Michael was found guilty and fined £175.
TP activists in court said
We are again frustrated that JP Gillies ignored all the legal arguments and reduced justice to a mere issue of sitting in a road.

27th	Fairford Five Case Update
27th April 2004 
Fairford Five Case Update	

A big THANK YOU to everyone who turned out so early on Monday morning. Bristol hadn’t expected such a large diverse, vibrant colourful and supportive turnout to escort the Fairford Five Defendants to the court. We assembled on ’The Centre’ (main square of Bristol) to march to the court and as you can see from the pics which have been posted on our website (thank you Brenda) the support was tremendous! http://www.fairfordpeacewatch.com/i...
The media coverage has been excellent at both local and national level.
Bristol Indymedia will have their own reporters in the public gallery all week who will be posting daily reports from the court on their website. http://bristol.indymedia.org/
The vigils will continue for the rest of the week: 9.00 - 10.00 am, Lunchtime 1.00 - 2.00 pm and when the court finishes each day at about 4.30 pm. If you can get there to wave a flag or banner, or just to drop by to chat about how the legal debates are going, please do join us. According to space there is also access to the public gallery to witness the proceedings. Directions to Bristol Crown Court are here: http://www.fairfordpeacewatch.com/i....
The court will conclude at the end of this week and everyone is welcome to an extra large gathering at the Peace Vigil on the Centre from about 4.00 pm onwards on Friday 30th April. SEE MAP BELOW: map
BACKGROUND
A few days before the war on Iraq, last February five activists cut their way into Fairford Air Force base. Phil Pritchard and Toby Olditch, and Josh Richards, tried to reach and disarm the B-52 bombers stationed there, waiting to attack Iraq. Paul Milling and Margaret Jones disabled trucks used for carrying bombs, and tankers for fuelling the planes.
All five are charged with conspiracy and /or criminal damage. Each of the activists offers a ’lawful excuse’ defence - that they aimed at preventing the crime of the Iraq war. Therefore - in an unprecedented move - the question of whether the war was in fact illegal has to be considered at High Court level, before the trials can go ahead .
http://www.fairfordpeacewatch.com/i...
Michael Smith, 40, a social worker from Glasgow appeared in Helensburgh District Court today for taking part in the Really Big Blockade on 22 April last year. After both police witnesses had given a straightforward account of the facts Michael argued that there was no case to answer as the necessary test for a Breach of the Peace had not been passed. He quoted at least five major High Court rulings but JP Gillies rejected his argument without even adjourning to study them.
Michael then went on to present his own defence outlining all the International Laws breached by the Trident weapons system and said
Given the weight of international law indicating the illegality of these weapons I suggest that the only just and moral thing to do it to oppose their deployment and indeed take steps to prevent their deployment. Do we want to live in the kind of society where principled action is considered in the same way as drunken yobbery? I suggest that people in Scotland dont want that kind of society. I ask the court to support a society where people have the freedom to protest against great injustices.
After a short adjournment Michael was found guilty and fined £175.
TP activists in court said
We are again frustrated that JP Gillies ignored all the legal arguments and reduced justice to a mere issue of sitting in a road.
	
26th	£150 fine for Peaceful Protest
26th April 2004 
£150 fine for Peaceful Protest	

Neil McGuire 24, a graphics designer from Glasgow was today fined £150 for taking part in a blockade of Faslane last April. 
The case lead to yet more debate in the District Court in Helensburgh about what actually constitutes a Breach of the Peace. After the Crown witnesses, both Strathclyde police officers, confirmed to Neil that he was totally peaceful during the protest and caused them no alarm or fear he submitted that there was no case to answer. JP Fraser Gillies repelled this motion so Neil continued by giving evidence in his defence. During a lively exchange Procurator Fiscal, Ian McRae, claimed that the minute Neil stepped off the pavement he caused fear and alarm. Neil acknowledged that his actions had caused inconvenience but denied that they could have been any more than that. All this relates to the Smith v Donnelly opinion which is currently under review by the appeal court in Edinburgh.
Also appearing today in the Helensburgh District court were Sam Jones and Bobby Stewart who had their not guilty pleas accepted as there was a witness missing. Earlier Bobby who was in a lion costume and her daughter who was to be a witness, in a witches outfit, were told that they were inappropriately dressed and had to leave the court to get changed. They had taken part in the blockade with a group dressed as the characters from the Wizard of Oz. Zina Zelters’ case was also dropped because the Procurator Fiscal did not have her file with him.
Trident Ploughshares pledger Dave Rolstone who was present in court said:
’It’s no wonder that the court can’t distinguish between inconvenience and alarm when people are sent to take off colourful costumes and then the Justice appears in the most gaudy and tasteless tartan suit imaginable’
	
22nd	"Northwood 5" Charged After Security Breach
22nd April 2004 
"Northwood 5" Charged After Security Breach	

The five Trident Ploughshares activists who evaded security at Northwood Military HQ yesterday, were charged last night and bailed to appear in court next week. 
Joss Garman, Sarah Shoraka, Graham Thompson, Phillip Gordon and Briony Tomlins were charged with ’criminal damage’ and ’going equipped to commit criminal damage’ and will appear at Watford Magistrates Court on Thursday 29th. They are currently on bail not to go within 200m of Northwood.
A spokesperson for the group, explained, "The irony of the situation is that Iraq is probably the only country not in breach of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). We acted to expose the hypocricy of Blair’s policies in which he attacks a country becauuse they might possess WMD, and yet he himself deploys Trident in contravention of International law."
He continued, "In terms of security, the real threat is the global proliferation of nuclear weapons."
Update: Today, 29th April, the case of the Northwood 5 was adjourned until 12th May, when the activists will again appear in the same court in order to plea."
Some links to news items about this action
BBC: link
Haaretz Daily: link
Jerusalem Post: link
Reuters: link
The Scotsman: link
	
21st	Trident Ploughshares pledgers in historic court case at Bristol
21st April 2004 
Trident Ploughshares pledgers in historic court case at Bristol	

Starting on Monday, 26th April, Trident Ploughshares pledgers Paul Milling and Margaret Jones will be involved as defendants in a historic five days of legal argument in Bristol Crown court around the legality of the Iraq war. 
Last March, a few days before the war on Iraq, Paul and Margaret cut their way into Fairford Air Force base. They disabled trucks used for carrying bombs, and tankers for fuelling the U.S. B-52 bombers waiting to attack Iraq. They have been charged with criminal damage and conspiracy. This action was followed by those of Phil Pritchard and Toby Olditch, and of Josh Richards - arrested while trying to reach and disarm a B-52 bomber. The defence of all five activists, against charges of conspiracy and criminal damage, is that they aimed at preventing the crime of the Iraq war.
The five days hearing before Justice Grigson will address the key question: Are defendants in a British court allowed to argue that the war on Iraq was a war crime, or are such questions outside the court’s remit? This will be the first time this issue has been addressed in a British court.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: "At Bristol the criminal justice system in this country has a great opportunity to confirm its independence from the British state and that the actions of that state and its personnel are not above the law. We have to get to the point where humanitarian law is allowed to hold sway, whether relating to this war of aggression or the active deployment of weapons of mass destruction like Trident. We hope the court can rise to this fundamental challenge."
	
