Peace activists are preparing to fight an injunction restricting their protests.

EBO MBM Technology, an arms factory in Home Farm Road, Brighton, is attempting to obtain a High Court ruling banning demonstrations of larger than ten people outside their premises and only permitting protests once a week.

An interim injunction has been in place since last April which forbids anyone from entering an exclusion zone around the factory for the purpose of protesting.

In a court case starting next Tuesday, a High Court judge will decide whether to make it permanent and whether to tighten the restrictions as the arms company wants.

The peace activists will argue that what EDO MBM does is illegal, making protests lawful.

The peace activists argue that EDO's activities are illegal and will refer to the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 which says restrictions set by injunctions do not apply if the purpose of the person breaking them is to "prevent or detect crime".

EDO MBM is part of the US-owned EDO Corporation which supplies weapons components to governments around the world. The Brighton plant makes bomb release and interface equipment which has reportedly been used in Iraq.

The defendants will argue that the Iraq war was illegal and so weapons manufacturers in the UK which make equipment for use by the British military there can be held responsible for war crimes.

EDO was unavailable for comment.