Crown Admits Defeat on Scottish Parliament Trident protest
Demo Cases Boost for Campaigners on Eve of Faslane Blockade

The Edinburgh Procurator Fiscal has decided to drop the outstanding cases arising from the Trident Ploughshares protest in the Scottish Parliament last April due to the large proportion of acquittals in the cases which have already come to court.

On 6 Feb Barbara McGregor (33), an artist and warehouse worker from Glasgow, arrived at Edinburgh Sheriff court to face trial on a charge of breach of the peace. Barbara was one of eleven protesters who interrupted First Minister's questions on 5th April 2001 with a demand that the Parliament debate Trident. She was met at the entrance to the court today by the Procurator Fiscal. He told her that he was accepting her plea of not guilty since so many of the other protesters had already been acquitted on the same charges, adding that her actions were not in his view a breach of the peace.

Of the eleven people charged last April only one has been found guilty. Four trials ended with the court accepting a plea of "no case to answer". There was also one not guilty verdict and one "not proven". Three cases were still to come to trial and will presumably now be deserted. The acquittals have been based mainly on the failure of the Crown to show that the demonstrator's actions had caused, or potentially would cause the level of distress and alarm sufficient to establish the breach of the peace charge. There has also been recognition of the right to protest. In finding the case against Ulla Roder "not proven" on 18th October last year Sheriff Craik said: "A certain latitude of behaviour must be allowed in bona fide political protest."

Jane Tallents, the sole demonstrator found guilty, said: "We have said all along that it was wrong to criminalise our actions and overall the court has agreed with us. We have also been suspicious that there was political leverage behind the prosecutions." Jane has been given leave to appeal her verdict. Although dismayed at the verdict she is looking forward to arguing her case in the High Court and highlighting the flaws in that Court's controversial Opinion in the Lord Advocate's Reference on the legality of Trident.

The Procurator Fiscal's decision to drop the cases is a big encouragement to campaigners as they look forward to the mass blockade of Faslane on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week. There have also been significant acquittals related to the Faslane protests and one magistrate, Justice of the Peace Tony Stirling, publicly challenged the mass arrest policy when he acquitted Iona Gorringe and MSP Tommy Sheridan. A letter has gone from Trident Ploughshares to Stratchclyde Chief Constable William Rae, urging him not to have his officers arrest peaceful activists.

Background information

1. Hundreds of activists from all over Europe are expected at Faslane on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week for a blockade of the base, home to the UK's Trident nuclear missile submarine fleet. At similar events last year a total of over 500 arrests were made. Among MSPs who will be present are John McAllion, Linda Fabiani, Dorothy-Grace Elder, Bruce Crawford, Lloyd Quinan and Tommy Sheridan. Tommy and Lloyd have indicated that they are willing to risk arrest. Scottish author AL Kennedy will also be there. A group of Scottish clergy will also be present on Monday and many of them are prepared to risk arrest.

2. The letter to William Rae includes: "We do appreciate the difficult position the Strathclyde Police force is put in by the existence of the Faslane and Coulport facilities on the one hand and by the widespread public opposition to Trident in Scotland on the other. We can all wish that our elected leaders would honestly face the challenge of that situation. We have also appreciated the skill, humanity and good humour with which the work of policing the blockades has been carried out. When active at other facilities in the UK we always hold up the "Strathies" as a model of how it should be done. At the same time we believe that the arrest policy leads to a farcical position in which the valuable time of the police, ordinary citizens and the courts is wasted. " Full text of letter on TP website.

3. Outcome of Parliament Protest Cases
Jane Tallents Guilty, given leave to appeal to High Court
Elinor Mackenzie No case to answer
Ulla Roder Not proven
Leesa French No case to answer
Marjan Willemsen Not guilty
Morag Balfour No case to answer
Joy Mitchell No case to answer
Barbara McGregor Dropped
Brian Quail Presumed deserted
Maire-Colette Wilkie Presumed deserted
Angie Zelter Presumed lost in court system