Published by The Daily Mail on Saturday 8th November 2025
By Adam Pogrund
This is the moment Tom Cruise defies demonstrators to chopper in to Scientology’s UK headquarters for the controversial church’s annual fundraiser.
The Hollywood star, 63, was helicoptered into Saint Hill Manor, the church’s British Base in East Grinstead in Sussex, to take part in the three day-event amid protests over the sect’s contentious practices.
The Mission: Impossible actor, dressed in a blue buttoned shirt and a navy suit, was seen staring at his phone after stepping out of the chopper as he steers clear of angry locals.
In exclusive pictures obtained by the Daily Mail, Cruise is spotted wearing an aviation headset as he lands.
He avoided crowds of protesters who were taking part in a demonstration against the event, which drew 7,000 Scientologists from across the globe, as it was held for the third consecutive year.
In a bid to disrupt the protesters, the church played loud bagpipe music on a large speaker.
One resident, wishing to remain anonymous, described the event as ‘very disruptive’.
He said: ‘For six to eight weeks they were laying down pallets in the field to make a car park, so we had the disruption and noise of that, with lorry after lorry coming.
Tom Cruise defied demonstrators by helicoptering into Scientology’s UK headquarters for the controversial church’s annual fundraiser
In exclusive pictures obtained by the Daily Mail, Cruise is spotted wearing an aviation headset as he avoids protesters
‘Then they made all the neighbours listen to bagpipe music on a loop all day.
‘In the evening, they had two generators to power floodlights in the car park, and we could hear the generator no more than 60 yards from our back door.
‘One didn’t go off until 1am and the second generator stayed on all night, so all night an empty car park was lit up.
‘I’m tolerant – I don’t have religion but don’t object to others having it.
‘Scientology say they’ve cleaned up their act, but they still have the same boss and I don’t really believe they have changed their spots.’
Another resident said: ‘It’s an endless stream of people and so much noise – the infrastructure isn’t built for it so it ends up being chaos.’
‘Then you’ve got Tom flying over in his chopper and it causes a right old racket.
‘To top things off, a minibus ended up having an accident with another driver, which meant one of the roads ended up being closed.’
Crowds of protesters, who allege malpractice from the church, were taking part in a demonstration against the event
Demonstrators held signs which read: ‘When was the last time you saw your family?’, in reference to allegations that the church pressures members to cut ties with family who criticise the institution
The church made a request for a Public Space Protection Order in July 2024, saying protests held outside its premises caused ‘harassment, disturbance and alarm’ to its members.
Mid Sussex District Council’s cabinet was due to make a decision – recommended for refusal – on June 30, before the church withdrew the application.
A spokesperson for the Church of Scientology in the UK said: ‘The Church of Scientology’s annual celebration at Saint Hill, East Grinstead drew over 7,000 attendees from across the UK and around the world.
‘The weekend featured traditional bagpipe performances, community festivities, and a gala charity concert supporting local causes.
‘The event was a resounding success, generating significant cultural and economic benefits for the area and warmly welcomed by residents.’
Cruise has been a member of the church, which critics describe as a cult, since the 1990s.
The fundraiser was not the first time the actor has visited Saint Hill Manor, a country house built in 1792 and the former home of Scientology’s founder Ron Hubbard.
Hubbard, an American science fiction writer, moved into the estate in 1959 and it served as the Church of Scientology’s worldwide headquarters until 1967.
The annual fundraiser, which was attended by 7,000 Scientologists from across the world, took place at Saint Hill Manor, their UK headquarters in East Grinstead
Cruise is even said to have spent time on a luxury wing of the estate as his ‘lockdown sanctuary’ during the Covid pandemic.
Last week’s annual fundraiser came days before the actor was spotted out in London following the end of his nine-month romance with ex-girlfriend Ana de Armas.
Scientology, which was first set up in the United States in 1952 and also counts John Travolta among its followers, has been criticised by former members who allege mistreatment and claim it preys on vulnerable people.
They have also described how members are pressured to cut ties with family and friends if they criticise the institution.
Alex Barnes-Ross, a former member and employee of the church, organised this weekend’s protest.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘Despite Scientology’s best efforts to disrupt our protest plans, we showed up this weekend with smiles on our faces and with empathy and compassion at the forefront of our activism.
‘Scientology claims we’re all anti-religious bigots engaging in a campaign of hate speech, but our signs said things like “When was the last time you saw your family?”, “They love you and so do we” and “We come back, and we still care about you”.’
He previously told the Daily Mail how aspiring leaders were put under pressure to work 18-hour days across seven-day weeks – and put on menial ‘hard labour’, such as hauling huge boxes or scrubbing walls with a tiny sponge, while rationed to sparse meals of rice and beans if they were deemed to be underperforming.
Mr Barnes-Ross has told of joining the Scientologists aged 15 in 2011, at what he describes as a ‘vulnerable’ time in his life, but began publicly speaking out against the church in 2023
The movement has previously rejected such allegations.
Scientologists believe that Earth was populated 75 million years ago by billions of extra-terrestrials led by Xenu, a ruler of a ‘Galactic Confederacy’.
Xenu is said to have then annihilated every living soul on Earth – or ‘Teegeeack’, as the planet was then known – by dropping them into volcanoes before blowing them up with hydrogen bombs.
In a statement the Church of Scientology said: ‘The Church of Scientology’s annual celebration at Saint Hill, East Grinstead drew over 7,000 attendees from across the UK and around the world. The weekend featured community festivities, and a gala charity concert supporting local causes. The event was a resounding success, generating significant cultural and economic benefits for the area and warmly welcomed by residents.
‘Since 1997, we have been holding annual charity concerts as part of the anniversary celebration of the International Association of Scientologists, supporting more than 50 local charities. These have included local hospitals, emergency and care services, community centres, youth groups, sports clubs and many more. Over the past 10 years alone, we have raised more than £2million for local causes, ensuring vital support reaches those who need it most.’