21st	Campaigners Break Into Top UK Nuke Base As Vanunu Walks Free
21st April 2004 
RAF Northwood Action
Campaigners Break Into Top UK Nuke Base As Vanunu Walks Free	

Four peace campaigners today marked the release of Israeli nuclear whistleblower, Mordechai Vanunu, by evading security and breaking into the command and control centre for Britain’s nuclear weapons programme. 

The campaigners from Trident Ploughshares, dressed in Vanunu masks and "whistleblower" suits to gain entrance to the top security RAF Northwood. They searched for evidence of the deployment and threatened use of nuclear weapons in contravention of International law.
Joss Garman, a spokesperson for the group explained, "Mordechai Vanunu has probably done more to expose illegal WMD than anyone else in the world, and all without bombing a single Iraqi. Rather than winning the Nobel prize he so clearly deserves, Vanunu has been imprisoned for 18 years, including 12 in solitary confinement."
He continued, "Today, we acted to continue with the vital work started by Vanunu, and to expose the hypocrisy and secrecy that is government policy towards Britain’s own WMD. Next week, ambassadors from the UK will meet in New York to talk about disarmament, but we need Blair to lead by example, and to disarm his own illegal and immoral WMD now."
Read the compiled 

Northwood Report
(Word, 34.5 kb)	

from this citizens inspection. (Word document)
Update: 22nd April 2004: "Northwood 5" Charged After Security Breach
No Nonsense At Northwood
A Write up from activist Joss Garman
On April 21st, five of us dressed in Vanunu masks, and white weapons inspection suits with "Whistle blower" stencilled on the back, broke into Northwood Military HQ - the Control and Command Centre for Trident, to mark the release of Vanunu after eighteen years in prison, and to blow the whistle on Britain’s very own WMD.
A professional photographer, and a videographer (from Undercurrents) happened to be on hand at Northwood to capture the moment that Graham Thompson, Briony Tomlins, Sarah Shoraka, Phil Gordon (none of them are TP pledgers, yet!) and I, entered the base, and the footage was flashed around the world in hours. Kate Holcombe was present as Trident Ploughshares Press Spokesperson outside the base, and news of the action was seen on BBC London TV, BBC News 24, Channel 4 and Sky, and I understand she also took interviews with many national and international radio stations. The piece was covered on the front page of two of the Israeli national newspapers, putting yet further pressure on the UK government.
This action came just days before the start of the NPT Preparatory Conference in New York, and therefore was timed to pressure the UK ambassador there. Despite our best efforts, Damon Alburn, the lead singer of Blur couldn’t participate on the day, as we hoped he might be able to in order to increase press coverage of the event. This action was a Citizens Weapons Inspection, with the aim of finding documentary evidence of the illegal threat to use nuclear weapons. We intended to use a digital camera to record evidence that we found, and to formulate a weapons inspection report for submission to Elbaradei and the International Atomic Energy Agency. (A copy of our report is available from the 

Northwood Report
(Word, 34.5 kb)	

. For paper copies, contact me.)
On entering the base, we were able to explore briefly before being held at gunpoint by marines, searched on all fours, and marched, hands on our heads to a ‘holding room.’ It was just before we arrived there, that a more senior soldier shouted at the marines not to treat us as prisoners of war, adding, "They could sue us for this."
Soon after, civilian police arrived and we were processed and taken to Watford Police Station where we gave ‘no comment’ interviews, and remained for several hours. We were all released on bail not to go within 200m of Northwood, having been charged with Criminal Damage and Going equipped. On leaving the police station, having had no prior warning, we discovered from our solicitor (Maggie Pederson from Bindmans) that Sarah, Graham and Briony had had their houses raided. I had some documents seized as evidence from Sarah’s home. When Maggie asked the police why Philip and I hadn’t had our houses seized, they said because they knew I hadn’t been at home for three weeks! And who said we weren’t under police surveillance? Philip has been living with Graham.
We have been to court once, where we all pled Not Guilty and we have opted for trial by jury at Crown Court. At noon on July 12th, we shall appear at Hemel Hamstead Magistrates Court, where our case will officially be referred to Crown Court and a trial date should be set. Watch this space!
Peace Campaigners Break into Top Security Base
PA news, 9:50am (UK)
By Louise Barnett
Five peace campaigners were arrested today after cutting their way into a high security Ministry of Defence command centre.
The anti-nuclear demonstrators broke through the perimeter fence of the tri-service base in Northwood, Hertfordshire, at around 7.30am. They were stopped by security guards inside Northwood HQ and later arrested by police on suspicion of criminal damage, a Hertfordshire police spokeswoman said. Three men and two women were being questioned by officers in Watford.
The protesters were acting on behalf of anti-nuclear campaign group Trident Ploughshares. In a statement, the group said the break-in had been timed to mark the release of Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu.
Joss Garman, a spokesperson for the group, said: "Today, we acted to continue with the vital work started by Vanunu, and to expose the hypocrisy and secrecy that is Government policy towards Britain’s own WMD.
"Next week, ambassadors from the UK will meet in New York to talk about disarmament, but we need Blair to lead by example, and to disarm his own illegal and immoral WMD now."
An MoD spokeswoman said the break-in was being dealt with by the police but would not comment further.
Vanunu was convicted of treason and espionage and jailed for 18 years after giving information and pictures to the Sunday Times in 1986, describing Israel> ’> s top secret nuclear reactor, where he worked. He was released from Ashkelon’s Shikma prison today.
One of the protesters, speaking from inside the base this morning, said they had broken in to highlight the "hypocrisy" of the secrecy surrounding the UK’s nuclear programme. He did not have a chance to give his name as he was arrested by base security guards, who ordered him to "drop the telephone and keep your mouth shut".
Northwood HQ is the home of Commander in Chief Eastern Atlantic, one of NATO’s three major Commanders. It is also the Headquarters of Commander in Chief Fleet, the Chief of Joint Operations and his Permanent Joint Headquarters and Air Commodore Maritime No 3 Group RAF.
Some links to more news items about this action
BBC: link here
Haaretz Daily: link here
Jerusalem Post: link here
Reuters: link here
The Scotsman: link here
	
20th	Deadline for Disarmament Campaign Under Way
20th April 2004 
Deadline for Disarmament Campaign Under Way	

