Protesters Disrupt Welsh Government Defence Event in Newport 2026

Key Points

• Peace campaigners, anti-war organizations, environmentalists and local people have been protesting in ICC Wales in Newport on Thursday morning against the 2026 Defence Security Resilience Cymru conference.
• Eight people put themselves at risk of being arrested when they blocked the entrances to the venue using their bodies; police stated that one of the 72-year-old women from Caerphilly was arrested for disrupting the peace.
• The conference is organized by the Welsh Government in cooperation with Business in Focus, ADS Group and General Dynamics Land Systems; the conference has been labeled “Welsh Government Arms Fair” by the activists.
• Plaid Cymru has attracted the criticism because it organizes the conference in cooperation with the subsidiary of General Dynamics, an arms company which provides weaponry to the Israeli military force; previously, Plaid Cymru had anti-war position when being in opposition.
• The Enterprise Minister Adam Price was announced to be one of the key-note speakers of the conference but he refused to participate in the conference; civil servants of the Welsh Government still take part in organizing it.
• Christina Jenkins from Newport and Leigh Evans from Swansea have given statements regarding how public money is spent on organizing a weapons fair and how these funds

Newport (Wales Times) September 03, 2026 – Welsh peace activists, anti-war groups, environmental campaigners and local residents descended on the International Convention Centre (ICC) Wales this morning to show their opposition to the 2026 Defence Security Resilience Cymru summit, with several protesters blocking access roads and risking arrest to disrupt the event.

According to campaigners on site, eight demonstrators used their bodies to block roads around the building in a bid to make clear they did not want an arms fair in uk/local/newport/">Newport, while police confirmed a 72-year-old woman from Caerphilly had been arrested on suspicion of breaching the peace and remained in custody.

What is the Defence Security Resilience Cymru summit?

The Defence Security Resilience Cymru summit is a two-day event at the Celtic Manor Resort and ICC Wales that brings together exhibitors from across the defence, security and national resilience sectors, with organisers describing it as connecting buyers, suppliers and innovators in those industries.

The Welsh Government is listed as a co-host alongside Business in Focus, ADS Group and General Dynamics Land Systems, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, one of the world’s largest arms companies and a supplier of weapons to the Israeli military.

Campaigners have branded the gathering the “Welsh Government Arms Fair”, arguing that Welsh public money is being used to facilitate a trade fair for arms companies and the military industry.

Organisers say more than 2,000 delegates and 60 exhibitors are expected to attend, with the aim of connecting Welsh businesses with defence supply chains, while companies including QinetiQ are understood to have a presence.

How did protesters disrupt the defence event in Newport?

By dawn on Thursday, campaigners glued themselves to the tarmac outside Celtic Manor and used their bodies to block traffic entering the ICC Wales venue where the summit was being held, with some protesters pictured on the bridge with signs, banners and Welsh flags.

As reported by Stephen Price of Nation.Cymru, eight protesters risked arrest by blocking roads around the building to make it clear they did not want an arms fair in Newport, while WalesOnline reported that police said a 72-year-old woman from Caerphilly had been arrested at the scene.

A protester known as D, from Swansea, told reporters she had superglued her hand to the access road leading to Celtic Manor, saying:

“My right hand is superglued to the road and Leigh’s arm is firmly attached. I can’t leave.”

Gwent Police said in a statement: “Gwent Police is aware of an ongoing protest outside the Defence Security Resilience Cymru event being held in Newport. Our officers are in attendance to facilitate a peaceful and safe gathering. A 72-year-old woman from Caerphilly has been arrested on suspicion of breaching the peace and remains in police custody at this time.”

Elsewhere in the county, the Cymru Peace Coalition blockaded BAE Systems Glascoed in Pontypool, one of Britain’s biggest munitions sites, in a coordinated day of action against the summit.

What have protesters said about the Welsh Government arms fair?

One of the campaigners risking arrest was Christina Jenkins, a 33-year-old carer from Newport, who said: “The UK and Welsh governments are complicit in genocide. The weapons we produce kill civilians around the world, whilst our oil and gas extraction destroys our future and is already killing people across the world now.”

