Palestine protests at defence sites "height of naivety" says Grant Shapps

The Defence Secretary is calling pro-Palestine protests which target defence industrial sites in the UK “misguided” and the “height of naivety”.

Grant Shapps made the comments when visiting the BAE shipyard in Govan, which was forced to close for a day earlier this month when demonstrators blocked the site to protest military arms being sent to Israel.

A number of other facilities across the UK have experienced similar protests.

"Misguided"

Speaking after he viewed the progress on HMS Cardiff, the latest Type 26 frigate under construction at the shipyard, Mr Shapps said the UK does not have defence exports to Israel in any “meaningful number”.

He said: “The protesters are misguided and their protests are misplaced.

“What goes on here protects Britain and it protects people around the world.

"Anyone who cares about democracy, anyone who cares about freedom of movement at sea, the ability to shift goods around the world, to feed people - Ukraine's defence. For all those reasons what goes on here is important not just to Britain but to the world.

"Height of naivety"

“It is the height of naivety to turn up here and protest in a location which has absolutely nothing to do with the issue they're concerned about and everything to do with protecting Britain."

The Defence Secretary also responded to questions about Israel’s offensive in Rafah, saying Israel had been “savagely attacked” by Hamas militants on October 7 last year.

He added Israel would “need to go out of your (its) way” to work within international humanitarian laws.

When asked by our reporter if Israel was doing this, he responded: “I’d like to see them do more”, stressing he has made this point to his counterparts there.

The UN reports since the October 7 attacks, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed. An Israeli spokesperson put the death toll from the day of the Hamas attack as around 1200.

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