NEWSLETTER January 2011

Peace message travels from Littleborough to Lisbon

Pat Sanchez and Rae Street set off from a cold Littleborough railway station on the evening of Wednesday 17 November 2010 and travelled to Lisbon by rail through the following night via France and Spain.

They arrived in the relative warmth and sunshine of the Portuguese capital at about the same time as NATO leaders laid out their plans to continue the war in Afghanistan until at least 2015.

In Lisbon, they joined other international delegates and protesters, including Jeremy Corbyn MP and CND national chair, Dave Webb in condemning NATO's decision to continue with its military occupation of Afghanistan, its policy of 'first use' of nuclear weapons and plans to spend tens of £billions on developing a so-called 'missile defence system'. They called for an immediate end to NATO's war in Afghanistan, an end to NATO expansion and for British withdrawal from the military alliance.

Pat Sanchez said: "We attended an inspiring conference that offered us a vision of the peaceful future we are all working for. People from many nations are working together against NATO's policies and were horrified by the latest the communiqué about that organisation's New Strategic Concept. Its contents made us more aware than ever that NATO's policies are no way to peace, but will bring greater dangers to the world.

“We are outraged that NATO is doing nothing further Obama's claimed vision of a nuclear free world, while their announcements lead us to suspect that the real plan is to develop new nuclear weapons and to share these amongst the previously nuclear-free states that have joined NATO in recent years.

“The US are now trying to include even Russia in their 'Star Wars' plans. Through NATO, they are trying to disguise attempts to gain even greater military dominance over the world, but we are confident that the peoples of the world will see through this subterfuge. We know that a 'Star Wars' missile system will not bring peace. We know that nuclear weapons will not bring peace. And we shall continue to resist the immoral squandering of tens of £billions on preparations for war.

“This is money that needs instead to be invested in education, in health and in alleviating poverty in Rochdale, in Britain and across the world.”

Afghanistan: Time to Go. Cut War Not Welfare. No to NATO

Rochdale peace campaigners joined national and international protests in London and Lisbon on Saturday (20 November 2010) calling for an immediate end to NATO's war in Afghanistan. The distinctive Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group banner was prominent in the crowds on the national 'Afghanistan: Time to Go' march from Hyde Park, while Pat Sanchez and Rae Street took their 'No to NATO' message all the way to the NATO summit in Portugal.

Philip Gilligan held a placard with the message 'Rochdale says Support our troops. BRING THEM HOME!!' in Trafalgar Square, while listening to speeches from former soldier Joe Glenton imprisoned earlier this year for refusing to return to fight in Afghanistan; other members of Military Families Against the War, whose sons, daughters and partners have been killed or are still serving there and from speakers highlighting the fact that the war in Afghanistan costs the country £5billion per year.

Philip Gilligan said,

"NATO's disastrous war is destroying lives and costing money. During the last few days, we have heard of the death of the 100th British soldier to die during 2010 and have, again, heard military experts tell us that this war is unwinnable. The governments of Blair, Brown, Cameron and Clegg have been sending our young men and women to be killed and to kill in Afghanistan for nine years, but nothing has been achieved beyond propping-up a notoriously corrupt regime in Kabul.

At a time when health services are being withdrawn from our town, when our council is planning to cut £50million from services and put 900 people at risk of losing their jobs and when many young people are to be priced-out of a university education because of increased tuition fees, it seems that the government can still find £5billion a year to spend on a futile war they know cannot be won and know is opposed by the overwhelming majority of the British public.

David Cameron meeting with other NATO leaders in Lisbon, now, tells us that the plan is for British troops to continue to be sent to Afghanistan to kill and be killed, there, at least until 2015. He is expecting us to accept another four years of pointless deaths, destruction and injuries, simply to save him and others from needing to admit that it was a mistake to invade Afghanistan in the first place. This disaster has already gone on for far too long. It needs to be stopped now. Our troops need to be brought home in 2010; not at some date in the distant future, by which time many more Afghan civilians and many more NATO troops will have died needlessly, just so the politicians responsible can save face."

Peace Group says 'Bring Them Home!'