Jenkins added:

“We won’t stand for these genocidal industries when we’re meant to be a nation of sanctuary. The biggest threat to national security in the UK is the climate crisis, not our lack of weapons. The Senedd should listen to them and grow Welsh jobs in industries that don’t profit off of killing innocents.”

She continued:

“We need more careers in renewable energy, public transport, affordable housing and rebuilding public services. Any money spent on funding war means less for these desperately needed industries.

Evans added:

“The weapons makers at this market place of murder profit from killing innocent people at taxpayers expense. To be Cymry is to resist oppression and therefore war, so it us up to us, the Cymry, the true nation and true believers in Heddwch/peace, to make this non-violent stance against the industrial murder complex.”

Another protester risking arrest at the ICC said:

“I was born in Casnewydd and have lived most of my life here. I’ve watched not only my country, Cymru, be turned into a testing/training ground for genocidal military and weaponry, but now my hometown is being hijacked to allow warmongerers to make profit on weapons that will most definitely take countless lives of children and parents.”

The protester continued:

“I can’t stand by and let England’s colonialism continue to have such a chokehold from Casnewydd, to Sudan, to Palestine, Yemen, Congo, Myanmar, Kashmir, Iran, Lebanon, and everywhere else. Liberation now.”

Mel Brister, co-chair of the Newport Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said the group was staging a peaceful protest to express concern about the event, explaining that it was being held to express their “concern and consternation that there is an arms fair taking place in Newport today sponsored by the Plaid Cymru Welsh Government and a vestige of the Welsh Labour Government”.

Brister added the event aimed at

“trying to attract small and medium sized firms into the war machine and the industrial military complex”.

Why is Plaid Cymru facing criticism over the defence summit?

Plaid Cymru has drawn criticism for jointly organising the event with a subsidiary of General Dynamics, despite previous stances on the weapons industry in opposition and calls for sanctions on the Israeli government, including arms embargoes.

In 2025, the now First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth stated that it was “shocking and shameful” that Welsh Labour had provided £500,000 in grant funding to a company supplying weapons to Israel, while Plaid Cymru had also repeatedly stated its opposition to similar defence events in the UK.

Despite their stances in opposition, the Plaid Cymru government did not cancel the event in the face of growing opposition, leading to fury amongst many campaigners that previously supported Plaid’s anti-war stances, leaving it up to the public to take matters into their own hands.

Enterprise Minister Adam Price was previously advertised as a keynote speaker but later said he would not attend, though it is understood Welsh Government civil servants remain involved in the event.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said previously:

“We will continue to engage with the aerospace, defence, security and national resilience sectors to support the thousands of high-tech, well-paid jobs in Wales, while promoting respect for human rights and international law.”

The spokesperson added: “An ethical defence framework is being developed, informed by discussions with Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive counterparts, and will guide future engagement with the sector.”

Background of the particular development

The Defence Security Resilience Cymru summit takes place against a backdrop of growing public debate in Britain about rearmament and defence spending, with recent protests by groups such as Just Stop Oil blocking roads outside Parliament during Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s first PMQs.

In Wales, opposition to military presence has been building, with public meetings in Cardigan and Aberporth organised by West Wales Against Arms and monthly vigils highlighting links to Gaza, while similar anti-war protests have targeted defence expos and arms fairs in other parts of the UK.

The controversy in Newport also comes amid questions about defence industry funding and political donations, including reports that Nigel Farage’s £5m donor has a huge stake in a defence company with a major Welsh presence, further fuelling scrutiny of ties between politics and the arms trade.

Prediction: How this development can affect the particular audience

For Welsh voters, peace activists and local residents in Newport and beyond, this development is likely to deepen scrutiny of the Plaid Cymru government’s relationship with the defence industry and test the party’s credibility on anti-war and ethical foreign policy commitments.

If similar protests and coordinated actions against defence events continue, the audience of politically engaged citizens and campaign groups may become more mobilised around issues of arms trade, public spending priorities and climate security, potentially influencing future electoral debates in Wales.

For defence sector businesses and delegates, repeated disruptions and negative publicity around events branded as arms fairs could affect perceptions of Wales as a stable host for defence industry gatherings, while also intensifying pressure on the Welsh Government to clarify its “ethical defence framework” and engagement with the sector.