SHUT DOWN LEONARDO PRESS RELEASE

On Wednesday 17th September  our regular peaceful vigil outside the Leonardo UK Southampton factory was disrupted by the far right, cheering on genocide and throwing personal insults at protestors and policemen.

Instead of being stopped, Leonardo UK workers were cheered through the gates by agitators carrying Union Jacks and wrapped in the Israeli flag. The usual protest chants were replaced by cries of “Three cheers for Leonardo”, “IDF, IDF, IDF”, and “F*ck Palestine”.

Vigil attendees were personally harassed on loudspeakers and there were several violent incidents and dangerous near-misses, ultimately leading to members of Shut Down Leonardo being trailed to their cars. The police, unprepared and not expecting such a show of right wing thuggery, struggled to keep the situation under control.

The far-right know which side of the struggle they are on: instead of a smart, thought-out class analysis that holds the wealthy and powerful to account, they mindlessly choose to back blood-soaked genocide-enabling companies such as Leonardo UK.

But even with their support, Leonardo cannot blindly continue to profit from slaughter. The UN has declared a genocide is being carried out in Gaza by Israel and the UN is the latest major international body to confirm genocide, alongside Palestinian and international human rights organisations, the International Court of Justice, the world’s leading association of genocide scholars and many others.” In view of all this, Leonardo UK must seriously consider whether its position is still tenable.

PRESS RELEASE ENDS