Press Releases & Updates 1999

This morning, at 1.50 a.m., two women members of the Trident Ploughshares campaign were taken from the water in the British nuclear weapon base at Faslane in Scotland, in the fourth attempt by activists to swim into the Trident submarine docks in the last 11 days.

Sylvia Boyes (56), a persistent peace campaigner from Birmingham, has a long history of active protest on peace issues and has been arrested 13 times since the Trident Ploughshares campaign began last year. Along with Anne Scholz (22), from Frieburg in Germany, she entered the water in the dark to the south of the perimeter of the base. They swam round the perimeter fence and after two hours in the water were intercepted while swimming under the jetties where the Polaris submarines were formerly berthed. They have been charged with breaching the bye-laws which apply to the base.

Anne said:

"My plan was to get onto a Trident sub and lock myself to it. Sylvia had a hammer to use on the exterior and spray paint to use on computer monitors inside the boat. With a bit of luck we would have got there, just as Rosie and Rachel did in February, and we will keep trying till we do. We must act and continue to act against this evil and unlawful thing."

Campaign member David Mackenzie said:

"We are delighted that Sylvia and Anne went back to carry on the disarmament work just four days after our summer camp ended. Further actions can happen at any time. With significant court cases coming up and our confidence and commitment increasing all the time the campaign is on a roll."

Notes:

On 1st February Rosie James and Rachel Wenham swam onto Trident sub HMS Vengeance in Barrow and damaged test equipment on the conning tower. They will appear in Lancaster Crown Court on 24th January.

Over eighty activists attended the camp which led to 102 arrests for disarmament actions against the Coulport and Faslane nuclear weapon bases.

Due soon is Brian Quail’s appeal against conviction for a disarmament action. The High Court in Edinburgh will decide whether the magistrate should have taken account of Brian’s defence based on international law. On 27th September, Angie Zelter, Ulla Roder and Ellen Moxley will appear before a jury in Greenock Sheriff Court. On June 8th they caused £100,000 worth of damage to Trident-related test station in Loch Goil.

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