CAAB at Fylingdales

LATEST/STOP PRESS NEWS

Fylingdales

May 14 2004

The latest Notice of Proposed Development (NOPD) re Fylingdales is:

NYM/2004/0317/GD : Construction of a permanent MOD Police Post (just the base side of the cattle grid on the base Approach Road).

The new police post is to be constructed from stone, with a slate roof and includes toilet facilities. It is intended to replace the metal and glass police post that the MOD put up without Planning Permission last year at the highway end of the Approach Road.

It is extremely important that the North Moors National Park continues as an amenity for the public and that its environment is not slowly degraded by military expansion. The above NOPD is part of the beginning of the proposed building of 'STAR WARS' and its extra security aspects at Fylingdales. There must be NO MORE BUILDING in the National Park.

Please request that this application is heard in public before the full Planning Committee. The remit of the Planning Committee is to consider objections/comments on Environmental grounds only.

This new NOPD will not be determined by the Planning Authority until end of June 2004 so we have until then to send letters of objections.

Objections should be addressed to:
Mrs V A Dilcock, Chief Planning Office,
NORTH YORK MOORS NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY
The Old Vicarage, Bondgate, Helmsley, York Y062 5BP

Tel no: 01439 770657 - Fax: 01439 770691
email: general@northyorkmoors-npa.gov.uk
Website: www.northyorkmoors-npa.gov.uk

May 5-6 2004

Court Report: Pickering Magistrates' Court

March 9 2004

Arrest and charge at 'RAF' Fylingdales

Lindis Percy has been pursuing the question of invalid Military Land byelaws at various US bases round the country for about 16 years. She has challenged this law in the courts four times and was successful with John Bugg in getting rid of the first set of byelaws at NSA Menwith Hill in 1993 (DPP v Percy and another - LJ Woolf and Pill QBD 1993). These byelaws were later repealed when the second set of byelaws came into force in 1996.

Many of the Military Land Byelaws are invalid and the Ministry of Defence Police Agency (MDPA) and the Crown Prosecution Service know this. The MDPA have continued to arrest, detain, de-arrest, 'report with a view to prosecution' and occasionally charge under unsafe law. However, for several years now both Agencies have refused to allow any byelaw case to come to court and instead have used inappropriate laws to suit their purpose.

Military Land Byelaws are in force at 'RAF Fylingdales.

On 9 February 2004 Lindis went to Fylingdales with the express intention of peacefully walking on MOD land (thereby committing an offence under the byelaws) in order to challenge the byelaws in court. She prepared a written statement which included this. She told the two MDPA officers who happened to pass on 'quad' bikes and stop, that she was committing an offence under the byelaws. This fact was ignored. She was then asked to leave but declined - so committing another offence under the byelaws.

Instead of being arrested under the byelaws, Lindis was arrested under s.68 'aggravated trespass' (Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994). She gave the MDPA officer her prepared statement as her reply to caution. She was interviewed at Scarborough Police Station by a CID officer who had come from Cattrick (three hours drive away) and eventually charged under s.68 'aggravated trespass' (Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994).

A question arose as to why the arresting officer and another MDPA officer (who accompanied Lindis to Scarborough Police Staion) could not have interviewed - instead of Lindis being held in custody for nearly 6 hours to await the arrival of an officer from Catterick.

Police bail conditions were imposed: not to go within 50 metres of MOD property with the exception of travelling in a vehicle along the A169 between Pickering to Whitby.

November 20 2003

Latest Planning News:

The P.A. for the new MOD police station was approved, with conditions, by the Planning Authority on 13 November 2003. There were 11 conditions regarding things such as screen-planting; submission of an acceptable lighting plan; prior investigation and recording of items of archeological interest; colour and type of building materials used, etc

October 3 2003

Latest Planning Application:

Planning Application No: NYM/2003/707/GD Construction of Single Storey MOD Police Station and Associated Works (including demolition of old MOD police station, designated parking area, new small plant room and recladding of existing MOD police post just inside the Main Gate).

September 22 2003

Misuse of 'Aggravated Trespass' Again

July 24 2003

York Crown Court - Appeal Dismissed

June 2 2003

Fylingdales Radiation Risk

May 5 2003

Released after another spurious arrest

May 3 2003

Fourteen Ffriends attended the bi-monthly, hour long, Quaker Meeting for Worship at Fylingdales this afternoon including Lindis who managed to get her bail conditions varied yesterday at Scarborough Magistrates' Court just for the hour of worship. It was a good Meeting and a lark was heard singing beautifully during the silence.

