Trident Trasher inspired by Hawks action

On 14 Sep in Manchester Crown Court Rosie James made a moving statement about the openness and accountability of her actions in disarming the Trident nuclear submarine HMS Vengeance in February 1999. From her days living outside the Alvis tank factory and her political life-changing encounters with BAe Hawk disarmers Andrea Needham and Angie Zelter, to the action she took with Rachel Wenham on 1 February 1999, Rosie presented a thoughtful and moving account of her work and life.

In reply to cross-examination regarding the Vengeance action, Rosie made it clear she expected to be arrested, charged and tried for her actions. She said, "We were not criminals running away from what we did; what we did was true and right and proper, and we feel no shame in taking it before a court of law".

In a case that seeks to establish that the women's action was taken in order to prevent greater crimes, Rosie James stated that "It is perfectly clear that Trident breaks every cardinal principle of international law, not to mention our gut instincts on how to behave to each other."

Despite the best efforts of the prosecution, Judge Humphries did not rule out Rosie's evidence relating to the International Court of Justice's 1996 Opinion on the legality of nuclear weapons. She went on to say that Britain's possession of the Trident nuclear weapons system was based on its economic interests rather than the defence of the nation.

From the witness box Rosie James described how on the night of their disarmament action, the women had swum in darkness across the dock at Barrow, boarded the submarine despite a full security presence, and had been able to disarm radar surveillance testing equipment before handing themselves into security.

Rosie's co-defendant, Rachel Wenham, will appear in court and begin giving evidence this afternoon. Expert witnesses and legal arguments will be heard on Friday.