In reply to:
Two grandmothers have become the first people to be arrested under the new Serious Organised Crime and Police Act after a protest at a US military base.
Helen Johns, 68, and Sylvia Boyes, 62, were held for the new offence of criminal trespass after entering the Menwith Hill base in North Yorkshire.
The new powers came into force on 1 April, the day of the women's protest. Both women were bailed until 15 April.
Campaigners said the new law undermined their right to peaceful protest.
They also oppose the US surveillance base's presence in Britain because of its role in US military operations.
On Saturday, the two women, both from Keighley in West Yorkshire and veterans of the Greenham Common protests 25 years ago, walked 15ft across the sentry line at the entrance to the base near Harrogate.
The only criminal trespass and serious organised crime we need to be worried about is taking place inside Menwith Hill
Protester Sylvia Boyes
The new legislation makes it a criminal offence to trespass on designated MoD sites such as Menwith Hill, the Fylingdales early warning station on the North York Moors, and US air bases at Mildenhall and Lakenheath in East Anglia.
The women were arrested by Ministry of Defence (MoD) police and held at Harrogate police station for 12 hours before being released on bail.
An MoD police spokesman said: "The rationale behind the new criminal trespass offence is to prevent protesters who trespass from distracting the security forces from their real job which is to provide security for important defence sites.
"Protest outside the sites remains perfectly lawful."
Mrs John, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize last year, said: "We thought this was a really important issue and we just had to challenge it."
Historic rights
Sylvia Boyes, a member of the Grandmothers For Peace group, said: "We are the first people to have been arrested under the new Act which now criminalises trespass.
"The only criminal trespass and serious organised crime that we need to be worried about is taking place inside Menwith Hill."
Kate Hudson, the national chairman of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said: "We have long-held historic rights to protest in Britain, which are a crucial part of our democracy.
"With this recent legislation the government has crossed the line from being a protector of citizens to being a force which prevents the legitimate right to protest.
"This is absolutely unacceptable and augurs badly for the future of British civil liberties."
