Newport peace activist jailed (From Western Telegraph)

Newport peace activist jailed

A NEWPORT peace activist has been jailed for refusing to pay a fine imposed on her by a Scottish court after she took part in a protest at a nuclear weapons factory.

Mary Millington, 52, from Stow Hill, Newport, was fined £100 last December after being found guilty of breaching the peace during the annual peaceful protest at the Faslane Trident Nuclear Weapons Base in February 2000. CND Cymru member Millington polled 417 votes last week as the Socialist Labour Party candidate for Islwyn in Thursday's General Election.

The supply teacher, who was a protester at Greenham Common in the 1980s, told magistrates at Helensborough district court that she would not pay the fine, and claimed the charges were a breach of her human rights.

Last week she was issued with a summons to appear before Helensborough court yesterday, and was jailed for seven days in default of the payment.

At the time of the initial sentence, Millington told the Argus: 'I have not committed an offence, it was a peaceful and non-violent protest, and I did nothing wrong.

'There were hundreds involved and we were simply blocking the front gates to the site. I do not think that is a reason to be arrested and fined.'

She added: 'People in Wales should realise that just because Trident are not based in our country anymore they still pose a risk to us all.'

Fellow protester, Caerphilly councillor Ray Davies, who was at the Faslane protest in February last year, said: 'We are fully supporting Mary and her stand while she is inside there.

'She is going to prison to rid the country of the evil of nuclear weapons.

'It will be an awful experience for her, but she is doing this for the people everywhere, including the people of Gwent.

'CND Cymru will be fully supporting Mary Millington. We know that she will not pay the fine, because that would be like admitting she has done something wrong - and we fully support her actions.'