Andy Walker

Activists opposing Israel’s genocide in Gaza broke into a factory in Tring, Hertfordshire, on Monday morning, before smashing satellites and other equipment with hammers. Three members of the group People Against Genocide were arrested after the break-in at the facility, which is owned by military technology firm Ultra Intelligence & Communications (I&C). The activists say Ultra I&C is a key supplier of UAV Tactical Systems, which is owned by Israeli weapons firm Elbit Systems. Novara Media contacted Ultra I&C for comment but had not received a reply at the time of publication. Monday’s break-in was timed to coincide with the 109th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, a statement issued by the British government in 1917 that is widely seen as laying the foundation for the colonisation and ethnic cleansing of Palestine. "Not only did the British government sign away a country that was not theirs to give, they have continued to assist in the Zionist occupation of Palestine, and in the murder of its native population, right up to the present day,” the group said in a statement. “Chief among the other foreign actors actively assisting the genocide is, of course, Britain's unruly offspring, the US, where Ultra I&C is headquartered.” It added: "By shutting down the Tring death factory today, and dismantling the weapons inside, our action-takers are aiming to save lives in Palestine, and uphold international law. “The Labour governments of both Burnham and Starmer have not only failed to do anything to stop the genocide, abandoning their commitments to international law, and to simple human decency, they have actively assisted the Israeli military with spy flights and arms shipments.” The group has targeted Ultra I&C on several occasions. During a previous raid on the Tring facility on 9 July, its activists allegedly caused £1.3m of damage. Its members have also staged actions at sites in Cambridge, Aberdeen and Maidenhead this year.

Zack Polanski is calling on the government to publish the full, unredacted version of a report outlining how ecosystem collapse will plunge Britain into a national security crisis. The report from UK intelligence chiefs warns that global ecosystem degradation and collapse will have devastating security consequences for Britain, including price rises, geopolitical instability, food and water shortages, greater pandemic risk, increased migration and conflict. The Joint Intelligence Committee’s report was published in a redacted version in January and despite pressure from MPs and journalists, the Labour government has so far refused to release it in full. Green party leader Polanski called on prime minister Andy Burnham to “tell the truth”, arguing that the public has a right to know the full scale of the threat. Speaking at the Wild Summit in Bristol, Polanski said: “We’ve already seen how fragile our food systems are this year, with farmers warning that we could see empty shelves as a result of drought and flooding, and the government whispering that we should start stocking up on tinned food and bottled water. “And these buried reports lay bare how unprepared we are for what is coming.” The report identifies six ecosystems critical for UK national security given the likelihood and impact of their collapse, including the Amazon rainforest, Congo Basin and the boreal forests of Russia and Canada. It states that political polarisation, economic instability, terrorism and disinformation will increase in food and water insecure areas and as populations become more vulnerable to natural disasters. Polanski, expected to be the Green party’s candidate in the upcoming Holborn and St Pancras byelection, also challenged the PM to “act on the scale of the threat” by introducing a Nature, Biodiversity and National Security Act “to put resilience at the heart of government”. British farming hit a crisis point this year and is projected to see its worst harvest since 1984 with key crops failing and increased livestock death due to the climate emergency. The UK experienced months of extreme summer temperatures alongside what the National Farmers Union called “the worst drought in 50 years”.