Bill for policing protests against submarine base tops £5 million

Published on Monday 3 September 2007 00:04

THE cost of policing anti-nuclear protests at a submarine base has exceeded £5 million in less than a year, it was confirmed today.

A Strathclyde Police report shows the daily protests at Faslane have resulted in 816 arrests by the force.

The year-long campaign of protests - which started on 1 October and involved people from across the UK as well as Japan, France, Germany and Belgium - have also seen Ministry of Defence Police make a further 118 arrests.

At times, as many as 150 officers have been deployed to the Faslane 365 protest, which has involved sit-down protests and people chaining themselves to fences and gates.

Much of the cost is due to police overtime payments to supply 24-hour cover, with the biggest single expense coming in the first month when 1.7 million was spent. Chief Constable William Rae, in a report to go before the Strathclyde Joint Police Board tomorrow, said: "Policing costs have been substantial, but, more importantly, many communities were denied the services of their local officers when they were deployed to Faslane."

Margaret Curran, the shadow justice spokesman at Holyrood, said: "People in areas where there is high levels of crime and a genuine need for a round-the-clock police presence are losing out badly."