Peace protestors hold demo as Barclays bank shuts

The bank, on Darwen Street, announced it would be closing the branch in the town earlier this year. 

Since December protestors have been holding regular demonstrations at the branch claiming Barclays has ties with companies supplying arms and military technology to Israel, and that it invests in fossil fuels.

Barclays denies the accusations and said in a statement it was not a ‘shareholder’ or ‘investor’

In the latest demonstration on Friday morning, protestors highlighted the ongoing bombing of Gaza and the killing of civilians by Israeli Defence Forces.

About 30 people took part in the protests which were watched by a number of local police officers. The group was based directly outside the bank on Darwen Street and included newly elected councillors Tiger Patel and Amin Kapadia.

Barclays said in a statement on its website, it said: “We have been asked why we invest in nine defence companies supplying Israel, but this mistakes what we do.

“We trade in shares of listed companies in response to client instruction or demand and that may result in us holding shares. 

"We are not making investments for Barclays and Barclays is not a ‘shareholder’ or ‘investor’ in that sense in relation to these companies.

“An associated claim is that we invest in Elbit, an Israeli defence manufacturer which also supplies the UK armed forces with equipment and training.

“For the reasons mentioned, it is not true that we have made a decision to invest in Elbit. We may hold shares in relation to client-driven transactions, which is why we appear on the share register, but we are not investors.”

Barclays said its Darwen Street branch was closing on Friday from 12pm.

Barclays said it plans to open a cashless banking site, where customers can meet a colleague face-to-face for banking support, in the future.