The Trident Ploughshares Deadline for Disarmament campaign gets under way this week with demands to MPs in the UK, and from concerned people in the international community to British embassies abroad, for Britain to comply with its obligations under the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT). 
The campaign is timed to coincide with the preliminary NPT meetings to be held in April/May in New York in preparation for next year’s NPT Review Conference. Recent reference to nuclear proliferation has focused on one part of the treaty the aim to prevent new countries taking up the nuclear weapons option, but has almost entirely ignored the other half the obligation of nuclear weapon states to eliminate their arsenals.
The campaign is an opportunity for Trident Ploughshares to underline its commitment to direct disarmament. In the past five years Trident Ploughshares activists have taken direct action against nuclear weapon installations and bases in Britain, leading to 2078 arrests, 478 trials, 2117 days spent in jails (not counting time in police cells), and a total of over £70000 incurred in fines and compensation orders. If the British government does not credibly commit to taking the significant steps towards nuclear disarmament demanded by the NPT, Trident Ploughshares activists will continue their "people’s disarmament."
On Tuesday 13th April a letter demanding that UK government eliminates its nuclear arsenal was handed in to the British Embassy in Helsinki, Finland. Twenty Finnish people took part in the peaceful demonstration outside the embassy. Similar events will take place next week in Gothenburg and Brussels (where the activists will be dressed in bomb costumes), while at local level in the UK people, in Irvine, Stirling, Helensburgh and elsewhere, will hand the demand to their local MPs.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: "The British government’s attitude towards its treaty obligations under the NPT is entirely cynical. As the Strategic Defence review states, this country is determined to continue to maintain and actively deploy a genocidal weapon of mass destruction."
Notes: see Deadline for Disarmament for more detail on the Deadline for Disarmament campaign. For more detail on the NPT see www.acronym.org.uk and ccnd.gn.apc.org.
	
14th	CND Cymru Vice-Chair will not pay Faslane fine
14th April 2004 
CND Cymru Vice-Chair will not pay Faslane fine	

Ray Davis (74), the vice chair of CND Cymru, will not pay the £120 he was fined today at Helensburgh District Court after being found guilty of a breach of the peace for taking part in the blockade of Faslane naval base in April 2003. 
Ray told Justice of the Peace Viv Dance he understood that a citizen had a right in law to step in when he saw someone about to commit a burglary or assault. In the same way he had committed a crime to prevent a greater one. He wanted his seven children, five grandchildren, two great- grandchildren, and his "gaggle of great nieces and nephews" to grow up in a world free from the threat of nuclear weapons. Ray is well known in Wales for his history of direct action against nuclear weapons.
Two further trials of people involved in last April’s blockade did not proceed. The case against Margaret Hutchby from Leicester was abandoned when it was discovered that the Procurator Fiscal’s office had cited the wrong police witnesses. Not so fortunate was Miriam Turley who came all the way from Belfast only to have her trial adjourned when a police witness did not attend since she was the sole court officer available at Hamilton Sheriff Court.
A great number of Faslane and Coulport related cases are in the pipeline at Helensburgh, which is the local court for the Clyde nuclear weapon bases. No relief is in sight for the hard pressed court, with Carry On Up The Clyde (the Big Blockade 2004) due on 23rd August, during the two-week Trident Ploughshares disarmament camp at Coulport, to say nothing of the increasingly frequent surprise actions at the bases.
These future actions are likely to lead to a great number of arrests for breach of the peace if the current local interpretation of the law continues to be applied by the Dumbarton Procurator Fiscal. This situation may well be changed by an expected landmark ruling from the Scottish High Court on a cluster of five breach of the peace cases, three of which are Trident related.

	

	

	
March
24th 	£60 Fine for Faslane Blockader
24th March 2004 
£60 Fine for Faslane Blockader	

Faslane Peace Camper Sam Brackenbury (32), was fined £60 today as, for the third day running, Helensburgh District Court dealt with cases arising from the Really Big Blockade of Faslane last April. 
Defending Sam, solicitor Clare Ryan reminded Justice of the Peace Viv Dance that a decision was awaited from the Scottish High Court which had recently heard a cluster of appeals against breach of the peace, three of them Trident-related, with a view to clarifying the law on breach of the peace. At that hearing it had been argued that particular care should be taken in cases in which there was no actual evidence of anyone having been alarmed by the behaviour of the accused, and that it was not advisable for a magistrate to rely on his or her own subjective judgment.
Apparently unaffected by these considerations, JP Dance decided that the charge was proved and that Sam’s action in taking part in the blockade had been "flagrant". She fined him £60.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: "We remain hopeful that the High Court’s decision will offer us a measure of relief from the routine injustice of having our gentle challenges to weapons of mass destruction labeled as breaches of the peace."
	
23rd	Mixed Court Fortunes For Faslane Protesters
23rd March 2004 
Mixed Court Fortunes For Faslane Protesters	

At Helensburgh District Court today two protesters were acquitted while a third was fined a massive £500 for an action at the naval base in which she reached the inner security fence surrounding the Trident submarine berths. 
In a daring intrusion last December Zoe Weir (33), from Faslane Peace Camp, got through the perimeter fence of the nuclear weapon base and climbed up on a turnstile gate at Berth 12, eventually, after several hours, coming down of her own accord. Justice of the Peace Fraser Gillies fined her £200 for cutting the perimeter fence, £200 for painting “Merry Christmas from Faslane Peace Camp” on the sea wall and £100 for breaching the bye-laws by being in a prohibited area without permission. He told her that if she did not pay up in 28 days she would be subject to a Supervised Attendance Order of 100 hours.
Barbara Dowling (59), a local authority worker from Glasgow, faced a charge of breaching the peace at the blockade of the base last April. Defending herself, Barbara subjected the first police witness to a thorough cross-examination during which he conceded that he did not know whether any traffic was being held up at the time she was arrested. At this point the Procurator Fiscal threw in the towel and accepted her not guilty plea.
Mary McShane (60), from Gourock, told the court she was seriously concerned about the proliferation of nuclear weapons. She felt she had to go beyond writing letters and should take part in nonviolent direct action. She was also found not guilty when the JP decided that Crown confusion over the date of the blockade invalidated its case.
	
22nd	Moving Through Fear
22nd March 2004 
Moving Through Fear	

Defending herself against a breach of the peace charge at Helensburgh District Court today Sheffield midwife Rosie Heller told the magistrate that she was glad she had conquered her fear and taken part in the Really Big Blockade of Faslane on 22nd April last year. 
Rosie was one of 160 people arrested that day when she lay, chained to others, in the gateway of the nuclear weapon base. She quoted the following from the Seize The Day song "With my hammer":*
No prison can contain
The freedom that we gain
When we move through fear
These words had inspired her to move through her own fear and take part in the blockade. Anita Aggarwal, an environmental worker from Edinburgh, faced the same charge. At the time of the blockade Britain was fighting a war in Iraq, supposedly about weapons of mass destruction, and she wanted to be at Faslane to draw attention to the fact that we had our own WMD.
Both women were fined £150.
*The song celebrates the true story of four women who were acquitted by a Liverpool jury in 1996 after disarming a Hawk jet due to be sold to Indonesia for use in the repression in East Timor. See www.seizetheday.org.
	
