Faslane 365 days on: 1,110 arrests and £5m bill for policing protest

Published on Tuesday 2 October 2007 00:48

IT HAS lasted a year, cost police and taxpayers £5 million and has resulted in 1,110 arrests. But the wider impact of the Faslane 365 protests on Britain's commitment to the Trident nuclear weapons system and its successor is far from clear.

The high-profile anti-nuclear protest was brought to an end in an emphatic manner yesterday when campaigners clashed with police one last time.

An estimated 500 campaigners converged at dawn on the gates of HM Naval Base Clyde, overlooking the Gare Loch, and tried to blockade the gates.

Dozens of police were drafted in to tackle the protesters, many of whom glued themselves to the road or chained themselves to the gates, while others linked themselves together with concrete tubes.

Witnesses spoke of a "continuous" stream of people being carried off by officers. By the end of yesterday, Strathclyde Police had arrested 73 men and 98 women, bringing the total detained since the campaign began to 1,110.

After the initial direct action, the remaining protesters turned the event into a colourful and noisy affair, with stilt walkers, clowns and musical instruments brought to the fore, as people read poetry, danced and sang anti-war songs.

But while the conclusion to the campaign drew attention, there remained the question of what has been achieved.

For those who have kept the campaign flame burning over the past year - including some who have come from as far as Japan to give their support - the achievements are obvious.

"First, we have raised public awareness of the illegality and immorality of Trident and that Scotland does not need to keep accepting nuclear weapons," said Rebecca Johnston spokeswoman for the protest. "Second, it has been the public mobilisation. It has reinvigorated both the Scottish peace movement and the UK-wide one."

Rosie Kane, former Scottish Socialist MSP, who has been arrested for her part in previous Faslane blockades, believes the 365 protest has been a watershed for the peace movement.

"I think one of the great things has been the number of young people who have come here to be arrested, because to me that means the baton (of direct action) has been successfully passed on," she said. "I feel here we are passing on the torch on."

But as one Royal Navy spokesman pointed out, the protesters' ultimate goal was not reached. "In terms of the operational running of Faslane and the Trident system, they have had no effect at all," he said. "I think it can be said that they reinvigorated themselves, but the permanent peace camp has been here for 25 years and during the past year the population of that has not been more than six."

Another Faslane source put it more bluntly: "They've achieved hee haw. Watching these people dressed as clowns and running around in the nude, I felt embarrassed for them."

For Chief Superintendent Mitch Roger, head of L Division of Strathclyde Police, which has had to cope with the logistics of the protest, set out its impact on his force: "They failed to protest on all 365 days. They didn't achieve that. It was more like 190 days, so we were policing one day in every two instead.

"I am glad to see the protest gone, because of the resources it took up to police it. We had to bring officers in from across Strathclyde, and in some cases, for them to report to their head quarters before coming to us to be briefed, officers had to be up at 3am, so many will be glad to see this over.

"Also, it allows us to concentrate on other issues such as violent crime and alcohol abuse, especially in the run-up to Christmas."

In Rhu and Garelochhead, villages either side of the camp, opinion is mixed about Faslane 365.

In the Rhu Inn, one local resident said: "It had little effect on us to be honest. You'd barely know they were there. I would have to say that they've achieved nothing with this beyond annoying people trying to get back and forth from the peninsula."

Meanwhile, in Garelochhead, Irene Caruth was more forthright: "I feel a lot of bitterness towards the whole protest. The impact they've had on school buses and local transport with their blockades is terrible.

"They have achieved nothing by being here, and by holding such a protest they are only making people around here more bitter.

"Most of the shops are closed today because of this protest, and those that are open are extremely quiet."