‘Height of naivety’: Shapps' fury at ‘misguided’ Palestine protestors blocking UK shipyard where Navy ships are built

9 May 2024, 14:34

By Alan Zycinski

@AlanJZycinski

The Defence Secretary’s hit out at ‘naive’ pro-Palestine protestors who’ve blocked access to sites run by Britain’s biggest defence contractor.

Workers have been prevented from accessing BAE’s Govan shipyard and Scotstoun base in Glasgow in recent months - where Royal Navy Type 26 frigates are being constructed.

Other action has targeted their factories in Wales and Lancashire.

Demonstrators want the contractor to cut all ties with Israel.

But visiting BAE bosses in Glasgow, Grant Shapped branded activists “naive” when asked by LBC what he made of the blockades.

He said: “The protestors are misguided and their protests are misplaced.

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“What goes on here protects Britain and it protects people around the world.

“Anyone who cares about democracy, anyone who cares about freedom of movement at sea, the ability to shift goods around the world, to feed people, Ukraine’s defence - for all those reasons, what goes on here is important not just to Britain, but to the world.

“And it is the height of naivety to turn up here and protest in a location that has absolutely nothing to do with the issue that they’re concerned about and everything to do with protecting Britain”.

A BAE Systems spokesperson recently said on the protests: “The ongoing violence in the Middle East is having a devastating impact on civilians in the region and we hope the parties involved find a way to end the violence as soon as possible.

“We respect everyone’s right to protest peacefully. We operate under the tightest regulation and comply fully with all applicable defence export controls, which are subject to ongoing assessment.”