9th	"History will show that we were right" says Faslane protester
9th March 2004 
"History will show that we were right" says Faslane protester	

Peace activist Emma Bateman today told Helensburgh District Court that in time it would be seen that those who took peaceful direct action against Trident were in the right. 
Emma (35), from Leicester was on trial for being part of the blockade of Faslane naval base last April when she was one of the 160 arrested. After being found guilty of a breach of the peace by Justice of the Peace Bert Alexander she said: "I am proud to be part of the tradition of the Suffragettes and others who broke the law to challenge injustice in time it will be seen that we anti-Trident campaigners are also in the right." She was fined £100.
Earlier the JP found Josephine Craig (18), from Edinburgh, not guilty of a breach of the peace at a blockade of the WMD base in February 2002, saying that he found the evidence against her “a little bare”. Josephine had been part of a group preventing a truck from getting into the south gate of the base.
	
8th	Activists Disrupt Nuclear Weapons Base
8th March 2004 
Activists Disrupt Nuclear Weapons Base	

This morning a group of Trident Ploughshares activists blockaded the north gate of Faslane naval base, causing long delays for worker traffic waiting to enter. 
At 7.30 a.m. Jane Smith (50) from Granton-on-Spey, David Mackenzie (59) from Tillicoultry, Eric Wallace (68) from Helensburgh and Monique D’Hooghe (35), from the Netherlands, lay down at the gateway, locked together with plastic tubes. It was 9.25 a.m. before a specially trained MoD team was able to cut them loose and disruption to base traffic was considerable. The four were arrested and charged with a breach of the peace. They were released from custody early in the afternoon after giving an undertaking to appear at the local court tomorrow morning.
The blockade is part of the Non-Stop Nuke-Stop campaign which has caused frequent, regular and unannounced disruptions to the Clyde Trident bases.
Jane Smith said: "It’s not me who is breaching the peace, its what lies behind the gate we blockaded this morning. Trident is a horrifying weapon of mass destruction and I cannot sit back and pretend that the activity at Faslane is normal, lawful or decent.
In Helensburgh District Court Zoe Weir of Faslane Peace Camp was found guilty of a breach of the peace for taking part in a "die-in" at Faslane on Hiroshima Day (Aug 6th) last year. She was fined £120 with a 30 hrs Supervised Attendance Order on default of payment. Ere Itkonen from Finland had sentence deferred for painting the fence at Faslane last year during the Trident Ploughshares camp.
	
3rd	Major Review of Breach of the Peace Concludes in High Court
3rd March 2004 
Major Review of Breach of the Peace Concludes in High Court	

Today the Scottish High Court heard the remainder of the arguments on behalf of five people appealing against convictions for breach of the peace, three of which are related to anti-Trident protest. 
Ann Ogg argued on behalf of Gaynor Barrett that a peaceful protest at RNAD Coulport in August 1999 in which the protesters refused to move from the road did not constitute a Breach of the Peace. The Justice who sat in the original case at Helensburgh District Court said that someone could have been alarmed by the protest, but Ms Ogg submitted that there was nothing in the evidence to allow this conclusion to be reached and it therefore did not meet the test required for a conviction.
Finally the Solicitor General, Elish Angiolini QC, for the Crown, asked the court to uphold all the convictions. Commenting on the cases of the three anti-Trident protesters she said that if they had made their protest in a park, obstructing no-one and causing no disturbance, that would have been fine. Referring to the case of Jane Tallents she said that the solemnity of the Scottish Parliament had been disturbed by that demonstration. As for Gaynor Barrett and Margaret Jones who had blockaded the gates of the Coulport and Faslane Trident bases she said that if the protest had been allowed to continue it would have lead to ‘the breaking up of the social peace’
Jane Tallents said
‘The Crown conceded that the context had to be taken into account in deciding whether behavior could have caused alarm and fear. It therefore seems ironic the Mrs Angiolini thinks that the ‘social peace’ can be broken by a group of peaceful protesters committed to nonviolence when the bases they are sitting outside of are part of Trident a weapon of mass destruction with 100 kiloton warheads.’
The five-strong panel of judges (Lord Cullen, Lady Cosgrove, Lord McLean, Lord McFadyen and Lord Sutherland) is expected to give a judgment in a few months time.
Meanwhile today in Helensburgh District Court business continued as usual. Ellen Moxley was fined £60 for painting red footprints on the roadway outside the North gate of Faslane on Aug 6th (Hiroshima Day) last year. Monique D’Hooghe from the Netherlands was fined £100 for taking part in a blockade of Faslane on April 22 last year and Morag Forbes from Faslane Peace Camp was also fined £100 for contravening military byelaws by sitting up a tree all night inside the Oil Fuel Depot at Faslane last August.
	
2nd	Breach of the peace appeals get underway
2nd March 2004 
Breach of the peace appeals get underway	

Today the Scottish High Court began to hear a cluster of appeals against convictions for breach of the peace, three of which are related to anti-Trident protest. 
The five strong panel of judges (Lord Cullen, Lady Cosgrove, Lord McLean, Lord McFadyen and Lord Sutherland) is expected to give a landmark ruling, with the aim of clarifying this confused area of Scottish law.
Today the judges heard QC Gordon Jackson on behalf of Margaret Jones and QC Maggie Scott on behalf of Jane Tallents.
Margaret is appealing against her conviction for taking part in a blockade of Faslane, the Trident nuclear weapon submarine base on the Clyde. Gordon Jackson argued that it should be a requirement for a conviction that there should be evidence at trial from someone who was present at the incident in question and could either testify that they had been alarmed or that they had seen someone who was alarmed. If this were the case, sitting down in the roadway at a peaceful and well-planned demonstration would not be a crime.
Jane was found guilty of breaching the peace after demonstrating against Trident in the Scottish Parliament in 2001. Maggie Scott argued that it was clear that Jane’s action had not caused alarm to ordinary people nor threatened a disturbance. Referring to Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights she said that Jane’s arrest was an interference with her right to freedom of expression. When Lord Sutherland said that people also had rights not to be interrupted she replied: “This is a burden one has to bear in a democracy.”
It is expected that Gaynor Barrett’s case will be argued tomorrow. Gaynor’s breach of the peace conviction was for a blockade of the warhead depot at Coulport in 1999.
A message of support to the anti-nuclear appellants came from Green MEP Caroline Lucas. Caroline said: “It is extraordinarily ironic that people can be charged with breaching the peace for peacefully demonstrating, whilst nuclear weapons threaten everyone’s peace and safety. Having been arrested for demonstrating against Trident at Faslane myself, the importance of today’s cases cannot be overstated: the right to peaceful protest must be upheld.
The hearing continues.

