Elbit 'activist' not guilty of violent disorder

An alleged Palestine Action activist has been found not guilty of violent disorder – after a judge ruled there was not enough evidence to proceed with the charge.

William Plastow, 35, is one of eight defendants facing trial at the Old Bailey following a break-in at a UK site of an Israeli defence firm in August 2024.

The defendants are jointly charged with criminal damage and violent disorder at the Elbit Systems' factory in Bristol. They deny the charges.

On Monday, Plastow, from Didsbury, Manchester, was found not guilty of violent disorder. The trial continues.

The eight defendants are accused of being involved in the planning of the break-in but are not said to have gone to the factory on the night itself.

Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC previously told the court they had compiled an equipment list, carried out reconnaissance, and purchased tools and weapons used by others.

She said the eight defendants intended to cause the "maximum amount of damage".

Along with Plastow, the defendants are:

• Ian Sanders, 47, of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
• Aleksandra Herbich, 41, of Brent, north-west London
• Teuta Hoxha, 30, of Southwark, south-east London
• Sean Middlebrough, 33, from Liverpool
• Julija Brigadirova, 33, from Chorlton, Manchester
• Hannah Davidson, 53, and Madeleine Norman, 31, both from Edinburgh

Giving evidence at the Old Bailey on Monday, Norman denied planning the raid.

When asked by her barrister Henry Blaxland KC if she knew violence would be used against security guards, she said: "The whole point of Palestine Action is to be against violence on people, we were opposed to a genocide of thousands of innocent people, if we were to engage in personal violence it would undermine everything we stood for."

During the break-in, a security guard was injured and suffered a 4cm laceration to his head.

Norman told the court: "I didn't know anybody had been hurt, as far as I was concerned, the action had been a success.

"Six activists managed to break into one of the most secure sites and destroy weapons, it was phenomenal, I stand by that."

The court heard Norman had previously been arrested on three separate occasions and was awaiting sentencing for her involvement in a blockade at Elbit's UAV Engines site in Staffordshire in November 2024.

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