At Woolwich Crown Court, there has been a shocking development in the Filton case, five of the six defence barristers have left the trial following judicial rulings which cannot be reported until the end of the trial.

A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries said today:

“In recent years we have seen judicial rulings that banned climate campaigners from saying the words ‘fuel poverty’ and ‘climate change’ in their trials. 

Today we understand a judicial ruling has been given that goes even further, and as a response the legal professionals representing five of the six defendants on trial in the Filton case have no choice but to leave the trial because they have been left with literally nothing they can say in closing arguments.

We should all be alarmed to hear that the legal process has been so corrupted that, today we have lawyers in the UK walking away from a trial because it is impossible for them to do their job of defending their clients.”

The trial of the first six defendants from the group known as the ‘Filton24’ has reached the stage of closing arguments. Five of the six defendants will now be giving their own closing speeches as they have no legal representation.

This is a retrial on charges of criminal damage, after the 6 Filton defendants were acquitted in February 2026 by a jury for the charges of aggravated burglary and violent disorder. The case relates to an action against Elbit’s weapons ‘research and development’ hub in Filton, Bristol, in which they are accused of destroying Israeli quadcopter drones.

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