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group called for British troops to be brought home from Afghanistan and for an end to NATO's war when they leafleted in Rochdale town centre on Saturday, 13 November 2010. They urged people to join them on the forthcoming 'Afghanistan: Time to Go' demonstration called by the Stop the War Coalition, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the British Muslim Initiative to demand an end to NATO's occupation.

They collected signatures on a petition which notes the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, and the destabilisation of Pakistan resulting from NATO's military intervention in the region and states that only the Afghan people can generate a political solution to their country's problems

Philip Gilligan on behalf of the group said,

"NATO's disastrous war costs lives and money, but achieves nothing. More British troops have already died in 2010 than in any previous year, while tens of thousands of Afghan civilians and more than two thousand NATO troops have been killed since 2001. While Rochdale is losing its hospital services and the Council is sacking essential staff, this war is costing the country £5billion every year. This is enough to offset the full cost of the government's cuts to Child and Housing Benefits and to still leave more than £2billion to spend on essential services.

Almost every day we hear of the deaths of British troops. 1,499 have been wounded. We need to bring our troops home. The killing in Afghanistan must stop."

‘Scrap Trident, not services. We want nurses not nukes.’

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group were in Middleton on Saturday (16 October 2010) collecting signatures for the latest Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND)'s petition calling on the government to scrap the Trident nuclear weapons system and cancel all plans to replace it. With placards declaring 'Nurses Not Nukes' and 'Treatment Not Trident', they urged people to join them in telling the government and MPs that they want an end to all spending on nuclear weapons and want the money saved spent instead on protecting education, health and social services.

On behalf of the group, Philip Gilligan said,

“At a time of economic crisis, when essential services for vulnerable people are being drastically cut, it is simply not acceptable to be spending £2,000,000,000 (£2billion) per year on nuclear weapons of mass destruction. When disabled people are being threatened with reductions in their benefits and care homes are being closed in our borough, because of a lack of funds, it is scandalous that £billions are being squandered on new facilities at AWE Aldermaston developing ever more deadly nuclear weapons. When young people are being told that it will cost them £7,000 per year in tuition fees at university, it is crazy that the government is still planning to spend tens of £billions on a new nuclear weapons system we do not need. It is already clear that most people in Britain are opposed to spending any more money on Trident. We want our taxes spent on decent public services, not on nuclear weapons. Trident is an immoral, illegal and hideous misuse of public funds. This is money that needs to be spent on essential services."

CND National Conference supports Rochdale campaigners call for peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) has unanimously supported a resolution from Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group at its annual conference on Sunday, 10 October 2010. The resolution reaffirmed opposition to NATO’s war in Afghanistan and Pakistan and called for the immediate withdrawal of British, US and other troops and support for a peace agreement negotiated by and between Afghan civil society.

Philip Gilligan who spoke in favour of the motion said,

“The numbers of civilian and military deaths and injuries in Afghanistan and Pakistan have all increased dramatically during 2010. The United Nations reports, for example, that the number of Afghan children killed during the first six months of 2010 was 55% higher than the number killed during the same period in 2009, while the total number of troops killed this year, is already greater than for any year since NATO started its disastrous war in 2001. Meanwhile, as the US military diverts more of its pilot-less drones for CIA attacks on targets in Pakistan, increasing numbers of Pakistani civilians, including large numbers of children are being killed, there. Between January 2006 and April 2009, such attacks killed at least 701 people in Pakistan, including 687 civilians. It is time for the killing to stop.”

He urged people in Rochdale to support the national ‘Afghanistan: Time to Go’ demonstration called by CND, Stop the War Coalition and the British Muslim Initiative in London on Saturday 20 November 2010.

CND conference also endorsed the membership of three people from Rochdale on its national council. Pat Sanchez and Rae Street were endorsed as directly elected delegates, while Philip Gilligan remains as the representative from Greater Manchester and District CND.

Peace group welcomes government climb down over Trident

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group has welcomed the news that the National Security Council will consider whether the country can afford the cost of Trident replacement at its next meeting.

