The Faslane Naval Base: a Brief Experience

Opposition to the Nuclear Deterrence Policy of the UK Government: A Brief Report on an Experience at Faslane By John M. Hull

The Faslane Naval Base, on the Clyde, some 35 miles North-West of Glasgow, is the home of Britain’s fleet of four submarines which form the UK strategic nuclear deterrent. Beginning on 1st October 2006 the Faslane365 campaign has been organising a series of blockades in order to disrupt and if possible close the base, whilst drawing attention to the character and purpose of the nuclear weapons. By the end of December 2006 42 blockading groups had taken part in the protest, and they Photo 1: Academic Seminar Banner had maintained a presence at the base for 59 days. The police had arrested 429 protesters but only 4 of these had led to appearances in court.

On 18th December Margaret Healy-Pollett of the All Saints King’s Heath Social Justice action group participated in the blockade, was arrested and released the following day. Margaret’s example was one of the factors which persuaded me to take part in the Academics' blockade which was planned for Sunday 7th January. The idea was rather unusual. A seminar would take place outside the North gate of the base. University academics would be invited to present their papers and a group of students would also join the seminar. I had hesitated in deciding to go myself until my son Tom offered to drive me in his car all the way, accompany me during the event and bring me back. I therefore prepared my paper which is an ethical critique of the Defence White Paper published on 4th December.

Tom and I set out on Saturday 6th January at 9.40am and arrived at the Friends’ Meeting House, Glasgow at 3.50pm. This was where the planning meeting for the following day was to take place from 6.00 to 10.00pm. A lively group of about 35 academics had gathered and spent the evening discussing the outline of the seminar which would begin at 10.00 on Sunday morning and finish by 4pm. Taking 3 more participants with us, Tom and I drove to Helensburgh, a town about 5 miles from the base itself, where we spent the night in the flat of Olivia Photo 2: Seminar at the North Gate Agate, who has moved to Helensburgh in order to provide a resting place for protesters. On the Sunday morning at 8.50 I received a telephone call from BBC WM and gave a short live interview. We then drove to the base, parked the car, dressed in warm, weather-proof clothes and took our place in the meeting, which had now grown to about 50 academics. Tables and chairs were set out. There was a clip board and an amplification system. About 30 students from the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Sussex and Edinburgh, who had spent the night blockading the gate, joined us. About 15 papers were presented during the seminar, from professors and lecturers from America, Sweden and the UK. The papers represented a wide range of critical analyses of nuclear warfare including its military, political, economic, environmental and ethical aspects. There was even a presentation by a primatologist, who compared the aggressive behaviour of chimpanzees with that of men. About a dozen police observed the proceedings and seemed interested in what was going on.

At about 2.30pm, following an agreed signal, we picked up our chairs, went on to the road itself just in front of the gate expecting to be arrested more or less immediately. The gate closed with a clang and we all cheered as the automated voice from inside the base could be heard announcing that the North gate was ‘temporarily closed’, whilst the sirens shrieked and the Photo 3: John Hull speaking guard dogs barked furiously. Many of the students chained themselves together. Those who were not in a position to risk arrest stayed on the footpaths, watching, cheering, and taking part in the singing. Time went by. We watched the police who appeared to be quite unconcerned and smiled back at us. It was difficult to tell whether this was because the group of protesters was so large or because the police had decided to adopt a more tolerant policy. It started to rain. It grew dark. Photo 4: John Hull joins the blockade I was clutching my arrest bag with a copy of the gospel of John in Braille and my medications. The police continued to gaze graciously. We seemed to be involved in a stand-off. Our principal organiser then had a conversation with the officer in charge and came back with the message that the police did not intend to arrest anyone but at the same time they would not permit us to remain there all night. We were told that a group of Scottish MPs had decided to take the next shift. We were invited either to stay until they arrived, with the possibility of being arrested or on the other hand to go since the seminar was now concluded.

I had to decide whether to tell Thomas to drive back to Birmingham alone while I stayed on, since he had to be teaching in school on Monday morning. Many of the academics seemed to be getting ready to go whilst some of the students seemed determined to stay there. At 4.15pm Thomas and I left for Birmingham. The round trip was 669 miles and Tom did a wonderful job driving home all the way through relentless rain. We arrived in Birmingham not long after midnight, exhausted but satisfied. The following day we learned that the police had moved in at about 7.00pm. 17 academics and 18 students were arrested, held overnight and released on Monday morning. Several of the Scottish MPs were arrested on Monday. Photo 5: The Academic Blockade (John Hull in very centre of the photo)

During this brief experience at Faslane I met some wonderful people and learnt a great deal more about the danger and the horror of Britain’s weapons of mass destruction. I feel that I have gained valuable experience about putting Christian faith into action in the presence of an inhumane and immoral government policy which is opposed by all the main Christian churches in Britain. I hope to return to Faslane later in the year. Who will go with me?

Photo 6: Students 'lock on'

John Hull is chair of the Social Justice Action group of All Saints, the parish church of King’s Heath.

John Hull 11th January 2007

Also available on request from [email protected]

Margaret Healey: Thoughts from a police cell Social Justice Action Group of All Saints Church, King’s Heath Birmingham, The Replacement of Trident, a Briefing Paper John M. Hull, ‘The Future of the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Deterrent’ : A Critique John M. Hull, The Future of the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Deterrent’ : A Critique: Executive Summary

Find out more about Faslane 365 on the website http://www.faslane365.org/