Leonardo Edinburgh: Police on scene after Palestine Action Scotland scale roof of building

Police are in attendance at the Leonardo building on Crewe Road after campaigners scaled the building and began ‘dismantling the site’.

Palestine Action Scotland said four activists entered the site at 5am this morning and began dismantling electronic equipment, air conditioning systems and covered one wall with ‘trademark red paint’ that read ‘Stop Apartheid.’

The group said Leonardo, a defence company that specialise in multi-role surveillance radars and countermeasure systems, are ‘complicit in the brutalisation and murder of Palestinians’ adding the red paint symbolises ‘the blood spilt with Leonardo weapons.’ The group said they intend to stay on the premises for as long as possible and cause ‘maximum disruption.’

Palestine Action Scotland scaled the Leonardo building on Crewe Road in the early hours of the morning. Picture Martin Pope

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Police were called to a report of a protest at a building on Crewe Road North in Edinburgh around 7.50am on Thursday, 19 January, 2023.

“Officers are in attendance and are engaging with those present.” A police helicopter has also been spotted at the scene.

The campaigners have posted a video on social media that shows protesters dressed in red boiler suits breaking lights, air conditioning units and lights with hammers.

The move comes after the Palestine Action Scotland group targeted Thales building in Glasgow – a French defence company – in July last year.

Police Scotland were contacted just before 8am this morning and remain on site. Picture: Martin Pope

A spokesperson from Palestine Action Scotland said: "We've taken on Thales, and now we've taken on Leonardo. Any company supplying Israel should be well aware by now that Scotland is not a safe place for them to conduct their deadly trade. If you assist the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, know that we'll come and shut you down."

A Leonardo spokesperson said: “This morning a number of protestors illegally climbed on to the roof of a building at the Leonardo UK site in Edinburgh. Leonardo’s site security team and the police have been in attendance.”

They said the wellbeing of employees and contractors was their first priority, adding: “Leonardo has a positive role in safeguarding the UK and its allies. In a presently unstable global climate, our technology is contributing to the protection of democracies and the safety of citizens at home and abroad.”