Press Releases & Updates 2000

Tommy Sheridan, Member of the Scottish Parliament, will appear personally in Helensburgh District Court tomorrow (Wednesday 10th May), for a plea hearing in regard to his alleged breach of the peace along with 184 other activists at the blockade of Faslane on February 14th. Tommy will plead not guilty. Today in Helensburgh District Court Louise James (18), a student from Cork, and Marcus Armstrong (39), a peace worker and counsellor from Milton Keynes were found guilty by JP Joseph Scullion on charges of breaching the military bye-laws by swimming into the protected area at Faslane naval base. The JP would not permit Marcus Armstrong to cross-examine Crown witnesses on issues of international humanitarian law and demanded that the accused, in their own witness statements, restrict themselves to "relevant material". Marcus Armstrong was also found guilty of breach of the peace for his part in a blockade of Coulport base in August last year. They were fined £50 on each charge.

At the end of his witness statement, referring to the threat of nuclear catastrophe, Marcus Armstrong said: "If anything ever happened and if any of my children, grandchildren or any person asks me, did you know? What did you do? although it would give me little comfort, I would be able to say yes, I did know and although I wish I’d found the strength to do more, I did what I could at the time, given the circumstances." Turning to JP Scullion he asked him directly: "What would you say to your children or grandchildren?" There was a silence and then the JP said: "I will not answer that question."

Also today, Margaret Bremner (45), a nurse from Portobello in Scotland was found guilty of malicious damage after cutting the perimeter fence at Coulport last year. She was fined £50 and ordered to pay £100 compensation. The case against Gaynor Barrett (21), a student and hospital cleaner from Cambridge, was abandoned by the Crown after it was realised that the military bye-laws did not cover the area in which she was arrested.

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