Last week the prosecution case ended and the defence began, with Charlotte (Lottie) Head being the first defendant to give evidence. For two gruelling days, 4 and 5 December, she answered questions from her barrister Rajiv Menon KC and then the prosecution, Deanna Heer KC.
The court heard that Lottie (29) spent three years volunteering in the Calais refugee camp known as the Jungle, where she witnessed abuses by the police, and was left with PTSD after incidents like giving first aid to a man who was stabbed and searching for missing children when a fire broke out in the camp. After she had moved back to the UK the news in Gaza triggered those memories and she was determined to try to do something to help.
Real Media reports: “She’d seen a video after a bombing of a father holding a decapitated small child, and thought “children can’t be terrorists”. To claim you’re precision-targeting but then kill 10,000 children was not something she could stand by and watch.”
“To claim that you’re precision-targeting but then kill 10,000 children was not something she could stand by and watch”
In June 2024 Lottie attended a Palestine Action training day on taking direct action against Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems, and after that organisers placed her in a group which became the ‘red team’ of six who took the Filton action together.
Lottie was the driver of the repurposed prison van that the team used to drive into the shutters of the loading bay and enter the warehouse.
Inside the warehouse, Lottie located some quadcopter drones. Real Media: “She said she knew Elbit were proud of having produced 85% of IDF combat drones. There were a lot more in boxes, and so she started smashing the boxes.”
Lottie was very clear that violence against people was never part of the plan – and that they were not prepared for the Elbit guards to intervene in the way they did.
Real Media: “She said they had already agreed there would be no violence – no physical harm to a person. ‘Although we’d been told security wouldn’t come in, we thought there was a chance they’d look in, and I guess we hoped they’d think ‘this is more than my pay grade’ and they’d just phone the police.’”
She said they were so confident they’d be left for hours in the factory without interference that they had packed sandwiches!
Asked about the alleged assault on a police officer, ”Ms Head said it shouldn’t have happened, she didn’t want it to happen, and it wasn’t planned to happen. As much as she didn’t agree with what the company does, no-one should have got hurt.”
“It shouldn’t have happened… no one should have got hurt”
In cross-examination, the prosecution repeatedly put to Lottie that the activists had planned to use violence against security guards and police if necessary, and their tools were also intended to be weapons. Lottie consistently replied that no, the team had agreed ‘red lines’ they would not cross, and were adamant that no one should be violent.
Two moving character statements were read out by people who had worked with Lottie. One testified that nearly every day in the Jungle, Lottie had driven camp residents to health appointments. She had also rented a flat and housed six refugees herself, sharing meals and life together with them.
You can read Real Media’s detailed account here: Week 3 (Days 10 and 11)
That was the end of Lottie Head’s case. The next defendants, in order, are Sam Corner, Leona (Ellie) Kamio, Fatema Zainab Rajwani, Zoe Rogers and Jordan Devlin.
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