Lindis Percy
Encyclopedia
Lindis Percy is a prominent peace activist in the United Kingdom
and founding member and joint coordinator of the Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases. Reporting for The Guardian, journalist Rob Evans claimed that "there must surely be few Britons who have been arrested in political protests as many times as [Lindis Percy] has". She is a trained nurse, midwife and health visitor and has worked for the National Health Service
her entire working life.
, University of Bradford
in the late 1980s.
As an activist, she uses non-violent direct action
and civil disobedience
.
Percy also uses legal challenges, often assisted by solicitor
Mark Stephens
and barrister
, Keir Starmer
QC, now Director of Public Prosecutions
(England & Wales), and sometimes acts as a litigant in person
to make her protests.
s were to be deployed at Greenham Common.
Legal cases arose from her actions in "uncovering and lawfully exercising ancient rights of way
and the right to roam" across United States' NSA intelligence-gathering bases, such as Menwith Hill & Fylingdales
located near her Yorkshire home, and further afield at RAF Mildenhall
and RAF Lakenheath
, which, she claims, are actually USAF bases situated in the United Kingdom flagged to the RAF
Percy's non-violent protests have made her the target of physical violence by US military personnel. She has initiated a series of legal cases against the alleged perpetrators, seeking then to have them brought to account before the British Magistrates Courts. Many of the named US military personnel have since been transferred back to the US. In June 1994, the newspapers reported that a series of meetings took place between representatives of the US and British governments "to discuss continuing incursions at US bases and how to deal with on-going US military concerns", as a result of Percy's persistent incursions into American and British bases and her campaigns in general.
The campaign against the Menwith Hill base was documented by Duncan Campbell in the Channel 4
documentary The Hill.
(MDP), which she opposed on several grounds, including what she denoted as an "extension of the jurisdiction of the MDP into areas not naturally within their stated role", thus essentially exposing "the citizen .... to a police force".
In 2002, Percy submitted for information held about her by the government under the Data Protection Act 1998. The MDP admitted that it held a "considerable amount of data" on Percy, but also that it was "so much" and scattered around its filing cabinets, that it would take "too much effort to dig it out". They suggested that she could identify specific incidents to narrow down their search for documents. She did so, but again the MDP refused to retrieve the information, arguing that the documents on her were exempted from release, as they contained "sensitive information" to help in the "prevention and detection of crime".
In 2002, Percy spoke at Levellers Day. She was a speaker at the Global Network 2008 conference, and the European Humanist Conference
In 2008, Percy gave evidence to a Parliamentary inquiry into police tactics. She subsequently stated "It is becoming increasingly difficult to get satisfaction through the formal processes of our democracy."
She rallied support for the hunger strike of Czech activist Jan Tamas who, along with Jan Bednar, were protesting the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense
facility at Brdy
.
Percy was a supporter of and participant in the 2009 World March for Peace and Non-Violence.
, in Harrogate
, Yorkshire
, where her father once worked as a Church of England
priest. She is a Quaker
.
Percy was cast in The Mythologist, a film about Habib "Henry" Azadehdel, aka Dr Armen Victorian
, a UFO conspiracy theorist
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and founding member and joint coordinator of the Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases. Reporting for The Guardian, journalist Rob Evans claimed that "there must surely be few Britons who have been arrested in political protests as many times as [Lindis Percy] has". She is a trained nurse, midwife and health visitor and has worked for the National Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
her entire working life.
Methods
Percy attended the Department of Peace StudiesPeace and conflict studies
Peace and conflict studies is a social science field that identifies and analyses violent and nonviolent behaviours as well as the structural mechanisms attending social conflicts with a view towards understanding those processes which lead to a more desirable human condition...
, University of Bradford
University of Bradford
The University of Bradford is a British university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The University received its Royal Charter in 1966, making it the 40th University to be created in Britain, but its origins date back to the early 1800s...
in the late 1980s.
As an activist, she uses non-violent direct action
Direct action
Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
and civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
.
Percy also uses legal challenges, often assisted by solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
Mark Stephens
Mark Stephens (solicitor)
Mark Howard Stephens CBE is a British solicitor specialising in media law, intellectual property rights and human rights with the firm Finers Stephens Innocent...
and barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
, Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer, QC, is a barrister in England and Wales. He became the fourteenth Director of Public Prosecutions and the sixth head of the Crown Prosecution Service on 1 November 2008...
QC, now Director of Public Prosecutions
Director of Public Prosecutions
The Director of Public Prosecutions is the officer charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world...