	

	
	
February
27th 	Devonport 3: Take your Protest Elsewhere, Says Judge
27th February 2004 
Devonport 3: Take your Protest Elsewhere, Says Judge	

The Devonport 3 were all found guilty today on all charges, after they were denied the use of their legal defence by Plymouth Judge Overend. 
Sue Brackenbury, who has already served the equivalent of an eight-month sentence on remand, was released after she was sentenced to six months. Matt Bury and Shirley Law were each given a 12 month conditional discharge.
When summing up, the judge told Plymouth grandmother and veteran peace activist, Shirley, it was time to put down her bolt croppers and pick up her knitting needles, and to stay the right side of the fence! He acknowledged their passionately held beliefs in the possibility of a world free from nuclear weapons but maintained that they should take their protest “elsewhere.”
A spokesperson for Trident Ploughshares, Joss Garman, explained, “It was almost inevitable that the jury should find the campaigners guilty, when the judge refused the activists the right to put their legal defence of International law to the jury.”
He continued, “Each of the protestors will continue with their work for peace, based on simple principles of International Law  Trident is the crime, and threatens international peace.”
BBC News: Three peace protesters are convicted of attempting to attack a nuclear missile submarine in Plymouth
	
26th	Plymouth Judge Ignores International Lawyer and says “Nukes legal“
26th February 2004 
Plymouth Judge Ignores International Lawyer and says “Nukes legal“	

There were extraordinary scenes in Plymouth Crown Court today as the case of the Devonport 3 unfolded in a second day of hearings.
Sue Brackenbury, Matt Bury and Shirley Law were told by the judge that they did in fact not have case in law because the dropping of a nuclear bomb would not be in contravention of any international law!(?) This follows on from the defendants claims that they acted to uphold International law, which clearly states nuclear weapons to be illegal.
Indeed, Professor Nick Grief, Britain’s leading international lawyer, in a statement to the court, said that the protestors were justified because the deployment of Trident is illegal. Of course, Blair led this country to war because he himself said, weapons of mass destruction are illegal.
But despite the ruling by the highest legal body in the world, the International court of Justice, and despite the evidence from Prof. Grief, the judge directed the jury this afternoon that the campaigners had no legal right to do what they did. There was controversy when one of the defence barristers then said, that he “disagreed“ with the judge and that he wished to seek the advice of the bar council - a first for a Plymouth trial! Eventually, the judge made clear none of the evidence in relation to International law could be put to the jury because he said, it was “flawed.“
Trident Ploughshares spokesperson, Joss Garman, commented, “Today has been exciting in that the issues surrounding International Law and Trident’s illegality have been raised. However, I am shocked that this Judge can even start to think that the dropping of a nuclear bomb would not be a war crime. This not only raises issues around whether the protestors were denied a fair trial, but also, what was Blair doing in Iraq if WMD are not illegal?“
Sue Brackenbury who has served the equivalent of an eight month sentence on remand, was released this afternoon on bail to appear in court tomorrow when a verdict is expected.
The case will continue, and conclude tomorrow.
Sue Brackenbury from Faslane Peace Camp, and Matt Bury were arrested last September when they entered Devonport dockyards with disarmament equipment intent on openly, safely and accountably disarming HMS Vanguard, currently being refitted.
On failing to reach the submarine, Sue was not discouraged and returned in October last year with Plymouth Grandmother, Shirley Law, and again tried to enter Devonport. Since that action Sue has been on remand.
Today, as both the prosecution and the defence put their cases, International law was at the forefront of the debate. The activists insisted throughout, that far from breaking the law, they were in fact upholding it.
Joss Garman, a spokesperson for Trident Ploughshares, explained, “The highest legal body in the world, the International Court of Justice in the Hague clearly stated in 1996 that nuclear weapons are illegal. Indeed, in 1999, this decision was reiterated by a Scottish Court when it ruled that three Ploughshares campaigners acted to prevent a greater crime when they destroyed a Trident laboratory.”
He continued, “We very much hope that the Jury will respect that International law over rules national obligations and that not only were the protestors morally justified, but also legally because they acted out of necessity.”
The trial will continue tomorrow.
Notes:
1) The first of the actions in question was on September 22nd, and the second on October 9th.
2) All of the activists are charged with Criminal Damage and carrying articles with the intent to cause further criminal damage.
3) Trident Ploughshares is a campaign to disarm the UK Trident nuclear weapons system in a non-violent, open, peaceful and fully accountable manner. People from all around the world have pledged to disarm Trident in this way. We act to uphold international humanitarian law and to expose the illegality of the Trident system.
	
25th	High Court in Major Review of Breach of the Peace
25th February 2004 
High Court in Major Review of Breach of the Peace	

On 2nd and 3rd March the Scottish High Court is due to hear five appeals against convictions for breach of the peace, three of them relating to civil resistance to Trident, leading to what is likely to be a landmark ruling. 
A panel of five judges, rather than the usual three, will hear the appeals, giving additional authority to their judgment. The aim is to clarify what actually constitutes a breach of the peace, which has been a controversial and problematic part of the criminal law.
The issue is especially relevant to the future of peaceful protest in Scotland, not only to the struggle against Trident but to other campaigns for justice, peace and the environment.
In January 2000 protester Pamela Smith, faced with a charge of breaching the peace at a blockade of Faslane, argued in Helensburgh District Court that the offence was insufficiently defined to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights. When her submission was repelled by the court she appealed to the High Court. Her appeal was rejected but in their opinion on the case the judges did offer clarification on the offence, particularly in stating that: "What is required, therefore, it seems to us, is conduct which does present as genuinely alarming and disturbing, in its context, to any reasonable person." (1.)
In spite of this, Justices at Helensburgh District Court have continued, with few exceptions, to convict protesters of a breach of the peace for sitting peacefully on the road at the entrance to the Trident base, in the face of a lack of evidence of any alarm or disturbance. This has led to an estimated twenty appeals to the High Court.
The three Trident-related appeals to be heard on 2rd and 3rd March are: Jane Tallents (45), from Helensburgh, against a conviction for protesting against Trident in the Scottish Parliament in April 2001; Margaret Jones (55), from Bristol, against a conviction for a blockade at Faslane in February 2002; Gaynor Barrett (25) from Exeter, against a conviction for a blockade of the warhead depot at Coulport in 1999.
Jane Tallents said: “We hope that the High Court will uphold our right to freely express our utter abhorrence of a weapon system made for mass killing.”
Note 1. Smith v Donnelly Scots Law Times: No 27: 31-8-2001 paragraph 17.
	
