Lavinia Crossley, Tansy Newman Turner and Emma Bateman, all part of a group calling themselves the ‘Faslane 365 Serious Organised Crime Investigation and Prevention Team’, went into the base to find evidence on the rules of engagement, policies and procedures for the deployment, targeting and use of nuclear weapons and to discover what information is provided to personnel about the legal, safety and security implications of their work on Trident. Their action kicks off the last month of the Faslane 365 year-long blockade, in which almost 1000 people from all over the world have been arrested.

In carrying the nonviolent resistance to the illegal deployment and renewal of Trident into the submarine base itself, the women took this action because they consider that the deployment of Trident constitutes preparation for a war crime. This violation of Scottish and international law is compounded by the UK Government’s policies of deployment, constituting an ever-present threat to use Trident. The women’s action was against both the current deployment and the government’s stated intention to replace the current Trident-carrying Vanguard-class submarines with new ballistic missile submarines, in breach of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), of which Britain is a Party.

“Nuclear weapons are immoral and illegal,” said Lavinia Crossley (22) from Bradford. “I feel I have to act because if I do not, who will? The Government continues to cover up the illegality of these weapons and instead pretend that we are the criminals.”

Emma Bateman (40), from Leicester, said, “It is ridiculous to threaten Iran with sanctions for possibly wanting nuclear weapons when we have actual WMD here and ready to be used.”

Tansy Newman Turner (21), also from Leicester, said, “Nuclear weapons are not much use against terrorism and this legislation is an admission that Faslane is a target for terrorists, thus putting us in more danger. Nuclear weapons pose a threat and danger to us, not a protection or deterrent.”