One of the Palestine Action activists jailed over a violent break-in at an Israeli-linked weapons factory has an unexpected past in pop music, as debate intensifies over the judge’s decision to classify the case under terror legislation.
Four activists were sentenced on Thursday for their roles in the August 2024 raid on Elbit Systems in Bristol, an attack that left a police officer with a broken back. The case has since become a flashpoint in a wider political argument over protest, violence and the legal definition of terrorism.
At the centre of the controversy is the court’s finding that the action amounted to an “act of terror” because it was intended to shut down the company or pressure the UK Government into halting its operations. Supporters of the group have strongly criticised that conclusion, arguing the defendants were convicted of criminal damage rather than terrorism offences.
Green Party deputy leader Zack Polanski condemned the sentences as “gut-wrenching” and called them a “dangerous attack on the right to protest”. His remarks prompted a clash with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who pointed to the serious injuries suffered by a female police officer during the raid.
Among those convicted was Samuel Corner, 23, a former Oxford student. He was found guilty of criminal damage alongside three co-defendants and was also convicted of grievous bodily harm after attacking Sergeant Kate Evans with a 7lb sledgehammer.
Corner received a sentence of seven years and eight months. Charlotte Head, 30, and Leona Kamio, also 30, were each jailed for five years, while Fatema Rajwani, 21, was sentenced to four years and eight months.
Now it can be revealed that Leona Kamio, also known as Ellie, has a secret pop past which saw her signed to a major record label and interviewed by the Guardian.
Initially the singer with synthpop group Sälen before striking out on her own, Kamio was signed to Island Records UK – a label with a 60 year history that has produced global superstars – recently Florence + The Machine, Chappell Roan and Mumford and Sons.
Leona Kamio, 30, also known as Ellie, was sentenced to five years in prison for her role in the raid on Elbit in Bristol on August 2024
It can be revealed that Kamio has a secret pop past which saw her signed to a major record label and interviewed by the Guardian
Other major signings have included Amy Winehouse, Keane and Post Malone.
Sälen was featured as the Guardian’s ‘New band of the week’ in 2016 and in the BBC’s Introducing slot.
Kamio was accompanied in the group by Paul Taylor Wade on bass and Simon Milner on the keyboard or guitar, and the trio released seven singles and one EP.
More recently until her arrest and detention Kamio had been employed as a teacher in a Forest School, working with children aged between two and four.
The headteacher of the school is reported to have told a court that Kamio’s job ‘remains open for her’ and she is ‘adored by everyone’.
Her mother, Emma Kamio, previously told how she was also arrested after her daughter had been detained and held in police custody for five days before being released without charge.
Kamio’s mother, who runs her own homeopathy and pilates business, hit out at the conditions in the police station where she was held.
Sentencing Kamio and her co-defendants yesterday, Mr Justice Johnson said the raid on Elbit Systems was ‘for the purpose of advancing an ideological or political cause’ and ruled he would sentence the four under terror legislation.
The ruling means the activists will not qualify for early release from prison provisions, the Parole Board will assess their risk to the public when it determines when they can be set free, and they will face monitoring from counter terror policing in the future.
The decision has sparked controversy as, although the raid contributed to the government designating Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, the defendants were not convicted of any terror offence.
Samuel Corner (pictured) was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm after he fractured a police officer’s spine during the course of the raid
Responding to the sentences, Green Party leader Zack Polanski wrote on social media: ‘Gut wrenching to see four young people jailed for direct action against an arms supplier to Israel.
‘Years in prison for protesting to save lives in Gaza, with “terrorism” used despite no jury convicting them of it. A truly dangerous attack on the right to protest.’
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch hit out at Mr Polanski over his comments, responding on X: ‘These thugs fractured the spine of Sgt Kate Evans, who spoke in court of the medical and emotional trauma she still lives with.
‘Prison is where they belong. Unlike Zack Polanski, I want serious consequences for anyone who attacks police officers risking their lives to protect us.’
The Green leader hit back: ‘I’d never condone violence against a police officer – this is utterly dishonest.
‘The jury weren’t judging them on a terrorism offence. This is an awful sleight of hand.
‘The creeping encroachment of terror laws onto protest and removal of our juries should worry all of us.’
Mr Polanski, who is Jewish, has been criticised previously for his comments on Israel and Palestine, as well as the threat faced by the Jewish community in Britain.
He was joined today in his calls over the sentences by former Labour leader and Your Party chief Jeremy Corbyn, who said: ‘Sentenced and imprisoned on grounds of “terrorism” that no jury ever convicted them of.
‘Meanwhile, the British government continues to aid and abet the greatest crime of our time. A historic miscarriage of justice — and a truly dark day for civil liberties in this country.’
Fatema Rajwani (pictured), 21, was among six defendants standing trial – she was found guilty of criminal damage
Charlotte Head (pictured), 30, was driving a prison van that was used as a ‘battering ram’ to break into the Elbit facility, Woolwich Crown Court heard
Labour’s John McDonnell, who served as Shadow Chancellor under Corbyn, wrote: ‘Scale of sentences on the 4 young people who took direct action against the arms supplier to Israel is truly shocking.
‘To impose years of imprisonment for protesting to save lives in Gaza is unjust, especially sentencing on terrorist grounds they were never convicted of by a jury.’
Kamio’s fellow activist Head was behind the wheel of an old prison van that crashed through the gates of the Elbit Systems factory in Bristol on August 6 2024.
The four activists, dressed in red jumpsuits, began destroying property before ending up in a fight with security guards and police.
It was during this altercation that Corner struck the police officer, who the court heard was on her knees at the time, on the back with a sledgehammer.
This resulted in a back fracture and she said she still suffers from panic attacks and ongoing pain.
Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC said the attack was ‘meticulously organised’ to cause maximum damage and get information about the company.
The convictions followed a previous trial in which jurors acquitted the four – and two others – of aggravated burglary but could not reach verdicts on criminal damage charges.
The UK government previously designated Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, meaning expressing support for it is a criminal offence.
The High Court later ruled the decision was unlawful, and Court of Appeal judges will decide on Monday whether or not to uphold that.
Following sentencing, a spokesperson for the Avon and Somerset Police Federation, representing Ms Evans and other officers, said in a statement: ‘The distressing scenes we have seen during this trial show some of the worst side of police work that our officers are faced with.
‘Samuel Corner is a violent criminal – and his actions have had devastating consequences for a courageous and dedicated police officer.
‘The sentence given to the perpetrator today is a semblance of justice. Our colleague Sgt Kate Evans will have life-lasting effects from this despicable attack.
‘Fracturing a brave police officer’s spine with a sledgehammer is not protesting a cause – it’s pure evil.’