25th	Devonport 3 put Trident on Trial
25th February 2004 
Devonport 3 put Trident on Trial	

Three renowned peace campaigners from direct action group Trident Ploughshares, were on trial today in Plymouth Crown Court charged with trying to disarm a nuclear submarine, one of Britain’s own WMD. 
Sue Brackenbury from Faslane Peace Camp, and Matt Bury were arrested last September when they entered Devonport dockyards with disarmament equipment intent on openly, safely and accountably disarming HMS Vanguard, currently being refitted.
On failing to reach the submarine, Sue was not discouraged and returned in October last year with Plymouth Grandmother, Shirley Law, and again tried to enter Devonport. Since that action Sue has been on remand.
Today, as both the prosecution and the defence put their cases, International law was at the forefront of the debate. The activists insisted throughout, that far from breaking the law, they were in fact upholding it.
Joss Garman, a spokesperson for Trident Ploughshares, explained, “The highest legal body in the world, the International Court of Justice in the Hague clearly stated in 1996 that nuclear weapons are illegal. Indeed, in 1999, this decision was reiterated by a Scottish Court when it ruled that three Ploughshares campaigners acted to prevent a greater crime when they destroyed a Trident laboratory.”
He continued, “We very much hope that the Jury will respect that International law over rules national obligations and that not only were the protestors morally justified, but also legally because they acted out of necessity.”
The trial will continue tomorrow.
Notes:
1) The first of the actions in question was on September 22nd, and the second on October 9th.
2) All of the activists are charged with Criminal Damage and carrying articles with the intent to cause further criminal damage.
3) Trident Ploughshares is a campaign to disarm the UK Trident nuclear weapons system in a non-violent, open, peaceful and fully accountable manner. People from all around the world have pledged to disarm Trident in this way. We act to uphold international humanitarian law and to expose the illegality of the Trident system.
	
23rd	More Confusion at Erratic Faslane Court
23rd February 2004 
More Confusion at Erratic Faslane Court	

There was further evidence today of the inconsistency and confusion at Helensburgh District Court in dealing with protesters charged with a breach of the peace for peaceful anti-Trident protests. 
On 26th January, in the same court, Justice of the Peace Bert Alexander acquitted Tor Justad and Jan Sutch Pickard on a charge of breach of the peace. He said there was a lack of evidence that any one was alarmed or that any reasonable person would have been alarmed by their actions of in sitting down in the gateway during the Really Big Blockade of the base on 22nd April last year.
Today Morag Balfour from Glenrothes was found guilty of the offence, in circumstances that are indistinguishable. She had taken part in a “die-in” at Faslane on Hiroshima Day (6th August) last year and had lain in the gateway. As with Tor and Jan, there was no evidence of any traffic being held up, no evidence of alarm or its likelihood, or of anything other than an entirely peaceful and nonviolent event. Morag was fined £100.
The cases of Mark Leech and Roz Bullen, both from Edinburgh, were marginally different in that they had been part of a group locked together at the mass blockade of Faslane last April, though again there was no evidence of alarm. They were fined only £50 each, due to the fact that the procurator fiscal had no record of previous convictions. This caused a smile in the public seats, given the honourable record of both in civil resistance to Trident and the arms trade.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: “ We are disappointed that a magistrate who seemed to be willing on 26th January to apply the law has within the space of a few weeks entirely lost the plot, and we do wonder what pressure he has come under following his acquittal of Tor and Jan. We can only hope that when the Scottish High Court hears a cluster of breach of the peace appeals next week it will come out with a judgment in plain English which will clarify the offence in such terms as will remove the possibility of misinterpretation due to ignorance or political bias.”
Note: On 2nd and 3rd March the Scottish High Court is due to hear five appeals against convictions for breach of the peace, three of them relating to civil resistance to Trident, leading to what is likely to be a landmark ruling. A panel of five judges, rather than the usual three, will hear the appeals, giving additional authority to their judgment. The aim is to clarify what actually constitutes a breach of the peace, which has been a controversial and problematic part of the criminal law. The issue is especially relevant to the future of peaceful protest in Scotland, not only to the struggle against Trident but to other campaigns for justice, peace and the environment.

17th	Trident Protesters Will Appeal Byelaws Verdict in Marathon Case
17th February 2004 
Trident Protesters Will Appeal Byelaws Verdict in Marathon Case	

A three-year legal challenge to the validity of the military byelaws at the Royal Naval Armaments Depot at Coulport entered a new phase today when JP John MacPhail found Scottish CND’s Campaigns Worker Phill Jones from Drymen, Stirlingshire, and Zoe Weir, a resident of Faslane Peace Camp) guilty of entering the Depot by boat in August 2000. Phill was also found guilty of driving a vessel into a protected area. 
After hearing a two-hour submission by Phill, the JP gave Zoe Weir 28 days to pay a £50 fine while Phill was ordered to pay a £50 fine for entering the base and another £40 fine for driving the boat.
The protest had taken place during a Trident Ploughshares camp at Peaton Glen in August 2000. The two along, with TP activist Ulla Roder, had used a small inflatable dinghy with an outboard motor to drive alongside the Explosives Handling Jetty inside Coulport. Ulla had jumped out of the boat to swim ashore whilst Zoe had climbed a ladder onto the jetty which is used to load nuclear warheads onto missiles on the Trident submarines based at Faslane. Whilst Zoe was on the ladder the boat, driven by Phill, was rammed by a police rigid inflatable boat, more than twice its size, and sank.
Over the last three years, in 18 separate court appearances, Phill and Zoe have argued that the byelaws they were charged with breaking were invalid as it was uncertain what area they were meant to apply to.
Phill said: “In 1986 when the byelaws were made by Michael Heseltine the Coulport base was only a third of the size it is today. The byelaws are only meant to cover an area of land within the perimeter of Coulport which was a lot smaller then than it is now. As well as that, the MoD have sold off bits of land which were covered by the 1986 by-laws but the byelaws have never been changed. A judicial review in the House of Lords, twelve years ago, ruled that at bases in England where similar things had happened the byelaws were invalid, but it seems that JP MacPhail thinks he knows better than the Law Lords.”
Both defendants intend to appeal the verdict.
Phill said: “Just like everyone else the MoD have to follow the law. There are clear rules about how byelaws should be made and they haven’t followed them. It seems that instead of recognising that the MoD can break the law and giving us the benefit of the doubt, Justice MacPhail thinks there should be one rule for protestors and another for the Ministry of Defence. Either that or the complexity of the case just baffled him.”
	
12th	Third Ploughshares Activist sent to Prison this week
12th February 2004 
Third Ploughshares Activist sent to Prison this week	

Ivor Birnie is the third Trident Ploughshares activist to be sent to jail this week. Ivor was given seven days in Saughton Prison in Edinburgh for refusing to pay a fine of £180 imposed last year by JP Fraser Gillies for being part of a blockade of Faslane during Coulport camp in 2002. Ivor expects to be free tomorrow. He is due to serve four of the seven days and since prisons do not release at the weekend they should release him tomorrow since to keep him till Monday would amount to five days.	
11th	Seven Days for Faslane Protester
11th February 2004 
Seven Days for Faslane Protester	

