Activists holding shrouded babies blockade entrance to Leonardo UK's Millbrook (Southampton) factory

Activists holding shrouded babies blockade entrance to Leonardo UK’s Millbrook (Southampton) factory

Southampton, United Kingdom – On 3rd April 2025, as the death toll in Gaza rose to more than 1,100 since Israel broke the ceasefire last month, local activists returned to Leonardo UK’s Southampton site holding shrouded babies as a powerful reminder of the lost generation that is being wiped out of existence by Israel’s genocidal aggression.

The activists sat in front of the factory gates with the babies in their laps to remind workers and passers-by of the UK government’s and arms companies’ complicity in the ongoing wholesale slaughter of Palestinians that has recently also killed 15 rescue workers and paramedics, who were then buried in a mass grave along with their flattened ambulances. Furthermore, eyewitnesses report that some of the bodies of the Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers were found with their hands or legs tied and had gunshot wounds to the head and chest, like in a state execution.

Emboldened by the continuing flow of arms from western governments and western arms companies like Leonardo UK, Israel knows that it can commit the most heinous crimes with total impunity and no longer even attempts to hide its true intentions, with the Defense Minister openly declaring yesterday that the Israeli Apartheid state is going to seize more Palestinian territory. This too was met with total silence by colluding Western governments.

By sitting in front of Leonardo UK’s gates with their poignant display of shrouded babies and flowers in their laps, the activists managed to stop any traffic from entering the factory for 2 hours. A local Leonardo UK worker at the site appeared to have been moved by the display, as after the action they spoke to activists and stated their respect for the peaceful protest.

During the action, it appeared that Leonardo UK’s management instructed their employees to park illegally alongside the factory pavement. So, in addition to Leonardo UK’s management clearly prioritising their desire for factory operations to continue above Palestinian lives, it would also appear that this morning they disregarded the well-being of their own workers, as many employees were met with parking fines as a result of these instructions from Leonardo UK management.

For companies such as Leonardo UK, the unlawful genocide in Gaza has been a profitable business as shareholders, investors and bosses have amassed huge wealth from the Israeli apartheid state’s massacres across Palestine.The latest blockade of Leonardo UK Southampton again shows the determination and opposition of local communities across the country who want arms companies complicit in war crimes out of their cities and are calling for a full embargo on all UK export licences to Israel, backed by the majority of UK citizens.  

Regular vigils against the Leonardo UK Southampton site to draw attention to the factory’s complicity in the ongoing attacks against Palestinians take place on alternative Wednesdays from 4 to 5.30 pm outside the Millbrook site, and from 5 to 6.30 pm on the green outside Southampton Civic Centre.

Background information

Leonardo UK Southampton

The Southampton site, which specialises in infrared detectors and thermal imaging sensors used for missile guidance and target identification, collaborates closely with the Edinburgh Leonardo UK factory, which is a known production site for the F35 fighter jets used by Israel in its genocidal onslaught against the people of Gaza.

Shut Down Leonardo UK targets Leonardo UK bosses, shareholders and investors who have raked in over £1.9 billion in profit at the expense of Palestinian  civilians, particularly women and children, as well as aid workers, medics and  journalists. Protests have been going on for over 18 months and will continue until all UK arms exports to Israel are stopped.  

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