Skip to content or view screen version

Bombmakers Exposed near Victoria Station

Muriel Lester | 21.09.2006 08:38 | Anti-militarism

Block the Builders/TP/Catholic Worker affinity group rooftop occupation and banner drop from Lockheed Martin UK HQ

"Stop Lockheed - New Nuke Bomb Makers"
"Stop Lockheed - New Nuke Bomb Makers"


Below is a press release from the group that carried out the action.

Its worth noting that the government says it will make public a decision about the future of Britain's WMD programme during the next three months. Urgent (direct and other) action is required now at key locations in the nuclear chain. Groups like Block the Builders (who focus on direct action to prevent building of new nuclear weapons facilities at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston), the Women's Peace Camp(aign) and TP/Faslane365 are all really active at the moment (along with more mainstream groups like CND) and need more people to get involved - especially in practical direct action!

For more info check out
 http://www.blockthebuilders.org.uk
 http://www.aldermaston.net
 http://www.faslane365.org
 http://www.cnduk.org

------------------------------------------
PRESS RELEASE 20/09/06
Lockheed Martin, incorporated in the US, the largest arms manufacturer in
the world, is currently developing new nuclear weapons of mass
destruction. It is uncharicteristiaclly shy about its UK Headquarters at
Manning House, 22 Carlisle Place SW1. Maybe it does not want to attract
the attention of the International Atomic Energy Authority? Iran is
currently the focus of attention of the IAEA for enriching uranium to a
level suitable for nuclear power production.

At noon Wednesday 20th September Irene Willis 61 of Trident
Ploughshares, Fr. Martin Newell 39 of Trident Ploughshare and the
Catholic Worker community , and Stepen Barnes 31 of the Catholic Worker
community, climbed up onto the roof of Manning House and hung a large
banner saying "Stop Lockheed New Nuke Bombmaker" down the front. Their
friends in the Muriel Lester's nonviolent affinity group hung banners on
the railings outside the building and gave out leaflets to, mostly
sympathetic, passers by. They gave free publicity to the corporation's
pressence in Westminster and to its work at Atomic Weapons
Establishment, Aldermaston developing a replacement for the Trident
nuclear missile system. The later is a breach of the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty.1. They have thus saved Lockheed Martin some of
its slice of the £20 billion + that developing and building a
replacement for Trident will cost. 2.

Irene Willis was carried down the fireescape by two security men at
about 12.15 pm. The police cordened off the road outside Manning House
but nobody was arrested. The Head of Communications at Lockheed Martin
had agreed to meet one person from the group at 1.20 pm. By 1.30pm after
the group had discussed the offer and made it clear through the police
that they would want more than one representative he withdrew the offer.
The two men remained displaying the big banner until they came down of
their own accord at 2.30pm.

1. Singh R. QC and Prof. C Chinkin "The maintenance and possible
replacement of the Trident Nuclear Missile System, Peacerights,Matrix
Chambers 19/12/05
2. CND "No Trident Replacement, A CND Briefing" www.cnd.org

Muriel Lester
- Homepage: http://www.blockthebuilders.org.uk