THREE women have been ordered not to go near Faslane or engage in any future protests after campaigners blocked the main entrance to the base last week.

Members of Extinction Rebellion (XR) Scotland staged the protest at the north gate of the naval base on Friday, when they attached themselves to giant plant pots.

The all-female group placed three planters, containing plants and flowers and painted with the words “Safe”, “Green”, and “Future”, on the road before 7am.

No-one was able to enter or leave Faslane via the main entrance to the base for the duration of the protest, which lasted into the afternoon, though emergency vehicles and other traffic deemed to be essential were able to use the south gate near Shandon instead.

Each protester reportedly locked themselves on to one of the planters so they could not be moved.

The blockade was the first demonstration to have restricted access to the base since August 2018, when protesters from the Faslane peace camp blocked the southern access road.

READ MORE: Extinction Rebellion protesters blockade Faslane main entrance

Inspector Roddy MacNeill, Police Scotland’s senior officer in Helensburgh, said: “A joint cutting operation involving both Ministry of Defence Police and Police Scotland officers successfully released all three females without issue.

“All three – a 26-year-old from Edinburgh, a 28-year-old from Johnstone, and a 19-year-old from Glasgow – were arrested on suspicion of a disorder offence and conveyed into custody.

“They were released to appear at court on a specified date, with the conditions that they did not re-attend within a certain distance of Faslane or engage in any future protest activity.”

Extinction Rebellion said the action was part of the Peace Lotus campaign, a global day of anti-war resistance marking the anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.

Sarah Krischer, 28, an archaeologist and XR Scotland activist, said: “Nuclear weapons are an existential threat to the entire world.

“Stockpiling weapons with the ability to wipe out all life in order to appear tough does nothing to keep either the UK or any other country safe.

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“The ongoing environmental degradation caused by uranium mining and nuclear testing continues to be felt, particularly among pacific island nations that are also the most threatened by climate change.

“We must come together to build a safe, more just future for all.”

Biologist and XR Scotland activist Meg Peyton Jones added: “We need to build a just, sustainable future, collectively with the whole world, rather than the UK lavishing hundreds of millions on its personal pile of nukes while the climate crisis and social injustice destroy the planet around us.”

A spokesperson for HM Naval Base Clyde said: “A number of individuals were arrested by Police Scotland but at no time did protestors gain entry to HMNB Clyde and the safety and security of the site was not compromised.

“The Naval Base has well-established procedures in place to deal with such eventualities and our core business of supporting the Royal Navy fleet was not affected by this protest.”