Peace campaigner Jane Smith was today sent to Porterfield Prison in Inverness* for refusing to pay a fine imposed on her for a protest at the nuclear weapons base at Faslane on the Clyde, while at Helensburgh District Court another heavy fine was handed down to an anti-Trident activist. 
Jane (49), from Granton-on-Spey, was one of 162 people arrested at a mass blockade of the WMD base in April last year and was fined £100 for an alleged breach of the peace.
When she appeared at a means court in Kingussie today she told the court that she had no intention of paying the fine. She also told the court that if it made her the subject of a Supervised Attendance Order she would breach that order. The bench told her that they had no alternative but to imprison her for seven days.
In a statement which the court did not allow her to present Jane said:
“By refusing to pay the fine I withdraw my consent from the system that supports Trident. By locking me up the state admits that this is the only way it can stop me resisting Trident.”
Meanwhile Andrew Gray from Newcastle was fined £250 at Helensburgh District Court for being part of a mass blockade of the same base in February 2002. This was the second part of his trial.
Andrew presented an unusual defence, arguing that his actions had been justified as “pre-emptive self defence” in view of the reality and scale of the threat from Trident. Customary international law allowed for self-defence and this was the basis on which the US and the UK had justified their invasion of Iraq. Justice of the Peace Nicholson said that his guilty verdict was based on the facts as testified to and admitted.
Speculation is growing that the significant increase in fines imposed on anti-Trident activists in the last three days at this court, with a different magistrate presiding on each day, may be the result of new sentencing guidelines for dealing with acts of peaceful protest at the Clyde WMD bases.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: “If this is a new and harder policy then we must be doing something right.”
*HM Prison Porterfield Duffy Drive Inverness IV2 3HH.
	
10th	Jail for One, Hefty Fine for Another
10th February 2004 
Jail for One, Hefty Fine for Another	

Yesterday one anti-Trident activist was sent to jail and another was given a hefty fine for protesting at Britain’s nuclear weapon submarine base at Faslane. 
Jane Tallents (45), from Helensburgh, was sent to Cornton Vale prison for 14 days after refusing to pay a fine for blockading the base. On 6th February last year she was one of four activists who blocked the north gate of the base, while a group of others prevented worker traffic getting into the south gate. Cars were tailed back for at least five miles and the gates were shut for an hour. In August last year she was fined £290 by Justice of the Peace Fraser Gillies in Helensburgh District Court.
Jane has been determined all along that she would on principle not pay the fine and regards spells in prison as an occupational hazard for a peace activists who challenge the UK’s weapons of mass destruction.
Ann Kobayashi from Wickford in Essex took part in the mass blockade of Faslane in April last year. It was alleged that she had committed a breach of the peace by handing leaflets to base workers in their cars at the south gate of the base after being warned by police to get off the roadway. At the Helensburgh court yesterday JP Gillies fined her £325.
Ann, who won a High Court appeal in October 2001 against the same magistrate for an excessive fine, will appeal. She told the JP that she would not be paying up. Not only was the fine disproportionately severe, but she had been thoroughly justified in what she had done.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: "Both the verdict and the sentence on Ann are complete nonsense. This magistrate appears to have a very personal investment in punishing peaceful protesters."
	
10th	Easter Bunny Fined £250
10th February 2004 
Easter Bunny Fined £250	

Peace activist Angela Broome was today fined £250 in Helensburgh District Court for taking part in the Really Big Blockade of Faslane naval base on April 22nd last year. 
Angela, a retired social worker from London, was one of the 162 people arrested at the blockade and charged with a breach of the peace. She was at the south gate of the base with other members of the Muriel Lester affinity group all dressed as Easter bunnies.
In spite of contradictory evidence about whether the women’s actions had impeded worker traffic going into the base, Justice of the Peace Viv Dance found her guilty and fined her £250, well above the average for similar alleged offences. It was noted that the JP broke with her regular habit and did not retire for consideration before reaching her controversial verdict.
Angela is likely to appeal both the verdict and the sentence.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said:
“Taken with yesterday’s fine of £325 for Ann Kobayashi we wonder if this represents a further hardening of local court attitudes towards peaceful direct action against WMD at Faslane.”
	
2nd	Lockheed Martin Lockout
2nd February 2004 
Lockheed Martin Lockout	

On Monday, 2nd February, protesters from Trident Ploughshares locked out Lockheed Martin headquarters staff to draw attention to the role of this multinational corporation in the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction. Lockheed Martin is the world’s largest maker and exporter of arms, and is actively engaged in developing the UK’s next generation of nuclear weapons. 

Hidden away in an unmarked building in Carlisle Place, a quiet residential street near Victoria station in central London, this corporation is busy violating the nuclear non proliferation treaty. The corporation’s presence was highlighted by protesters locking the front doors together, and unfurling a banner reading "Lockheed lockout: W.M.D. Maker" . Lockheed-Martin have two floors of the building.
Ann Kobayashi, Lyn Bliss, Zelda Jeffries and Angela Broome sat down in the doorway after securing the door with a cycle lock, while Jane Tallents and David Mackenzie gave support. Workers who had to be directed by police round to a back door naturally wanted to know what was going on and the group were very happy to tell them and give them the explanatory leaflet. There was interest too from passers by, one of whom said "Yes, we have been given a wonderful world and we are ballsing it up." The duty police inspector handled things very well and arranged for the buildings managers to speak to the four women. The exchange was courteous and constructive.
There were no arrests and the lock-out was voluntarily terminated at 2 p.m., after six hours of occupation. The activists felt it had been a successful event and had brought to the attention of lots of people that the corporation was there and what it was up to.

	

	

	

January
26th 	Faslane Court Breaks Verdict Pattern
26th January 2004 
Faslane Court Breaks Verdict Pattern	

Activists acquitted as Scottish High Court prepares for landmark hearing on Breach of the Peace 
The established pattern of automatic guilty verdicts for people appearing at the local court on breach of the peace charges relating to blockades of Faslane naval was interrupted today as two activists were found not guilty.
The acquittals, delivered at Helensburgh District Court by Justice of the Peace Bert Alexander, were not based on technicalities. The JP said there was a lack of evidence that any one was alarmed or that any reasonable person would have been alarmed by the actions of Tor Justad and Jan Sutch Pickard in sitting down in the gateway during the Really Big Blockade of the base on 22nd April last year.
Tor (58), a worker in the Co-operative movement who hails from Strathpeffer, told the court that he had engaged in legitimate protest against the immoral and illegal threat of Trident. Jan (59), the Warden of Iona Abbey, said that she found the presence of Trident deeply alarming and disturbing
The evidence in both trials, as is usual in these cases, was that the event had a carnival atmosphere and was devoid of any antagonism between police and protesters. Indeed, the course of the trials, up to the point of the verdict, followed the pattern of scores of cases that have seen guilty verdicts handed down as a matter of course, and which have led to a flurry of appeals to the Scottish High Court.
The Scottish Legal establishment recognises the need to clarify this law. On 3rd March a panel of five judges in the High Court are due to hear several appeals together (half of them related to anti-Trident protests), leading to what is likely to be a landmark ruling, with great significance for the resistance to Trident.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: "Of course we really want to be acquitted on the grounds that we are right to challenge illegal weapons of mass destruction. At the same time, it is great that at least one JP has not been bound by the usual political bias but has actually looked at the evidence in the light of the law as it stands. We hope that the High Court will confirm the view of breach of the peace that the JP took today and put a stop to the ongoing harassment of peaceful protesters by police and the lower courts."
	
