Greenpeace complains of blackmail over deal to stop US base protests

Greenpeace has agreed to halt its protests on American military bases involved in the "Star Wars" missile defence programme in return for saving 15 of its activists from jail sentences of up to six years.

Details have emerged of an unprecedented deal, described by Greenpeace as "political blackmail", under which the organisation paid $150,000 (£104,000) to the US government and agreed not to campaign on Star Wars bases for five years.Further trespasses on a US base involved in the programme will cost Greenpeace $500,000.

The deal was signed to save 15 activists, including two Britons, Bill Nandris and Jon Wills, who were arrested last July after steering inflatable craft into restricted waters near the Vandenberg US Air Force base in California to try to disrupt a missile test. Greenpeace believes the Bush administration's plans to build a national missile defence shield will stimulate an arms race, as other nuclear powers will develop more weapons in response.

Lawyers for both sides struck the deal, known as a consent decree, in January, but full details have only now been revealed.

Charges of conspiracy and violating a safety zone, felonies carrying up to six years in jail, were reduced to the misdemeanour of trespass. The arrangement has already resulted in nine activists being given only two years' probation, with the remainder to be sentenced today.

The arrangement also covers Steve Morgan, a former photographer for The Independent, and Jorge Torres, a Spanish videographer.

Greenpeace lawyers claim the payment of "damages" as part of the agreement was tantamount to forcing the environmentalists into buying lesser charges. William Peden, Greenpeace's disarmament campaigner, said: "The whole deal was politically motivated to stop us carrying out peaceful protests in America. They charged our people with felonies in the first place, which is unprecedented, then used the threat of jail to bring us to the table. We had no choice. We couldn't let campaigners go to prison for simply riding in inflatables, so we had to negotiate. It was political blackmail."