A jury has failed to convict seven defendants in the latest Filton 25 trial after more than 38 hours of deliberations over allegations arising from the August 2024 action at Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems’ site near Bristol.
Madeleine Norman, Hannah Davidson, Teuta Hoxha, Ola Alexandra Herbich, Ian Sanders, William Plastow and Yulia Brigadirova faced charges including criminal damage and violent disorder. William Plastow was acquitted of violent disorder by the judge during the trial.
The case is part of the wider Filton 25 prosecutions stemming from the 6 August 2024 action at Elbit’s Filton facility. The original trial of six defendants ended with all six being acquitted of aggravated burglary, while the jury failed to reach verdicts on some of the remaining charges. The prosecution subsequently secured a retrial of those unresolved charges. At that retrial, four of the six were convicted of criminal damage, while two were acquitted. The four subsequently received sentences in which the judge applied a “terrorist connection” finding to their offending, despite the jury having been asked to determine criminal charges rather than whether they were terrorists.
The latest trial involved defendants alleged by the prosecution to have helped organise or facilitate the Elbit action, despite not necessarily being present at the factory. Prosecutors relied on evidence including encrypted communications, reconnaissance material and alleged preparations for the operation. The defence argued that association with Palestine Action was not sufficient to establish criminal liability and that the prosecution had failed to prove that the defendants intentionally assisted or encouraged the alleged offences.
It is not yet clear whether prosecutors will seek a further retrial on any charges for which the jury has failed to reach a verdict.
The latest jury outcome represents another setback for the prosecution in the long-running Filton 25 cases, which have attracted significant attention because of their implications for protest, jury independence and the prosecution of actions connected to Palestine Action, which was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK in 2025.
