Latest news with #ElbitSystemsUK
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mother of protester says trial wait 'outrageous'
The mother of a man charged in relation to an alleged break-in at the UK site of an Israel-based defence firm has said it is "outrageous" that he faces 21 months in prison before his case goes to trial. William Plastow, 34, is one of the 'Filton 18' accused of taking part in a Palestine Action protest at an Elbit Systems UK factory in Filton, Bristol last August. Mr Plastow is still awaiting his trial which is scheduled for April next year. His mum, Jane Plastow, believes it is the longest anyone has been held in prison pre-trial on protest-related charges. The Judicial Office told the BBC it could not comment on individual cases. An earlier court hearing was told that during the incident a vehicle was driven into the doors of buildings and two responding police officers and a security guard were injured. Along with many of the rest of the group, Mr Plastow, from Manchester, is charged with criminal damage, violent disorder and aggravated burglary which he denies. The Home Office has previously told the BBC: "The CPS has decided that there is sufficient evidence to submit to the court that these offences have a terrorism connection." However, none of the 18 have been charged with terror offences. Elbit Systems UK is run separately to Israel-based Elbit Systems. It previously told the BBC that claims the facilities supply the Israeli military are "completely false". An Elbit Systems UK spokesperson told the BBC it will not comment on an ongoing legal process. "I think [for Mr Plastow] there's a great sense of helplessness and hopelessness," Ms Plastow said. "There have been lots of people locked up as political prisoners in Britain recently, there is Palestine Action and Just Stop Oil - but nobody has been locked up longer than my son and some of his comrades." Ms Plastow said her son applied for bail, promising the judge that he would stay with his mother and wear an electronic tag. "We had discussed the most onerous terms, it basically amounted to house arrest," Ms Plastow said. She said she offered to pay £50,000, from a recent inheritance, but he was denied bail. "My son has never been violent. It is a gross overreach," Ms Plastow added. "The idea that at the moment it looks like he will be locked up for 21 months is outrageous." More news stories for Bristol Watch the latest Points West Listen to the latest news for Bristol Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. UN expert's concern over activist charges 'My daughter was branded a terrorist'
BBC News
16-03-2025
- BBC News
Four Palestine Action members arrested after Bristol protest
Four people have been arrested after a protest at a defence firm's of Palestine Action used a cherry picker style vehicle and a hammer attached to a rope to smash second floor windows and douse red paint on Elbit Systems UK's Aztec West facility near Action allege that Elbit Systems UK are involved in the manufacture and supply of weapons to the Israeli military - a claim that the company strongly and Somerset Police confirmed the arrests and said it is "committed to facilitating people's right to lawful peaceful protest, but cannot and will not tolerate criminal behaviour". The force said those arrested are aged between 19 and 36 and remain in custody."We can confirm three of the four live outside of Avon and Somerset," it Action claimed that the protest was intended to "damage the operational hub" of the defence a video shared by the group on X, three of its members appear to be in the bucket of the cherry picker, while they claim a fourth person had locked themselves inside the van at the base of the cherry video shows police officers attempting to gain access to the Aztec West facility is a different facility to the one targeted by Palestine Action in August when 18 people were Systems UK has been approached for a comment.
