Peace House Coventry
Quaker burns census form
by Friend Newsdesk
1st April 2011
An attender at Coventry Meeting is prepared to go to prison for refusing to complete the census.
Penny Walker, who lives and works at Coventry Peace House, is one of a number of people boycotting the census because it is administered by Lockheed Martin, a US-based multinational arms company.
While the maximum penalty for non-completion is a fine, Penny Walker would refuse to pay this, possibly triggering a term in jail.
She helped draw national attention to the issue when she publicly burnt her census form last week. ‘A country which claims to respect human rights cannot engage arms manufacturers to carry out its civil duties,’ she insisted.
