Press Releases & Updates 2002

This morning from around 11am Trident Ploughshares campaigners held a demonstration outside Charles Cross police station holding banners saying..

"TRIDENT IS THE REAL CRIME - ARREST IT"

Petter, who was allowed a call last night said "In the same week that the British government is hypocritically demanding inspections of Iraq without any proof that they have weapons of mass destruction, Elisa and I successfully inspected Britain’s own illegal and immoral nuclear arsenal." Petter confirmed that they found nobody on or around the submarine and after a 15 minute inspection they sounded the fire alarm bell.

Andrew Gray from Trident Ploughshares said "This demonstrates the dangers of having a nuclear submarine in a city centre. If a group that was not so committed to our values of peace and safety had managed to get to the submarine, the consequences for the citizens of The West Country would have been catastrophic. Trident can never be made safe from accidents or terrorist activity."

The MOD are completely missing the point when they state that the public were never at risk - the public are always at risk as long as we keep Trident.

In February this year HMS Vanguard, the first of four Trident submarines, arrived in Devonport for its scheduled refit. It is expected that refitting the four submarines will take a total of eight years. This poses appalling hazards from radioactive emissions and horrifying danger from an accident or a terrorist attack to everybody who lives within at least a 30 mile radius of Plymouth, adding to the existing grave risk posed by the 12 nuclear powered submarines already sited at Devonport. And all in the middle of a major and densely populated city.

Bishop Christopher Budd, the Catholic Bishop of Plymouth supports Trident Ploughshares and has prepared a message of support to be used at the multi-faith service on Sunday at HMS Drake.

Trident Ploughshares was established in 1998 to challenge the UK’s illegal and immoral possession and threatened use of nuclear weapons. Trident Ploughshares activists pledge to dismantle the UK’s nuclear arsenal in a peaceful, non-violent, open and accountable manner. So far in the campaign there have been 1,792 arrests, 366 trials, 1,675 days spent in prison and £49,945 of fines and compensation orders.

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