Women on base a week

Press, 12 July 1984, Page 6

Women on base a week

NZPA-Reuter London The British Government has ordered an inquiry into reports that two antinuclear protesters had spent a week undetected inside Greenham Common missile base, dining on avocados, prawns, and wine.

Kate Wilson and Julia Kidwell, who gave themselves up to Ministry of Defence police yesterday, said that they had slipped into Greenham Common Air Base, 100 km west of London, on July 3 and could have remained undiscovered indefinitely. They refused to say how they had got inside but said that they had met other peace women each night who passed them food and water over the perimeter fence. “Our main concern was to show up the pathetic security in this base. We wandered around at night at will and gave ourselves up when we wanted,” Ms Kidwell said.

“On the second day some American soldiers came within 60 metres of our camp and worked for 5% hours on the fence. We kept quiet and they did not see us,” she said.

They had found an isolated patch of woodland where they set up a shelter of branches and plastic sheeting, Women protesters started their peace camp outside the base on September 5, 1981, vowing to prevent installation of the missiles. Now they say that they will stay until the weapons are gone. Tony Been, a former En'ergy Secretary and member of the Opposition Labour Party, said that the women’s week-long presence in Greenham Common had indicated security problems there.