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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.\"
News
Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament 
