Press Releases & Updates 2000

Marcus Armstrong (40), a counsellor from Milton Keynes, had been charged after a blockade at Coulport on August 7th, and Brian Quail (62), a retired teacher from Glasgow, had been charged after the Crimebusters blockade of Faslane on 14th February.

Marcus asked the JP whether he would be allowed to cross-examine the witnesses about their knowledge of the Geneva Protocols. The JP said his usual thing was to let "you people"(sic) say what they wanted to say and only stop them if required. Marcus asked the witness a series of questions about the purpose of the base at Coulport but was stopped by the JP when he asked about the nature of the weapons. The JP said he "was not here to listen to arguments about the legality or otherwise of Trident". Marcus pointed out his whole defence was built around the circumstances of his actions -he needed a fair opportunity to explain that. The JP restated his position.

In his own testimony Marcus said that if he had intervened to prevent a kidnap he would not be charged with any crime and that the circumstances, i.e, the legality of Trident, was central to these circumstances. The JP again said he would not listen to these arguments. The rest of Marcus’statement was a strongly worded appeal to the conscience of the JP and the court. In his summing up he said: "I know, and you all know, that I have done nothing wrong." He was fined £75 with 28 days to pay. He said he would not pay.

At the outset Brian made a motion to the court for the trial to be stopped and moved to a court which could deal with it. The trial could not be fair if he was not to be allowed to explain the circumstances for his actions, as he had seen happening in Marcus’ case. The legal status of Trident was crucial to his defence. JP said they should get on with the trial but Brian asked him if he was maintaining his position that the circumstances were not relevant. Should he not uphold the law? JP again insisted they got on with the trial, whereupon Brian said he would do so under duress, noting that the JP had cast doubt on the fairness of his judgment by referring in Marcus’ trial to "you people".

In his own statement Brian spoke graphically about the horrors of Hiroshima and the suffering of so many down the years through the nuclear chain. He challenged the JP: "How in the name of God can you defend ruling out evidence about the nature, effects and legality of nuclear weapons?" In his cross-examination the Procurator Fiscal said, without any apparent attempt at irony, that Faslane was a dangerous place and it was essential to public safety that its smooth running continued unimpeded. In the light of his previous convictions, JP McPhail fined Brian £200 with 28 days to pay.

Trident Ploughshares comment:

"Neither Brian nor Marcus got a fair trial today. The JP seems unable to treat each case on its individual merit or to conceive the possibility that what’s official might be illegal."

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