Press Releases & Updates 2000

Their defence team is barrister Steven Cottle and Solicitor Gareth Pierce. All the business was done except for the verdict which the magistrates are expected to return on the 3rd March.

They are charged with causing criminal damage estimated by the Crown at £1000 +VAT relating to 13th July last year when they entered the Nuclear Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston.

The four do not dispute the basic facts referred to in the charge, but argued that their action was justified in the light of the illegality of Trident, and the need to take urgent action against war crime.

The Stipendiary Magistrate has allowed the defence to call expert witnesses and has listened carefully to the argument. Professor Nick Grief from Bournemouth University gave expert evidence on the applicability of international law to the issue of Trident’s legality. William Peden, International Disarmament Campaigner for Greenpeace, and independent nuclear consultant Dr. Frank Barnaby gave evidence on the targeting of Trident missiles, the imminent nature of the threat and the workings of Britain’s nuclear weapon system.

The four are reported to feel quite upbeat and happy that the arguments have been heard.

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