Just five years ago Trident Ploughshares began its open, accountable and nonviolent campaign against Trident, Britain's weapon of mass destruction. Since then our activists have been involved in over 2000 arrests. High profile actions, like the disarmament of the research barge Maytime in 1999 by the Trident Three and the series of highly successful mass blockades at Faslane, have increased public awareness about the UK's nuclear weapons and promoted debate. There is an incessant parade of peaceful protesters through the local courts and regular short prison terms. At the moment two are in jail, Ulla Roder on remand in Cornton Vale for damaging a Tornado jet at Leuchars airbase and Sylvia Boyes, doing three months in Low Newton for breaching the terms of a conditional discharge.

We put a strong emphasis on acting in affinity groups, on a firm grounding in the principles of nonviolence, on careful consideration of risks and personal boundaries and on working by consensus. We have just under 200 people who have taken our Pledge to Prevent Nuclear Crime and thousands of supporters.

Right now we are in the middle of a two-week disarmament camp at Coulport on Loch Long. People have come from nine different counties to cause as much disruption as we can to the Faslane and Coulport bases. They have brought with them great energy and new ideas. We have painted slogans, blockaded the gates and cut through the perimeter fences. The police, although friendly enough most of the time, have continued their policy of support for state terror and so there have been 27 arrests, for breach of the peace, malicious mischief, breaching bye-laws and vandalism. On Wednesday at Faslane we held a moving commemoration of the Hiroshima bombing that ended in a "die-in" at the north gate of the base, recognising that the dangers of nuclear disaster are as great as ever and that the British state is prepared to play its appalling part.