Lindis left the base at 1pm in accordance with her bail variation, returing later to walk the Forestry Commission land around the back of Fylingdales where the MOD have cut down a small wood as a 'security measure'. She was intending to take photographs of the decimated forest.

Lindis was most careful not to walk on MOD land using a Public Bridle Path and Forestry Commission land instead. To her amazement she was approached by Ministry of Defence police (MDP) officers who said they were arresting her for being in breach of her bail conditions by trespassing on MOD land. She absolutely denied the alleged breach pointing out how careful she had been to keep to public land. Nonetheless the MDP officers arrested her for breach of bail informing her that the MOD had recently bought the land behind the base from the Forestry Commission.

Lindis was transported by the MDP to Scarborough Police Station where she will be held in custody over the weekend until she can be 'produced' at Scarborough Magistrates' Court on Monday 5 May to answer to the alleged breach of bail.

CAAB is unaware of any official announcement by the MOD regarding this apparent purchase of Forestry Commission land. We are also suprised that the Crown Prosecutor did not mention this when he re-imposed Lindis's bail conditions (with the one hour variation for today's Quaker Meeting for Worship) on Friday. It would seem sensible and courteous for any recent aquisition of land by the MOD to have been mentioned at that point.

It should also have been possible for the MDP to accept Lindis's word that knew nothing about the MOD having purchased the land she was on and to have given her a warning to leave immediately and not return. However ... the MOD/MDP operate very differently and seem unconcerned to be able to quietly move the goal posts and deprive Lindis of her liberty yet again.

April 25 2003

Update on Byelaws

March 7 2003

There are no new PAs for Fylingdales since the 3 x 8 metre pole mounted CCTV cameras (PA No: NYM3/081/0134B/GD)

March 1 2003

TJ Hart, long time peace activist, was today sent down for 2 months by Scarbrough Magistrates. TJ was convicted for cutting a hole in the fence at RAF Fylingdales in North Yorkshire at the beginning of February. The magistrates gave her the maximum possible custodial sentence because:

a) this offence was committed hours after she had been convicted and released from the same court for the same offence

b) TJ would not accept a community service sentence.

She will probably be released on licence in a month.

Initially TJ has been sent to Low Newton prison, Durham but expects to be moved fairly soon to somewhere more local to her home in West Yorkshire.

In the mean time please send letters, cards, stamps, writing materials etc
to:
TJ Hart
HMP Low Newton
Brasside
Durham

February 21 2003

Latest Fylingdales Planning Application
PA No: NYM3/081/0134B/GD
Installation of 3 x 8 metre poles with one pole-mounted CCTV camera on each pole. Public consultation finishes 14 March.

February 11 2003

Guilty Verdict at Scarborough Magistrates' Court

January 13 2003

Defence Select Committee Visit

January 6 2003

Lindis Percy appeared at Scarborough Magistrates' Court today after being held in police custody over the weekend for attending a Quaker Meeting for Worship at Fylingdales on Saturday in breach of her bail conditions 'not to go within 50 metres' of the base.

Despite the Crown Prosecutor strenuously arguing that she should be remanded in custody the bench of three magistrates released her on the same bail conditions as before.

Thank you to everyone who sent messages of support.

January 3 2003

On Friday 3 January 2003 Lindis Percy unsuccessfully applied to Scarborough Magistrates' Court to have her bail conditions varied to enable her to attend the regular bi-monthly Quaker Meeting for Worship at Fylingdales the following day. She then went to York Crown Court to appeal against this decision only to be told that it was a High Court matter.

Lindis regretfully explained to the Crown Court judge that she felt she would have to break her bail conditions so that she could exercise her Human Right to worship.

On Saturday 4 January Lindis was arrested by MOD police at Fylingdales as the Quaker Meeting for Worship began. She was taken to Scarborough police station for breach of her bail conditions not to go within 50 yards of the base.

This is the second time that Lindis has been prevented from attending the Quaker Meeting for Worship at Fylingdales.

Lindis is being held in custody at Scarborough police station over the weekend and will appear at Scarborough Magistrates' Court on Monday 6 January.

December 17 2002

Further Charges at Fylingdales

November 2 2002

Arrest at Fylingdales

October 11 2002

Report of Visit to Fylingdales

19 February 2002

On 19 February 2002 Lindis was convicted under s. 69 (CJPO Act 1994) at Pickering Magistrates' Court after an peaceful protest at Fylingdales. This is the first time that this law has been used at Fylingdales.

