Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

Trident Protest Cost £11,000

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Published on Tuesday, 10 January 2006 14:20

A protest against Trident nuclear submarines has left taxpayers with a bill for more than £11,000, according to official figures. Activists, led by Socialist MSP Rosie Kane, held a 15-hour demonstration involving a 25-foot mock submarine outside Holyrood in March. Kane - one of 10 people who were each fined £300 at Edinburgh Sheriff Court - has defended the protest. Demonstrators, who bound their arms together with tubes, were freed by fire teams and a specialist police unit. Estimated figures, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, put the combined cost of the police and rescue operation and the court case at £11,413. After a three-day trial, the activists - representing the Trident Ploughshares Movement - were found guilty of obstructing traffic and the police. Ms Kane, who has refused to pay her fine, said: \"There is no comparison to be made because £11,000 versus several billion pounds means nothing. I accept there is a cost in policing these events but, if you line it up against the cost of Trident, it\'s a drop in the ocean.\" The activist, who vowed to continue protesting against nuclear weapons, added: \"Trials cost money, protests cost money but nuclear weapons - every single day that they exist - cost lives directly or indirectly. I will not hand over money when I\'m pointing out a crime.\"