Four arrests after protest at drone factory

FOUR people were arrested after a protest over the war in Gaza yesterday morning in Bristol.

The demonstration saw about 60 people protest outside Aztec West Business Park outside Elbit Systems UK.

The company is part of Israel-based company Elbit Systems Ltd, which makes drones and other military equipment, and has contracts with the Israeli Military of Defence.

The protesters disrupted staff trying to get into and out of firms at the business park.

The campaigners were from Palestine Action. A spokesperson said: “Disrupting Israel’s military supply chain through direct action and community mobilisation is a crucial and necessary tactic to deploy as our Palestinian siblings are under fire by Elbit’s weaponry. We do not stand for genocide enablers on our doorstep, and we’ve once again made it clear that Elbit is not welcome in Bristol or anywhere on British soil.”

A spokesperson for Elbit Systems UK said: “We are proud to provide critical support for the British armed forces and attempting to disrupt this work is completely irresponsible.

“We take the welfare of our employees seriously. As well as taking our own security measures, we work with the police and authorities to take action against any person or group who sets out to cause them harm or interfere with their important work.”

Four people were arrested on suspicion of locking on under the Public Order Act 2023. A man and a woman in their 50s, a man in his 60s and a woman in her 70s were taken into police custody.

A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police said: “A protest outside business premises in Aztec West which started at about 7am today, Thursday, January 18, was scaled back to around 10 people protesting peacefully from a grass verge by about 1.15pm.

“Around 60 people were protesting and there was some disruption to staff trying to get into and out of firms at the business park.