Overview
- The eight defendants were accused of coordinating an August 6, 2024 break-in at Elbit Systems’ Filton factory by doing reconnaissance, buying equipment, and supporting teams that entered the site.
- After an eight-week trial at the Old Bailey, jurors were discharged on Wednesday following about 37 hours of deliberation after returning one 9–1 majority guilty verdict for criminal damage while failing to reach verdicts for the other seven defendants.
- All eight defendants deny the charges and the identity of the person convicted cannot be reported for legal reasons.
- Prosecutors will now consider whether to seek retrials and the case is listed for a mention hearing on 14 September, a decision that could determine how joint-enterprise liability is used in similar activist prosecutions.
- The trial record shows several defendants were arrested by counter-terrorism police and held on remand for up to 18 months, issues that defence teams say caused hunger strikes, mental-health harm, and other human impacts during pretrial custody.