Drones mean RAF Waddington could become a new Greenham Common

Off By Sharon Black

Only one protester is staying at the site from where drones are controlled, but six are facing charges for entering the base

We pulled up to the peace caravan, Simon and I, his maroon taxi making its diesel noises, which is the only way I can account for the speed with which the police caught up with us. RAF Waddington spreads across the road, its planes sharp-nosed and incongruously aggressive against the Lincolnshire countryside. We didn’t see any drones.

“They’re just activated from Waddington,” pacifist Helen John says. “They could take off from anywhere in the world.” The missile-carrying Reaper aircraft have been controlled from here since April. I actually have no idea what a drone looks like.

“I don’t have a problem with it, to be honest,” Simon remarks. We had parked opposite Helen’s caravan, in a field of outrageously optimistic blossoming rapeseed, and were waiting for the police to pull up.

“To me, it’s no different to going over in a plane and dropping a bomb. Except it’s safer for our people.

“I suppose that’s the difference, isn’t it? When you kill people without putting yourself in jeopardy, that’s a moral difference” (not to mention being a war crime – which …read more