The new web address for PICAT:http://picat.online
PICAT stands for the Public Interest Case Against Trident and as it is a big project in itself and growing fast we’ve decided to give the project its own website. You can find all the available PICAT documents, the activity of groups involved and the latest news via the menu at the top of the new PICAT.Online website. All new developments will be posted at PICAT.Online as they happen – with easy links back here to the main Trident Ploughshares website, and the Trident Ploughshares Social Media accounts.
Aim
The aim of this project is to bring the crimes constituted by Trident and its renewal before the domestic courts and to secure a judgement that will lead to the ending of these crimes through the disarming of the UK’s nuclear weapons system.
Summary
5 PICAT groups around England and Wales (the Scottish process is different and so far is not involved in this project) in this briefing) went to their local Magistrates’ court and asked them to start the process of a criminal prosecution against the Secretary of State for Defence (the corporate office not the individual incumbent) for being engaged in a conspiracy to commit a war crime.
The courts said we had to get the Attorney General’s permission as such serious crimes have to have the consent of the Attorney General in order for proceedings to begin in the courts.
2 years later, in November 2017, the Attorney General (A-G) refused his consent to the 5 groups which he had combined into one prosecution on the spurious grounds that he had not been given sufficient evidence. During the 2 years of the project various pro bono lawyers have helped us and the indictment that went before the A-G actually charged the Pm, the Defence Minister adn their corporate offices for conspiring to commit a war crime.
To date (February 2018) PICAT have lodged an application for a Judicial Review of this decision, we have initiated crowd funding to raise money for this and further PICAT work and are starting on a mass collection of evidence that will be used in various ways to inform the public and decision makers that there is plenty of evidence.
The people who initiated the project were Angie Zelter, George Farebrother (unfortunately now deceased) and Robbie Manson, a lawyer and author of ‘Pax Legalis’. Angie and Robbie are now co-ordinating the campaign and are being assisted by David Mackenzie and Kate Holcombe.
You can keep updated on this project by going to the website at PICAT.Online