Rae Street on behalf of the group said,

"Although the government has previously said that the future of Britain's nuclear weapons system would not be included in the Strategic Defence and Security Review, the need to stop squandering money on Trident has clearly dominated the public's suggestions about ways to cut public expenditure and the government has, now, been forced to concede that this issue needs to be discussed. Senior military chiefs also argue that Trident is an outmoded Cold war weapon which has no role to play against current and foreseeable threats. It was always extraordinary for Liam Fox to refuse to include the Trident nuclear weapons system in the review while other massive cuts are being made in the Defence budget and in public spending more generally. Common sense seems to have prevailed for the moment and I trust that the coalition government will now begin to listen to public opinion. We need to scrap plans for upgrading these nuclear weapons of mass destruction and to begin decommissioning the whole costly and dangerous Trident system. We need our taxes to be spent on public services, not on the means for threatening death and destruction in the world."

Rochdale campaigners call for boycott of Israeli dates

Campaigners from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group gathered in Yorkshire Street on Saturday, 4 September 2010 to promote the boycott of Israeli goods. A week before Eid, they highlighted the particular issues of dates grown by Israeli settlers on occupied Palestinian land in violation of the 4th Geneva Convention and of attempts by Israeli companies to package their products in ways which make their true origins difficult to detect. They urged shoppers to boycott dates that come from ‘Israel’, ‘West Bank’, ‘Jordan Valley’ or ‘Jordan River’ and to buy fair trade Medjoul dates from the Zaytoun organisation.

They decided to do this, after hearing that so-called ‘Kalahari Dates’ had briefly been on sale at Haji Cash and Carry who they knew, in fact, to be very strong supporters of Palestinian cause and of the boycott campaign.

Imra Shoaib said,

“I was shocked, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, to discover that traders in Rochdale could be tricked into buying dates grown in the Occupied Territories, even when they fully support the boycott campaign and are proudly displaying MPACUK certificates reassuring customers that their stock is ‘Israel Free’. In this case the medjoul dates claimed to be from South Africa.

I was delighted to learn that Haji had withdrawn these dates from sale as soon as they learned of their connection with Israel, but I fear that other traders in Rochdale may not be so careful. Wholesalers and shopkeepers have a particular responsibility, but, as customers, we must all be careful to check the true origins of what we buy. We do not want our shopping to pay for Israel’s illegal occupation, it's continuing expansion of illegal settlements, the expulsion of Palestinians from their own land or Israel's brutal and inhumane siege of Gaza. No one who supports the cause of Palestinian freedom will want to be celebrating Eid or Christmas eating dates grown on land illegally seized from Palestinians.”

“I am sure most of us don't want to be eating dates tainted with the blood of Palestinians when such sales are a source of their continued oppression.” she added.

Sajid Maqbool, General Manager of Haji Cash and Carry said,

“Our suppliers have been under strict orders not to supply any Israeli dates or their products and, if there are any such products, I will withdraw them from sale and take the relevant action against the suppliers. Palestine is very close to my heart and I am pleased to say that we had a random check by two members of MPAC around 2 weeks ago. They went round the store and inspected all the dates and also issued a poster stating that we are an Israel free zone. We will fully support the Palestine cause.”

For more information about the Muslim Public Affairs Committee Boycott Zionist Blood Dates Campaign!, please see http://www.mpacuk.org/story/120810/mpacuk-launches-boycott-zionist-blood-dates-campaign.html

For more information on the PSC's Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, please see http://www.palestinecampaign.org/Index5b.asp?m_id=1&l1_id=3&l2_id=19

NFLA Nagasaki Commemoration, Peace Gardens, Manchester

Hiroshima Day Commemorations 2010

Peace group members were in a wide variety of places on 6 August 2010. Pat Sanchez, for example, was stuck in Paris, but still managed her own quiet ceremony in her hotel room. Meanwhile, the Gilligan family attempted to fly a paper lantern with the message “No More Hiroshimas!” from the beach at Criccieth, only to be frustrated by very strong winds. They returned, later, on a much calmer evening to commemorate the dead of Nagasaki and successfully launched the lantern out across Cardigan Bay.

