Press Releases & Updates 1998

As Trident Ploughshares (TP2000) disarmers carried out a mass action against the Coulport Naval Base, where the UK’s illegal weapons of mass destruction are stored and loaded onto the Trident submarines, leading to successful intrusions, a continuing blockade of the gate and 17 arrests, accredited TV journalists from Belgium were refused information from the Faslane MOD press office.

Today at 1pm 50 activists descended on the main gate of the Coulport base where a mere 30 police with only two vans were taken by surprise as some of the protesters, including Angie Zelter, breached the fence to carry out a citizens’ war crimes inspection while Helen from the Menwith Hill group cut her way through the fence. Still others, among them Barbara from Edinburgh in her wheelchair, have blocked the gate by locking on to each other with their arms in drainpipes. They are still lying there peacefully, surrounded by banners. 16 disarmers at this action (to date 8 confirmed by the MoD) have been arrested so far bringing the total number of arrests of TP2000 protesters to 40 in this phase of the campaign which will last till the 25th August.

Earlier, at 10.30 am an Australian brother and sister team were arrested for entering the Faslane nuclear submarine base to make a demand to the Commanding Officer to begin disarmament of the Trident system. Anja and Jens Light bring an international plea for peace, Anja having come directly from meetings with survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Accredited Belgian and Dutch TV crews who are filming the campaign for their home networks have been refused access to information from the MoD press office by civil servant Steven Willmott. Michel Peremans said "It’s a pity they refused us an interview as this would have helped us to report objectively on the British nuclear submarine base and the protesters." The crews are at Faslane and Coulport as a number of the TP2000 activists are Belgian and Dutch nationals.

Prize for the most bizarre arrest so far goes to Lesley Bolton (56) a veteran veggieburger cooker and peace activist who was arrested yesterday at Faslane for advertising the burger bar by writing on a concrete post.

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