Three women appear in court after van driven into defence factory fence

Three women have appeared in court charged with malicious mischief after a van was driven into the fence of a defence factory in Edinburgh.

The suspects were arrested and charged following the incident at Leonardo UK's facility in Crewe Road North on 15 July. Allegra Fitzherbert, 34, Susan Riddell, 42, and Naomi Stubbs-Gorman, 31, were each charged with malicious mischief which was "aggravated by reason of having a terrorist connection".

Riddell was additionally charged with dangerous driving, also aggravated by "reason of having a terrorist connection". The trio made no plea to the charges via videolink when the case called at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday.

Fitzherbert, of London, and Riddell, of Glasgow, were granted bail ahead of their next court appearance. Stubbs-Gorman, of Glasgow, had her application for bail continued and is due back in the dock on Tuesday.

Dozens of pro-Palestine protesters held a demonstration outside the court ahead of the hearing. The activists claim Leonardo's laser targeting system for Israel's F-35 fighter jets.

However, Leonardo previously said it does not supply equipment directly to Israel and that its main customer is the UK armed forces. Read more from Sky News:Palestine Action has been proscribed - but what does that mean? Police Scotland's counter-terrorism unit continues to lead the investigation into the incident.

As part of the probe, the force is seeking to trace the movements of two vehicles. One is a blue Ford Transit van which was seen around Gorgie Road on Monday 14 July and Tuesday 15 July prior to the incident.

The other is a white Honda CR-Z which was found in a car park on Gorgie Road after the incident. A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Anyone who saw either vehicle in the area, or has any information, is asked to contact police.".