Corner Cites Panic in Elbit Systems Sledgehammer Strike

Samuel Corner, 23, told elbit systems raid jurors at Woolwich crown court that he swung a sledgehammer at Sgt Kate Evans to protect a co-defendant he thought was being seriously hurt. He said he was panicking, in pain and had just been pepper-sprayed when he struck.

Woolwich Crown Court

Corner said he heard screaming and thought the person on the ground was being hurt by security, not police. He told the court: "To protect. I heard someone screaming … and I thought she was being seriously hurt by security."

He also said: "I would never want to seriously hurt anyone." The defendant added: "When I did this I was panicking, I was in pain, I’d just been pepper-sprayed."

6 August 2024 in Filton

Corner is accused of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Sgt Kate Evans during the raid on the Elbit Systems facility in Filton, near Bristol, on 6 August 2024. The court has previously heard he hit her in the back with a sledgehammer while she was on all fours, facing away from him, trying to arrest Zoe Rogers.

The prosecution says the blow fractured Evans’s spine. Corner told the court he did not realise police officers had arrived and thought they were security guards.

Criminal Damage Charges

Corner, Charlotte Head, Leona Kamio, Fatema Rajwani, Zoe Rogers and Jordan Devlin also face criminal damage charges tied to the destruction of drones, computers and other equipment. Corner said the group intended to destroy weapons and things needed to make weapons that they believed were going to be used to cause death and destruction.

He said: "We intended to destroy weapons and things needed to make weapons which we believed were going to be used to cause death and destruction. We wanted to shut Elbit down, shut this facility down for as long as possible so they couldn’t make or export weapons from there."

Corner said he had never been arrested, been in a fight or used violence before the incident. He has been held in prison since his arrest on 6 August 2024. The defendants deny all the charges, and Corner is due to resume giving evidence on Thursday after proceedings were cut short because he felt unwell.