A member of the British group Palestine Action told a court on Thursday that he believed it was “reasonable” to strike a police officer with a sledgehammer during a 2024 attack on an Israeli defense firm’s UK factory
Six members of the anti-Israel group are being retried after a jury acquitted them of aggravated burglary earlier this year but wasn’t able to reach verdicts on several key charges, including criminal damage and violent disorder.
One of the defendants, Samuel Corner, 23, was called to testify on Thursday and told the court that he hit the officer with a sledgehammer after hearing “someone screaming” and fearing that one of his fellow activists was being hurt by security personnel.
The officer suffered a fractured spine from the attack and remains on restricted duty.
“It seemed reasonable to do something, and I had to act quickly,” Corner reportedly told the court. He accepted in court that the officer was not injuring anyone and acknowledged in hindsight that his actions were extreme.
Corner said the group’s aim was to “shut Elbit down” by damaging equipment they believed was linked to the Israeli company’s weapons production. Jurors heard the attackers say they used sledgehammers and crowbars to destroy computers and drones during the break-in.
Bodycam footage from August 6, 2024, shows an officer aiming a taser gun at an intruder at Elbit UK’s site in Bristol, England, after the intruder struck a police officer with a sledgehammer. (Screen capture: Channel 4)
During the trial, the court’s public gallery was filled with supporters of the defendants, some of whom wore keffiyeh scarves. Three pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested outside the court.
The August 2024 raid, which prosecutors said caused about 1 million pounds ($1.4 million) in damages, took place around 10 months into the Gaza war triggered by Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught.
The initial verdict on the raid drew criticism from police, lawmakers and Jewish communal groups. The retrial concerns the charges of criminal damage and violent disorder.
The retrial is expected to continue next week.
Palestine Action was banned in the UK in July 2025 after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalized aircraft in protest of Britain’s military support for Israel. Earlier this year, Britain’s High Court ruled that the proscription was unlawful, but allowed it to remain in place to allow the government to appeal the decision.
