Police are investigating after pro-Palestine activists broke into a Scottish aerospace factory, attacking machinery and equipment with hammers and spray painting slogans on the walls.
The Bruntons Aero Products site at the Inveresk Industrial Estate in Musselburgh was broken into shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day, ostensibly over links to arms firm Leonardo – an Italian arms giant which supplies Israel with aircraft and parts for aircraft.
Video shared by the protesters online showed computers and manufacturing equipment being hit with large hammers by people wearing black gloves and face-coverings.
Footage further showed fire extinguishers being emptied into machinery, and the phrases “There is only one way this ends” and “Drop Leonardo” being graffitied in red paint.
Leonardo has frequently been a target of pro-Palestine demonstrations in Scotland. In October, three groups blocked the firm’s factory entrance claiming that it made components for F-35 fighter jets, which are used by Israel in its bombardment of Gaza. In July, three people were arrested after a van was driven into the factory’s fencing.
According to Bruntons Aero Products’ LinkedIn page, it supplies specialist aerospace component parts for suppliers including Leonardo and BAE Systems – a firm which has also seen pro-Palestine protests due to alleged links to Israel.
Bruntons was founded in 1876, with a company description stating: “Our success in the stringent aerospace and defence markets has been built on over a century of experience, where the most exacting production quality standards attainable are imposed.”
No named organisation has taken responsibility for the incident, with online reports attributing an unspecified “autonomous group”.
Israel is widely accused of perpetrating a genocide in Gaza by leading international experts, including the International Association of Genocide Scholars. The nation’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is wanted for arrest by the International Criminal Court over allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Palestine.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 12.35am on Thursday, 1 January, 2026, officers received a report of a break-in and damage at a premises on Eskmills Road, Musselburgh.
