CLIMATE activists from Extinction Rebellion arrested for chaining themselves to the gates of an arms fair in Telford will go on trial this week.

Rajan Naidu, Louise Scrivens, Ralph Wallin, Fran Wilde, Alison Bath and Heather Wilde were detained after staging the action at the Specialist Defence and Security Convention UK in November 2023.

The fair brings together arms dealers, manufacturers and procurement teams from the Ministry of Defence to promote “defence” AI, surveillance and arms innovation projects. 

Exhibitors at the conference included firms fuelling the genocide in Gaza, such as Israel’s largest arms firm Elbit Systems and L3 Harris, which provides components for F-35 fighter jets. 

The trial will take place from tomorrow at Walsall Crown Court and is expected to last until Wednesday.

Mr Naidu said: “Escalating militarisation and frenetic preparation for war is massively destructive and a waste of precious resources that could be better used to mitigate the climate and ecological crisis and the sixth mass extinction. 

“The global arms trade is a significant driver of environmental harm — greater indeed than many nations.

“It is a significant polluter of our beautiful planet, emitting vast unaccounted quantities of greenhouse gases, putting at risk the very existence of our and other species.”

According to the non-profit Conflict and Environment Observatory, global militaries are responsible for 5.5 per cent of worldwide emissions — more than the whole of Russia.

Telford locals have voiced their opposition to the fair taking place again this year. 

Reverend Paul Cawthorne said: “There’s a big difference between planning for defending our own country and using government resources, such as export insurance, to encourage rich elites in poorer countries to spend more of their money on expensive arms. 

“We’ve seen how many countries get into more debt that way by the profligacy of their elites and it’s usually the poorest that then suffer the most.” 

Army veteran Dave Lawrence said: “Weapons have only one job in this world, and that is to kill people, maim and destroy. 

“There are enough conflicts in this world already, they don’t need escalating and more sophisticated weapons. 

“Telford should say no to the arms fair.” 

Campaigners have launched a petition to request the council bans arms fairs in Telford.