Philip Gilligan said,

“Remembering the horror of Hiroshima and the death and destruction
wrought on Nagasaki a few days brings home the importance of striving for a
global ban on nuclear weapons and campaigning against the government’s
plans to upgrade the Trident nuclear weapons system. Britain’s existing
nuclear weapons of mass destruction threaten the world with many times the
destructive force of the Hiroshima bomb. They would kill 50,000,000 people
and destroy our planet. They are dangerous, costly and unnecessary. It is
time to scrap Trident and to strive seriously for a safer world in which the
£billions squandered on the potential for nuclear devastation is spent, instead,
on the things we need. We need education, health and social services, not
nuclear missiles.”

Nuclear Threat to 2012 Olympics

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group joined anti-nuclear campaigners in East London on Saturday (10 July 2010) to highlight the fact that trains carrying highly-radioactive nuclear cargoes such as fuel rods are being taken through the 2012 Olympic site and other densely populated areas of the country on a weekly basis. Rae Street, Pat Sanchez and Philip Gilligan walked around the Olympic stadium to Stratford railway station where they joined fellow protesters in a symbolic ‘die-in’ in front of the Olympic Clock.

Pat Sanchez said,

“We were there because we need to highlight the devastating consequences of any accident to or terrorist attack on one of these nuclear trains, and we were there from Rochdale because this is a danger that affects the whole country. The trains passing the Olympic stadium each week are carrying highly dangerous radioactive waste from the nuclear power stations at Sizewell in Essex and Dungeness in Kent. They go all the way to Sellafield in Cumbria via the Midlands and the North West. Any accident or attack could have devastating consequences in Rochdale as well as East London. The potentially deadly cargoes on these trains are an inevitable by-product of the nuclear power industry. The fact that they are being transported from one end of the country to the other shows that the nuclear power industry doesn’t know what to do with its existing radioactive waste, let alone the even greater quantities of waste that would result from an increased in the number of nuclear plants. We need to stop these nuclear trains running through our towns and cities and we need to end our use of nuclear energy. We need to transfer the money currently wasted on hidden and not-so-hidden subsidies to the nuclear industry to funding insulation of our homes and developing safe and sustainable energy sources such as wind, wave, solar and geothermal sources. Nuclear power is not worth the risk.”

Peace Group remembers all those killed in Afghanistan

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group held an hour's vigil at the cenotaph opposite Rochdale Town Hall on Tuesday 22 June 2010. They were mourning the deaths of British soldiers in Afghanistan, including, Richard Hollington aged 23 years, the 300th British soldier to be killed there and the deaths of the thousands of Afghan civilians killed, since the invasion by NATO forces in October 2001. Members of the group read the names of all 300 British troops killed in Afghanistan since NATO's invasion and the names of 300 of the Afghan civilians. They also laid two wreaths, one with the number '300' and one with the name 'Sayed Rahman', a two year old child killed in a US airstrike during the night of April 8/9, 2003 in a village in Paktika Province near the Pakistan border.

The group observed periods of silence for all the dead and called for British troops to be brought home from Afghanistan.

On behalf of the Peace Group, Philip Gilligan said,

"This is a day which we hoped would never come, but while the government continues to send our young men and women to kill and be killed in Afghanistan, it was inevitable that it would arrive. Saturday 26 June 2010 is 'Armed Forces Day' and David Cameron is telling us that we should show greater appreciation for our military. Bringing them home from NATO's disastrous and futile war would be a very good start. We need to remember all the dead and to demand that British troops are allowed to return home to their families. The killing must stop."

Budget Day message - “Cut Trident Save Services”

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group took its ‘Cut Trident Save Services’ message to the Budget Day demonstration outside Rochdale town hall on Tuesday evening, 22 June 2010.

Philip Gilligan carried the group’s mock Trident nuclear missile on his back, displaying a price tag of £97bn (£97,000,000,000). He said,

“Today’s budget is a major assault on local jobs and services. The coalition government says that they need to ‘reduce the deficit’, but they are ignoring the cost of the unnecessary and dangerous Trident nuclear missile system and refuse to even include Trident in their review of defence spending. Greenpeace estimates that the cost of ‘Trident Replacement’ will total £97billion. Based on population, Rochdale’s share of this would amount to a staggering £300million; six times the £50million cuts, now, threatened in next year’s Rochdale Council budget. This is money that could and should be spent on the jobs and services which the government is now cutting. Trident “is a system we simply cannot afford”. We need to cut nuclear weapons of mass destruction, not the public services we need.”

