Protesters deny they refused call to move

THREE protesters have appeared in court accused of refusing to move from the entrance of an Israeli-owned Newcastle arms factory.

- By SARA NICHOL

Michael Bowan

Retired political adviser and social worker Michael Bowan and Newcastle University graduates Joseph Gartland and John Parkes were in the dock after they allegedly did not adhere to a police direction instructing them to leave Pearson Engineering's Armstrong Works on Scotswood Road.

A court heard that the trio were part of a group of 14 pro-Palestine activists who gathered to protest outside the entrance to the factory in September this year and, in doing so, disrupted staff trying to get inside.

Bowan, 67, of Hilda Terrace, Throckley; Gartland, 23, of Osborne Court, Jesmond; and Parkes, 23, of Heaton Road, Heaton, all pleaded not guilty to failing to comply with prohibited assembly police direction when they appeared in the dock this week.