At 7.15 this morning three activists, Sue from Faslane Peace Camp, Roz from Edinburgh and Marilyn from Glasgow, locked themselves to each other using steel tubes and lay down in the gateway of the Loch Long base, preventing any traffic getting in or out. The action was timed to coincide with the arrival of hundreds of workers for the morning shift. Traffic was diverted to a subsidiary gate for three hours wile the blockaders were in position.

This the first action in Trident Ploughshares’ Nonstop Nukestop campaign in which the Trident bases on the Clyde, Faslane and Coulport, will be disrupted by direct action all year round.

A spokesperson explained: “The recent announcement that it has cost the MOD around £500k to defend these bases from peaceful protest suggests that they are feeling the pressure. The obvious response is to increase it. The all too real weapons of mass destruction which our government deploys round the clock are there. We cannot ignore them and share in the pretence that this is a normal, lawful enterprise.”

More surprise actions of this kind are planned.