22nd	Blair speaks on Trident
22nd January 2004 
Blair speaks on Trident	

Prime Minister Tony Blair today replied in person to a question on Trident from student and Trident Ploughshares activist, Joss Garman. 
During an online discussion with Tony Blair via The Guardian website about the proposed top up fees, Joss Garman, asked, “Why do you feel that the £1.5 billion of tax payers money spent on Trident each year is better spent on Weapons of Mass Destruction than on my education and the education of others my age?”
Blair replied, “I really don’t feel this is a comparison we can make. We have a lot of competing demands right across public spending, and we need to balance all of them. Proper defence is essential for our national security.”
In response to Blair’s comment, Joss Garman explained, “Although the money spent on Trident each year could pay for every student in the country to go to University, Blair still thinks that the plotting of genocide at Faslane is more important. Last week he said that he was against WMD’s. He has either got confused or he has seriously got his priorities wrong. It is obvious that to stop fees, stop trident.”
For the full question and answer session, see:
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/publ...
	
21st	Newcastle Protesters Fined for Faslane Blockades
21st January 2004 
Newcastle Protesters Fined for Faslane Blockades	

Today two anti-Trident protesters from Newcastle were fined £120 for taking part in blockades of the British Trident nuclear weapon submarine base at Faslane on the Clyde. 
At Helensburgh District Court Mike Rabley, 40, was on trial for a blockade of the base in February 2002 while Mike Harrison, 47, a computer programmer, joined hundreds of sit-down protesters in April last year.
Mike Rabley told the court how his health had been affected by pollution from an incinerator on the Byker estate in Newcastle. After four years of campaigning the city council had given in to public pressure and closed the incinerator. This experience had convinced Mike that unless ordinary people took action, such threats to life and health would continue unchallenged, a conviction that in turn had brought him to Faslane, in view of the danger Trident presented. He also felt close to the Trident issue because road convoys carrying Trident warheads to and from Coulport passed through Newcastle.
Mike Harrison told Justice of the Peace Nicholson that these anachronistic weapons were a terrible waste of taxpayers’ money, adding: “ The weapons we are protesting against are an incitement to less responsible regimes to try to acquire such weapons themselves. The continued existence of our nuclear weapons particularly against a backdrop of hypocritical moralising from our “Big Boys Club” is in itself a pressure for proliferation, in itself makes the world a more dangerous, rather than a safer place.”
	
20th	UK WMD Storage Base Blockaded
20th January 2004 
UK WMD Storage Base Blockaded	

Yesterday, the 19th January, three activists blockaded the main gate at RNAD Coulport, the storage facility for Trident warheads. Morag, from Faslane Peace Camp, Roz a Trident Ploughshares pledger from Edinburgh, and Raggy Jason from Bristol, blockaded the main gate at Coulport for two and a half hours from 6.55 am till 9.25 am. 
Workers traffic tailed back and eventually a subsidiary gate was opened to which police redirected traffic further along the road. It took some time for the MOD cutting team to cut the three free, in the pouring rain, from two steel lock-on tubes using a steel cutting saw. All three were arrested for a breach of the peace and held in HMNB Faslane for a few hours.
One of the activists said, "Only Weapons of Non-Existence have so far been found in Iraq. Meanwhile the UK blatantly stores and loads WMD from here, ready to be used at any time against innocent civilians in any country deemed to be a threat. We ask whose interests are being served here?!"
	
13th	Faslane Fine For Veteran Peace Campaigner
13th January 2004 
Faslane Fine For Veteran Peace Campaigner	

A veteran peace campaigner was today fined at Helensburgh District Court for blockading the entrance to Faslane naval base, home to Britain’s Trident nuclear weapon submarines. 
Helen Steven (60) and Ellen Moxley (68), from Stoer near Lochinver, were both on trial for taking part in the blockade of the base on April 22nd last year. Helen told Justice of the Peace Viv Dance that Trident was still illegal under the ruling of the International Court of Justice in 1996, in spite of the opinion of the Scottish High Court on the Lord Advocate’s reference after the trial of the Trident Three. Her Christian conviction made opposition to Trident imperative. In her words it represented “a loss of mind and a loss of soul”.
Unsurprisingly, in spite of the evidence that her actions had been peaceful she had, after all, been dressed as a flower at the blockade she was found guilty of a breach of the peace and fined £100, with a Supervised Attendance Order coming into force automatically should she fail to pay.
Ellen, who is one of the Trident Three famously acquitted in 1999 after disarming the Trident research barge Maytime, was next on trial. The Procurator Fiscal pointed out that during Helen’s trial it had been stated that she had been locked on to Ellen, and so it would be prejudicial to try her before the same magistrate on the same day. He said she should not be put to the inconvenience of traveling all the way south again for another trial and accepted her plea of not guilty.
Another long distance traveller to the court today was Adam Conway (25), from Kilkenny, who does voluntary work for the Irish environmental and social justice campaign "Gluaiseacht”. When he arrived he learned that the case against him had been dropped because a Crown witness was missing. He did however volunteer to the court that there was a warrant against him for failing to pay a fine of £175 imposed on him for a blockade of the Coulport nuclear weapon depot in August 2001, and that he still refused to pay. Instead of jailing him the JP transferred the fine to his local court, be Kilkenny in the Irish Republic, passing the buck even further than usual!
	
12th	Author Angus Calder Fined for Faslane Blockade
12th January 2004 
Author Angus Calder Fined for Faslane Blockade	

Scottish Author Angus Calder was fined in Helensburgh District Court today for taking part in a mass blockade of Faslane naval base. 
The 61 year-old poet and historian was one of the 170 people arrested at the Really Big Blockade of the Trident nuclear weapon base on 22nd April last year. He admitted he had lain in the roadway but said that his action and the whole protest had been peaceful. He had been exercising his right under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Procurator Fiscal Imran Bashir argued that this right applied only if it did not contravene domestic law and that Angus could have demonstrated on the pavement without fear of arrest. Justice of the Peace John McPhail accepted this argument and fined Angus £75.
Angus, who lives in Edinburgh, is author of the Myth of the Blitz and the Peoples War. The Myth of the Blitz is an important and controversial book which deals with propaganda and myth-making in Britain during the Second World War.
A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said; ”Of course we do not believe that a peaceful and nonviolent blockade of Faslane breaches the peace and contravenes domestic law. It only breaches this court’s erroneous and prejudiced interpretation of the law. People who lie in the roadway at Faslane should be as free from arrest as those who stand on the pavement.”
The trial of Charles Booth for taking part in the same blockade collapsed when the second police witness failed to identify him in court after the first police witness testified to the relaxed and carnival-like atmosphere of the blockade. Charles, who is 31 and lives in Edinburgh, is the Scottish Green Party spokesperson on peace, defence and international affairs.
Meanwhile in Plymouth Magistrates Court the case against Pamela Smith for obstructing the highway was dismissed when a Crown witness was not available. Pamela had taken part last autumn in a blockade of Devonport naval base, where Trident submarine Vanguard is undergoing a refit.