7 February 2002

Minister briefs Park chiefs on Fylingdales planning blunder

Anni continues to monitor the North Yorks Moors National Parks Office for possible planning applications on a weekly basis. Nothing new to report.

The MDP are manipulating the law here as they are at MHS when it comes to Byelaws matters. They frequently arrest, escort off base and then de-arrest or they report 'with a view to prosecution' which usually means 'no further action'. Either way they are arresting with no intention of bringing the cases to court so preventing a challenge to the Byelaws. Even more worrying is a tendency to make spurious arrests for more serious offences rather than arrest under the Byelaws. Here are a few examples:

April 16 2001: Fylingdales Action Network (FAN) will be holding an EVENT 'Information stall and kite flying' in Whitby on Monday 16 April. (This EVENT replaces the demonstration which was planned at Fylingdales for the same day but has now been cancelled due to the ongoing 'foot and mouth' crisis.) Meet at the Whitby bandstand at 2pm.
For further details contact: Jackie Fearnley on 01947-896481.
August 1: Lindis and Anni arrested for Byelaws 'trespass' at Fox Gate after driving half way around electric fence. Lindis bundled into MDP vehicle, driven out, dumped and de-arrested. Walked back in time to see Anni lifted in her wheelchair onto tail lift on back of large lorry. Held facing opposite direction by two MDP and arrested again under Byelaws to prevent her reaching Anni. Anni driven out on back of tail lift and de-arrested. Lindis de-arrested again. Walks back to find Anni where she'd been left the other side of the barriers halfway down the Approach Road. And decides to go back and fetch her car. Removes tow rope from front of her car that the MDP had fixed. Prevented from driving off by herself, arrested under Byelaws for third time and forced into MDP vehicle to be driven out again. Inspector Barry Front made spurious accusation that Lindis had assaulted him and broken the arm of his glasses by allegedly kicking him on the side of his head. Arrested for alleged 'assault and criminal damage' and taken to Scarborough police station. Anni asked if she would co-operate and go with Lindis in van. Anni and Lindis both 'reported with view to prosecution' for Byelaws 'trespass' and 'obstructing an officer'. Scarborough police refuse to allow Anni into police station with Lindis and she spends the next six hours in her wheelchair on pavement outside with MDP and civilian driver. Lindis released after six hours having been charged with the spurious 'assault and criminal damage'.
[Anni has just received a letter from Inspector Barry Frost to say 'no further action' is being taken re the Byelaws and 'obstruction of a police officer' that she was 'reported' for. Another one from Mr Frost informs her that 'no further action' will be taken for the time Lindis and she drove through the Main Gate and into the base after being waved in by an MDP officer. Lindis is on holiday at the moment so it is not know if she has also received letters dropping these cases.]
July 19: Lindis and Anni arrested and de-arrested for 'trespass' under the Byelaws after driving round the electric fence and vigiling for some hours. Lindis taken out in MDP vehicle, dumped at Ellar Beck and walked back. MDP attempt to fix tow rope to her car but give up.
June 26: Lindis arrested and de-arrested three times under Byelaws then arrested for 'obstruction of a police officer' and taken to Scarborough police station where they tried to change the charge to 'breach of the peace'. She was kept for six hours and charged with 'obstruction of a police officer' after declining to have her fingerprints taken because they are already on the police national computer.

26 April 2000

Anni and Lindis were 'waved' through the Main Gate by a Ministry of Defence Police officer on the evening of Wednesday 26 April 2000 . It was sometime before the MDP came but eventually they did. Lindis was arrested under the byelaws (the byelaws at Fylingdales have not been used since about 1991 despite notices displayed saying they are 'in force'), driven out by the MPD and taken some way away and immediately 'dearrested' by the MPD where she was left alone on the moor with only one shoe.

Anni in the meantime was left in the car inside the base. She was threatened several times that the car would be towed out, a fork lift truck used to take the car out (with Anni inside) and she was eventually arrested under the byelaws - although she was later dearrested. A MDP officer drove Anni and the car out of the base and left her in the presence of a MDP officer well away from the base.

Lindis had walked (with only one shoe) across the moor to try to find out what had happened to Anni. She was given conflicting advice as to where Anni was and after walking a long way and not finding Anni returned to the Main Gate saying that she could not walk any more and sat down by the Main Gate. The MDP refused to bring Anni and the car. Lindis was again arrested under the byelaws and taken to join Anni. Lindis was then dearrested. The law was again twisted for the convenience of the MDP.

Please contact CAAB if anyone would like more information about Fylingdales in general or the byelaws in particular.