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Protests at WMD convoy through Scotland

Nukewatch | 19.10.2003 21:56 | Anti-militarism

On Monday and Thursday a group of Citizens’ Weapons Inspectors harried a British nuclear weapon convoy as it passed through Central Scotland on its way to the Trident base at Coulport on Loch Long. It was forced into a lay-by on its return due to the breakdown of a nuclear warhead carrier.

Nuclear warheads forced to wait in Loch Lomond National Park
Nuclear warheads forced to wait in Loch Lomond National Park


When Charlotte from Faslane Peace Camp abseiled from a footbridge on the Loch Lomond-side road the convoy was held back at Gartocharn on the A811 until she was removed and arrested along with her supporter Tara, also from the Peace Camp. Meanwhile another group of activists, in the new Nukewatch Weapon Inspectors’ white radiation suits, greeted the long line of vehicles as it passed through the village of Balloch and took the chance to explain to the crowd of passers what was going on. At this point Phill from Drymen was arrested.

Further up the road Mattias from Glasgow and Gabrielle from Faslane Peace Camp brought the convoy to a halt again.

Phill, Matthias and Gabrielle were released from custody last night while Tara and Charlotte spent a night in the cells before being freed today.All were charged with breach of the peace.

The convoys take the warheads, which contain plutonium and high explosive, from the nuclear bomb factories at Aldermaston and Burghfield in England to Coulport, where they are stored and loaded onto Trident submarines.


On Thursday 16th October the UK nuclear weapon convoy returned on its way from the Trident base at Coulport to the bomb factory at Burghfield in England. It was held up in Loch Lomond National park for around an hour due to a mechanical fault.

During the hold-up the convoy was parked in a lay-by one mile north of the Arden roundabout on the A82 within the Loch Lomond National Park. It is believed that the convoy was carrying 8 Trident warheads, equivalent to the firepower of 50 Hiroshimas.


A Nukewatch spokesperson said: “Searching for WMD is a lot easier in Scotland than Iraq, due to the huge scale of the Trident operation and the blatant disregard of the UK government for humanitarian law.”

Nukewatch
- Homepage: http://www.faslanepeacecamp.org.uk