Rae Street addresses Free Palestine rally - 13 June 2010

Rae Street from Littleborough was one the main speakers at a rally organised by Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Greater Manchester and District Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Stop the War Coalition and Viva Palestina in Manchester on Sunday afternoon (13 June 2010). She joined thousands of demonstrators from across the region, including several members of Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group, in condemning Israel’s deadly attack on the ‘Freedom Flotilla’ aid convoy on 31May 2010 and in welcoming home Babu Adam Zanghar from Bolton and Paveen Yaqub from Huddersfield who are survivors of the attacks which left at least 9 people dead. The demonstrators called for freedom for the people of Palestine and, in particular for an independent international investigation into Israel’s attack on the boats which had been attempting to take aid to the besieged people of Gaza.

Rae Street said,

“I very much want to thank Paveen and Babu for telling us the truth about what happened to people on the flotilla. I also want to remind you of some other truths. Israel is the only nation in the Middle East that has nuclear weapons, but our government maintains a hypocritical silence about the dangers which their upwards of 200 nuclear warheads pose to the peace and stability of the world. Meanwhile, Mordechai Vanunu who has already suffered 18 years of imprisonment for revealing the truth about Israeli nuclear weapons has, now, again been imprisoned for daring to talk to reporters; for simply telling the truth. We all need to stand together to expose the truth about Israel and to tell our government to end its hypocrisy and to, immediately, stop selling arms to a state which has broken international law again and again.”

To view a copy of Rae's speech, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuEVmnOtUv0

Peace Group calls for immediate cuts in “a system we simply cannot afford”

‘Cut Trident not Treatment!’, ‘Cut Nukes not Nurses!’ ‘Fund Welfare not Warfare!’ These were amongst the messages that Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group shared with shoppers in Yorkshire Street on Saturday (12 June 2010).

They displayed a mock Trident nuclear missile with a very large price label of £97bn (£97,000,000,000) and asked people to join them in calling on the new coalition government to immediately decommission the current Trident nuclear missile system, abandon all plans to replace ‘Trident’ and to spend all monies saved on improving the country’s education, health and social care services.

Philip Gilligan, on behalf of the Peace Group said,

“On 6 May 2010, an overwhelming majority of voters in Rochdale and in Heywood and Middleton voted for parliamentary candidates who had clearly declared their opposition to so-called ‘Trident Replacement. This came as no surprise. These unnecessary and dangerous nuclear weapons of mass destruction already costs British taxpayers £2,000,000,000 per year, and the plans to upgrade them will cost our country tens of £billions more. Based on population, Rochdale’s share of the current costs already amounts to £7,000,000 per year. Greenpeace estimates that the true cost of ‘Trident Replacement’ will total £97,000,000,000. Rochdale’s share of this would amount to a staggering £300,000,000. This is money that could and should be spent on essential health, education and social care services. The new coalition government tells us that it needs to ‘reduce the deficit’ and has already announced over £6bn (£6,000,000,000) in swingeing cuts, but it still refuses to even include Trident in the review of defence spending. In the election campaign, Nick Clegg and his colleagues claimed that they “oppose like-for-like replacement of Trident.” They told us that “It is not suited to today’s security threats and, with a £100bn price tag, it is a system we simply cannot afford”. We agree and, now, they are in government, we want to see them cut what we cannot afford, not the services we need.”

Peace Group calls on Rochdale to support Gaza protests

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group joined hundreds of demonstrators from across Greater Manchester outside the BBC on Oxford Road, Manchester on Tuesday evening (1 June 2010) to protest at Sunday night’s unprovoked attack by Israeli commandos on the ‘Freedom Flotilla’ carrying aid to the besieged people of Gaza. The demonstration was addressed by Linda Clair from Spotland who is chair of the Manchester Palestine Solidarity Campaign. She spoke of her deep sadness at the slaughter of at least 10 unarmed civilians including at least one British citizen by the Israeli soldiers. She expressed serious concern for the welfare of the 40 British citizens from the aid convoy who are still being detained in Israeli prisons and called on people to demand that the British government applies pressure to ensure their immediate release. Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group joined in a minute's silence for the dead and in applauding the names of the British citizens seized by the Israelis.

