Elbit raid 'best thing I've done', says Palestine Action activist

A Palestine Action activist charged with causing criminal damage at the UK site of an Israel-based defence firm has told a court that taking part in the raid was the "best thing I've ever done". Zoe Rogers, 22, is accused of breaking into the Elbit Systems factory near Bristol in August 2024 before destroying property and clashing with security guards and police. Representing herself, Rogers told a jury at Woolwich Crown Court there was a "good chance" that "innocent lives were saved" due to the action taken. She denies a charge of criminal damage alongside Samuel Corner, 23, Charlotte Head, 30, Leona Kamio, 30, Fatema Rajwani, 21, and Jordan Devlin, 31. Corner faces a further charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to police sergeant Kate Evans, which he denies. During her closing speech on Wednesday afternoon, Rogers told jurors: "As you perhaps realise by now, I have decided to represent myself." The defendant explained this decision was not because her barrister was doing a "bad job", adding they had become "close friends". Rogers told jurors: "The prosecution know full well that we are right that this factory is supplying weapons to Israel." She said she was "so pro