Credit: @Osint613/X
Video shared online showed pro-Palestinian activists attacking machinery and spray-painting slogans at a Scottish aerospace factory.
Just after midnight on New Year’s Day, protesters broke into the Brunton Aerospace Products factory on an industrial estate outside Edinburgh.
The company appeared to be targeted because it supplies specialist parts to defense company Leonardo and BAE Systems, two companies that have been heavily criticized for alleged links to Israel.
The activists, wearing masks and traditional Palestinian headscarves, hammered the factory’s computer servers before spray-painting “Only one way to end this” and “Put down Leonardo” on the company’s equipment.
Pro-Palestinian group breaks into Musselburgh facility and leaves graffiti that says “There’s only one way to end this”
The video also shows a fire extinguisher being poured into the machine.
Police said they were investigating the incident. No group has taken responsibility for the intrusion, with online speculation blaming the attack on an “autonomous group.”
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “At around 12.35am on Thursday 1 January 2026, police received a report of a break-in and damage to a premises in Eskmills Road, Musselburgh. Investigations are ongoing.”
Hammer-wielding activists damaged CNC machines, servers and computers at the site
Conservative MP Baroness Foster tweeted in response to the video: “Treason and terrorism… rolled into one.”
Leonardo’s Edinburgh site has been the target of attacks by pro-Palestinian activists since the start of Israel’s war with Hamas.
In July last year, campaigners from the Shut Down Leonardo Edinburgh group were arrested after a van crashed into a fence surrounding the defense company’s factory.
The group said the company was targeted because it produces parts for F-35 fighter jets. The defense company insists it does not supply equipment directly to Israel.
In another incident in August, protesters also blocked an entrance by parking a van at the entrance.
Try full access to The Telegraph for free now. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus helpful tools and expert guidance on your money, health and holidays.
