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- Image Credit: Alex Thornton
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- Image Credit: Alex Thornton
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- Image Credit: Alex Thornton
This press release has been sent to CAAT by the local group.
On Tuesday 15th April, around 100 people held a powerful protest and silent vigil outside County Hall, Truro, calling on Cornwall Council to end its investment in arms companies supplying the Israeli military.
Protesters gathered at the main entrance with banners, placards, and leaflets for councillors. In a striking act of remembrance, children’s shrouds were laid on the ground, symbolising the thousands of young lives lost in Gaza. A silent vigil was held to honour the dead and demand accountability.
This action followed the Council’s ongoing refusal to meaningfully engage with public concerns regarding their collective moral and legal duty to uphold international humanitarian law and ensure that the Council avoids any situation in which it could be seen as complicit in these crimes, either through its investments or through any individual providing official representation on behalf of Cornwall.
Five new questions were submitted for today’s Full Council meeting, focused on its appointment of Lord Hutton as Chair of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Economic Forum and its Pension Fund investments in companies arming Israel—using taxpayers’ money from the people of Cornwall.
Lord Hutton is the chair and non-executive director of Pearson Engineering, a military equipment manufacturer that is wholly owned by Israel’s state-owned arms company Rafael. Rafael makes many of the missiles and drones that Israel is using to bomb the people of Gaza.
Outgoing Council leader Linda Taylor denied that Lord Hutton had any connection with crimes against civilians in Gaza, a claim that was met with incredulity by many observers in the public gallery.
One of the protesters commented:
“It’s difficult to see how a man who chairs a company wholly owned by Rafael, which makes many of the missiles and drones that Israel is using to kill and maim the people of Gaza, can be dissociated from these horrific crimes. It is a stain on the reputation of Cornwall for Lord Hutton to represent us in any capacity.
“These weapons are being used in a sustained campaign of mass murder that has killed at least 17,400 children and over 1000 medical workers since October 2023.”
A demonstrator at the vigil shared:
“I’ve been in a state of mental paralysis for the last week. I woke up on Sunday to the news that Gaza’s last functioning hospital had been bombed. Meanwhile, the world just continues as normal. Today, standing here, is the first thing that’s felt remotely like doing something that matters.”
Another protester reflected on the global stakes:
“After 552 days of a livestreamed genocide, I’ve learned how to watch babies with their heads blown off and parents gathered into plastic bags. The footage of a paramedic praying to his mother before being executed has haunted me. If we can’t even protest this—what kind of future are we allowing to take shape?”
Campaigners also highlighted the UK government’s continued threats to the right to protest, noting recent indications that an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill will further restrict demonstrations. Numerous reports suggest that Palestine solidarity actions are the primary targets. Even under existing laws, police powers have already been used repressively against peaceful protest, raising serious concerns about democratic freedoms.
A spokesperson for Palestine Solidarity Cornwall said:
“We are witnessing the systematic ethnic cleansing of a people—and our own money, our institutions, and our silence are part of it. We will not be complicit.”
The group urges the public to demand divestment, accountability, and the protection of the right to protest, especially with elections approaching.
