Alleged pro-Palestine protesters deny £1.2m damage

Four alleged pro-Palestine protesters have denied causing £1.2m damage in a planned attack on a UK factory linked to Israel.

Iain Evans, 32, Hisham Alkhamesi, 23, Bea Sherman, 23, and Hana Yun Stevens, 23, are accused of breaking into the Moog Aircraft Group base in Pendeford, Wolverhampton, last August.

At a hearing at London's Old Bailey, the defendants all pleaded not guilty to one count of criminal damage on 26 August, 2025.

It is alleged members of a group, named online as Palestinian Martyrs, got onto the factory roof in the early hours. The manufacturer was allegedly targeted for supplying equipment for F-35 fighter jets used by the Israeli military.

Staffordshire Police previously said there was significant damage caused to a number of skylights and solar panels.

Evans, from Shipley, West Yorkshire; Alkhamesi, of Hinckley, Leicestershire; Sherman, of Hassocks, West Sussex; and Stevens, of south-west London, entered their pleas by video link from custody.

During the hearing, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb heard a bail application for all the defendants. The senior judge granted them bail on stringent conditions, including a surety of £10,000.

The defendants face a three-week trial before a high court judge that has been scheduled at Birmingham Crown Court from 8 June.

Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.