Four anti-arms trade activists had all charges dropped by the Crown prosecution service in Brighton magistrates today (12th March 2008).

The charges followed a 'Bad Karaoke' demonstration held outside a weapons manufacturers in Moulescoombe Brighton on 10th October 2007. One sixteen year old was charged with breach of a local noise bye-law and the three others under public order law.

The Crown Prosecution Service dropped all charges half way through the trial, following defence requests to examine the notebook of the officer in control – Chief Inspector Mills. The prosecution initially claimed that the notebook attracted Public Interest Immunity. When this was refused the prosecution withdrew all evidence.

Chloe Marsh, press spokesman for the Smash EDO campaign said “These defendants have been on bail for nearly four months. We can only speculate as to what was contained in this notebook, but we suspect that once again cases against campaigners have been dropped before collusion between Sussex Police and EDO MBM could be exposed.”

Notes for Journalists:

The Company

EDO MBM Technologies Ltd are the sole UK subsidiary of huge U.S weapons manufacturer EDO Corp.
From their base in Moulescoombe Brighton, EDO MBM manufacture vital parts for the Hellfire and Paveway weapons systems,
laserguided missiles used extensively in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and Somalia.

EDO Corp were recently acquired by ITT in multi-billion pound deal.
ITT's links to fascism go back to the 1930s.
The founder Sosthenes Behn was the first foreign businessman received by Hitler after his seizure of power.

The Campaign

There has been active campaign against the presence of EDO MBM in Brighton since the outbreak of the Iraq war.
Campaigners include students, Quakers , Palestine solidarity activists, anti-capitalists and academics.

Despite an injunction under the protection of harassment act (which failed) and over forty arrests the campaign is still going strong.
Their avowed aim is to expose EDO MBM and their complicity in war crimes and to remove them from Brighton.

They hold regular weekly demos outside the Moulescoombe factory on Wednesday's between 4 and 6.