On behalf of the Peace Group, Philip Gilligan said,

“The unprovoked killing of people taking aid to Gaza is a deeply shocking event. We must speak out about this atrocity and demand that the government takes effective action to ensure that Israel is held to account for its violations of international law. For far too long successive British governments have ignored Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people. For three years Israel has imposed an illegal blockade on the Gaza Strip, creating a devastating humanitarian crisis for the 1.5 million Palestinians trapped there under Israeli military occupation. We need Rochdale’s newly elected MPs to reassure us that they have written to the Foreign Secretary insisting that he put pressure on Israel to end the illegal blockade of Gaza. We need them to ask the Foreign Secretary to immediately withdraw the British Ambassador from Tel Aviv; to institute an immediate two-way arms embargo between the UK and Israel; to call for a prompt, independent and international investigation into the Israeli attack and to press for the immediate suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

There must be an end to the siege of Gaza and freedom and justice for all Palestinians. We hope that many people from Rochdale will join the national demonstration called by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign for Saturday 5 June 2010."

Peace Group bring 'Nuclear Waste' to Yorkshire Street

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group highlighted the dangers of nuclear power on Saturday 24 April 2010. They were marking the 24th anniversary of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl and urged Rochdale's shoppers to oppose the government's plans to build more nuclear power stations in Britain.

With a mock barrel of nuclear waste and dressed in white suits and hard hats, Peace Group members reminded passers-by that the Chernobyl disaster had required the immediate evacuation of more than 100,000 people and, ultimately the relocation of 220,000 people. (http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/chernobyl/health_impacts.html ). Their leaflets highlighted the view that nuclear power is not the answer to climate change and that it threatens both the environment and all people's health. They emphasised that no safe solution has yet been devised to store the carcinogenic radioactive waste produced by nuclear power stations. They estimate that plans to build new nuclear power stations will increase the most high level toxic waste five-fold.

Philip Gilligan said,

"The government plans to build more nuclear power stations, when the existing ones are already polluting our planet and deforming our children. It suits those who will profit from this madness to promote myths about it. They don't want us to know the dangerous truth. They tell us that nuclear power is "safe", but the truth is that nuclear power is very dangerous. In 2006, New Scientist reported that the cloud of radiation spewed out during the disaster at Chernobyl on 26 April 1986 could end-up killing 60,000 people. Windscale, Three Mile Island and Chernobyl are not the only nuclear accidents whose aftermath threatens our futures; nor are they the last. Meanwhile, German government scientists have discovered that leukaemia rates in children increase according to how near their homes are to nuclear facilities.

Promoters of nuclear power tell us that is "clean”, but the nuclear industry produces dirty radioactive waste that remains dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years. Sellafield spews-out radioactive effluents into the Irish Sea, which make it the most radioactive sea in the world. They tell us that nuclear power is "the answer to global warming”, but, when all its processes (uranium mining, plant building, generation, decommissioning and dealing with nuclear waste) are considered nuclear power, in fact, produces four times as much CO2 as wind-power per kilowatt generated.."

We need to remember the lessons of the Chernobyl disaster and to halt these plans. More nuclear power stations will expose us to even more risks".

Newsletter - April 2010

Protest at Brimar Friday 19 March 2010

Pat Sanchez ensured that Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group was represented at the demonstration at the Brimar factory on Friday 19 March 2010.

Pat comments,

“Brimar, make the targeting equipment for the US M1A1 tanks that took part in the 'second battle of Fallujah', in Nov 04. The company also supplies parts for the delivery of depleted uranium munitions, not only by the M1A2 tank, the Bradley IFV and the Challenger 11 but by the notorious A-10 Warthog planes that have left so much contamination in Iraq. Contamination that is linked to a huge increase in birth defects and cancers. The sad thing is that the firm used to make goods with a purely civilian use, goods that no worker need have felt ashamed to make.

It was a lovely bright morning, a blackbird was singing - it felt like spring had at last come. But it felt totally wrong that workers were calmly turning up for a job that was going to help rain down death and mutilation not only for the immediate targets of those weapons, but for their descendents for many generations to come.”

For more information, please see www.targetbrimar.org.uk