Kirk Minister Says No to Faslane Fine

The minister of Elderslie Church of Scotland in Renfrewshire has told a Scottish Court that he will not pay a fine of £150 he incurred today for his part in the protest at Faslane on 12th February last year.

Rev. David McLachlan, 45, one of the 385 arrested at the Big Blockade of the nuclear weapons base, was answering a charge of breach of the peace at Helensburgh District Court. He pointed out that his actions had been peaceful and orderly and no traffic had been held up, since it had already been diverted by the police. He had not made up his mind to join the blockade but the sight of a group of old-age pensioners sitting down in the gateway had put him to shame and he joined them. He told Justice of the Peace Viv Dance “Trident is an affront to Jesus Christ.”

Also fined today were Jessica Edwards, 22, a student from Manchester, for taking part in the blockade of the base last October and Pamela Smith for breaching the military bye-laws. In August 2001 , during the Trident Ploughshares disarmament camp, she had been inside the fuel depot to the north of the base and had been arrested. Her claim that the bye-laws did not cover the depot was rejected by JP Dance, who was content to accept the word of a police witness to the contrary.

Scottish CND campaigns worker Phill Jones, 39, from Milton of Buchanan, had a diet of debate about the validity of a bye-law charge against him relating to a boat action near the Coulport base in August 2000. JP Dance rejected his submission that the Secretary of State had no powers in Scots law to impose the bye-law and decided that the case should go to trial.