Press Releases & Updates 2002

Morag Balfour (29), from Glenrothes, Sue Brackenbury (26), from Catrine in Ayrshire and David Heller from Sheffield were apprehended while cutting the perimeter fence at the nuclear weapon submarine base. All were charged with malicious mischief. David and Morag have been released from custody while Sue has been held to appear in court today, since this is her second arrest at the 14 day disarmament camp at the Clyde bases, which runs until next Monday, 19th August. There have been 42 arrests since the camp began last week.

Campaigners have been taken aback by what they see as the new levels of hypocrisy reached by the UK Government in its coda to the Strategic Defence review, the "New Chapter", published in July, which includes the following:

"Those at every level responsible for any breach of international law relating to the use of weapons of mass destruction will be held personally to account."

Trident Ploughshares comment: "The New Chapter effectively confirms Britain’s utterly cynical stance on weapons of mass destruction and the law. We will apparently pursue all other lawbreakers with full rigour but it is OK for us to possess and regularly use as a threat our indiscriminate weapon of mass destruction, Trident. There is also the implicit recognition in the phrase "at all levels" that the Nuremberg Principles do apply. If these principles were honestly applied to our situation we would realise that all those involved in the Trident project, as well as civilian police forces and courts of law which protect it, are potentially implicated in war crime."

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