Three women arrested under Terrorism Act after van driven into Leonardo building fence in Edinburgh
Three women have been arrested after a van was driven into an external fence of the Leonardo UK building in Edinburgh.
The women, aged 31, 34 and 42, were arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 following the incident which happened on Crewe Road North in the early hours of Tuesday, July 15.
Earlier today, activist group Shut Down Leonardo Edinburgh, took responsibility for the incident, claiming the arms company ‘supplies parts for the F-35 jets and Apache helicopters used in Israel's war against the Palestinians’ adding ‘as ordinary people, we felt compelled to take action to protest the Leonardo's role in genocide.’
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Police Scotland's Counter Terrorism Unit are leading the investigation with the force treating the incident as ‘targeted’. They do not believe there is any wider threat to the public.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Three women, aged 31, 34 and 42, have been arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 after a van was driven into an external fence of a business premises in Edinburgh.
“The incident happened during a disturbance in the Crewe Road North area of the city on Tuesday, July 15. Police Scotland's Counter Terrorism Unit are leading the investigation and enquiries are ongoing.
“We are treating this as targeted, and we do not believe there is any wider threat to the public. If anyone was on Crewe Road North or in the nearby supermarket carpark during the early hours of this morning and has any relevant dashcam footage or saw anything suspicious, please contact the Police on 101 quoting reference 0416 of July 15.”
A Leonardo spokesperson said: "Leonardo UK is subject to UK government export controls and does not supply equipment direct to Israel .
"The right to peaceful protest is an important principle in our society, however, aggressive and violent activity should have no place in protest. The intimidation of our people, who work hard to support the security and defence of the UK, is not acceptable.
"Our main customer is the UK Armed Forces. We are proud to manufacture technology that supports our service personnel and helps keep them safe. Their dedication underpins the freedom on which our society is based."