Protesters break into nuclear base

A priest and Dutch Catholic Worker broke into a air base on Friday to protest over the transport of nuclear warheads. Fr Martin Newell from Canning Town, East London, and Susan van der Hijden entered Wittering airforce base in Cambridgeshire to enact the biblical prophecy: 'They shall beat their swords into ploughshares'. The two disabled a Trident warhead carrier, hammering inside the cab on the dashboard and on other equipment in the back of the cab. Then they painted the words 'The kingdom of God is among you', 'Drop the debt, not the bombs' and 'Love is the fulfilment of the law'. They then handed themselves over to security guards. In their statement they said: "We have acted in a spirit of repentance for our complicity in crime against humanity and God. We have acted to uphold the law. Through the Jubilee 2000 campaign, the church has committed herself to working for justice for the poor and the oppressed. British nuclear weapons are a central part of the chains of oppression. As Christians. we have taken responsibility and acted in solidarity with the 'least of this world'." Susan van der Hijden, who lives and works with refugees in the Netherlands, said: "I have lived with the victims of international violence for seven years, it is high time to go to the roots of the problem - the rich exploiting the poor - and Trident plays a major part in that." Fr Martin Newell said: "We are called to love God, do good and resist evil. Trident is a weapons system of mass-destruction worth 400 Hiroshimas. It is a choice of bread or bombs, education or elimination, healthcare or holocaust. This convoy is equipping the gas-ovens for the Holocaust of the 21st century." Fr Martin Newell, 33, born in Walthamstow, has been a Catholic priest in Canning Town, East London, for three years. He also works with homeless people. Susan van der Hijden, 31, born in s'Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, has been a member of the Amsterdam Catholic Worker for seven years, where she lives and works with refugees.