(England & Wales), and sometimes acts as a litigant in person
Litigant in person
A litigant in person, in the United Kingdom, is an individual, company or organisation that is not represented in court by a solicitor or barrister, but nevertheless has rights of audience...
to make her protests.
Activism
Lindis Percy has been active since 1979, when cruise missileCruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards a land-based or sea-based target. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy...
s were to be deployed at Greenham Common.
Legal cases arose from her actions in "uncovering and lawfully exercising ancient rights of way
Right of way (public throughway)
Right of way is a term first used to describe the right to travel unhindered, to access a route regardless of land ownership or any other legality.The right of way may be limited...
and the right to roam" across United States' NSA intelligence-gathering bases, such as Menwith Hill & Fylingdales
Fylingdales
Fylingdales is a civil parish in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England situated south of Whitby. It contains the villages of Robin Hood's Bay and Fylingthorpe and Fyling Hall School....
located near her Yorkshire home, and further afield at RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall
RAF Mildenhall is a Royal Air Force station located at Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as an RAF station, it primarily supports United States Air Force operations and is currently the home of the 100th Air Refueling Wing...
and RAF Lakenheath
RAF Lakenheath
RAF Lakenheath, is a Royal Air Force military airbase near Lakenheath in Suffolk, England. Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel...
, which, she claims, are actually USAF bases situated in the United Kingdom flagged to the RAF
Percy's non-violent protests have made her the target of physical violence by US military personnel. She has initiated a series of legal cases against the alleged perpetrators, seeking then to have them brought to account before the British Magistrates Courts. Many of the named US military personnel have since been transferred back to the US. In June 1994, the newspapers reported that a series of meetings took place between representatives of the US and British governments "to discuss continuing incursions at US bases and how to deal with on-going US military concerns", as a result of Percy's persistent incursions into American and British bases and her campaigns in general.
The campaign against the Menwith Hill base was documented by Duncan Campbell in the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
documentary The Hill.
Policy Influence
In 2001, Percy submitted a memorandum to the House of Commons about an expansion of jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence PoliceMinistry of Defence Police
The Ministry of Defence Police is a civilian police force which is part of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. The force is part of the larger government agency, the Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency , together with the Ministry of Defence Guard Service...
(MDP), which she opposed on several grounds, including what she denoted as an "extension of the jurisdiction of the MDP into areas not naturally within their stated role", thus essentially exposing "the citizen .... to a police force".
In 2002, Percy submitted for information held about her by the government under the Data Protection Act 1998. The MDP admitted that it held a "considerable amount of data" on Percy, but also that it was "so much" and scattered around its filing cabinets, that it would take "too much effort to dig it out". They suggested that she could identify specific incidents to narrow down their search for documents. She did so, but again the MDP refused to retrieve the information, arguing that the documents on her were exempted from release, as they contained "sensitive information" to help in the "prevention and detection of crime".
In 2002, Percy spoke at Levellers Day. She was a speaker at the Global Network 2008 conference, and the European Humanist Conference
In 2008, Percy gave evidence to a Parliamentary inquiry into police tactics. She subsequently stated "It is becoming increasingly difficult to get satisfaction through the formal processes of our democracy."
She rallied support for the hunger strike of Czech activist Jan Tamas who, along with Jan Bednar, were protesting the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense
Ground-Based Midcourse Defense
Ground-Based Midcourse Defense is the United States system for intercepting incoming warheads in space. Currently, it is a major component of the U.S. national missile defense strategy aimed against ballistic missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles...
facility at Brdy
Brdy
Brdy are hills in the Czech Republic, forming a long massif stretching for cca.60 km from Prague in the direction of southwest. The northern section of the Brdy is called "Hřebeny" and features one narrow ridge . The Brdy proper starts south of the Litavka river gorge and consists of several...
.
Percy was a supporter of and participant in the 2009 World March for Peace and Non-Violence.
Personal life
Lindis Percy is married, with three grown children and six grandchildren. She lives with her husband Christopher, a retired chaplainChaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
, in Harrogate
Harrogate
Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, where her father once worked as a Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
priest. She is a Quaker
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
.
Percy was cast in The Mythologist, a film about Habib "Henry" Azadehdel, aka Dr Armen Victorian
Project MKNAOMI
MKNAOMI was the code name for a joint Department of Defense/CIA research program lasting from the 1950s through the 1970s. Unclassified information about the MKNAOMI program and the related Special Operations Division is scarce...
, a UFO conspiracy theorist
UFO conspiracy theory
A UFO conspiracy theory is any one of many often overlapping conspiracy theories which argue that evidence of the reality of unidentified flying objects is being suppressed by various governments around the world...
.