Members of the Shrewsbury 24 – including Royle Family star Ricky Tomlinson – who were convicted for unlawful assembly during the 1972 builders’ strike have won a bid to clear their names at the Court of Appeal.
Two dozen trade unionists who picketed during the 1972 national builders’ strike were charged with offences including unlawful assembly, conspiracy to intimidate and affray for picketing, with 22 of them convicted.
Lawyers representing 14 of the Shrewsbury 24 argued the destruction of original witness statements meant their convictions are unsafe.
They also claimed the broadcast of a documentary, Red Under The Bed, during the first of three trials in 1973 and 1974 was ‘deeply prejudicial’ as it would have ‘provoked panic in the mind’ of the jury.
The court had previously heard how MI5 had been consulted about the programme, with one lawyer claiming ‘a covert executive agency played a part in deliberately propagandising against the core subject matter of the proceedings’.
On Tuesday morning, the Court of Appeal allowed the appellants’ challenge to their convictions.
Mr Tomlinson said the decision was a ‘sorry day for British justice,’ as ‘we should never have been standing in the dock’.
Legal team for Shrewsbury 24 argued the destruction of original witness statements meant their convictions are unsafe. Pictured: members of the group outside The Royal Courts Of Justice
Announcing the decision at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Lord Justice Fulford said: ‘These 14 appeals against conviction are allowed across the three trials and on every extant count which the 14 appellants faced.’
The judge added: ‘It would not be in the public interest to order a retrial.’
In a statement after the ruling, The Royle Family star Ricky Tomlinson, who was sentenced to two years in jail for conspiracy to intimidate and affray, said: ‘Whilst it is only right that these convictions are overturned, it is a sorry day for British justice.
‘The reality is we should never have been standing in the dock.
‘We were brought to trial at the apparent behest of the building industry bosses, the Conservative government and ably supported by the secret state.
‘This was a political trial not just of me, and the Shrewsbury pickets – but was a trial of the trade union movement.
‘My thoughts today are with my friend and comrade Des Warren.
‘Like me, he was victimised by the court for defending the interests of the working class.
‘I’m just sorry he is not here today so we can celebrate, but I’m sure he’s with us in spirit.’
Mr Tomlinson and co-appellant Arthur Murray’s solicitor Paul Heron welcomed the ruling.
‘However, it is important to remember that following their convictions in 1973 they were blacklisted by the building industry,’ Mr Heron said.
Actor Ricky Tomlinson (left) was among the Shrewsbury 24, who were charged after a builders’ strike in 1972. Lawyers argue the airing of a documentary during their first trial was ‘deeply prejudicial,’ as it would have ‘provoked panic in the mind’ of the jury
‘Many of the men could not find work and as a result suffered more punishment.
‘Whilst we understand that the court was unwilling to consider the wider issues regarding the involvement of the secret state, we are calling for a public inquiry into blacklisting in the industry, the role of the building industry bosses and the secret state.’
The pair’s barrister Piers Marquis added: ‘There is no question that this was a politically-motivated trial that ultimately intimidated workers and broke picket lines.
‘We now know that the police destroyed evidence, that the prosecution knew that they had and were silent about it and that the Government helped produce fabricated propaganda that was broadcast at the most damaging possible time for these men.
‘Des Warren and Ricky Tomlinson knew none of that when they each spoke from the dock and questioned where the conspiracy in this case really lay.
‘Their vindication and that of their fellow pickets has been a long time coming, my respect to them for never stopping fighting for it.’
Mr Murray, who was convicted of affray and unlawful assembly and sentenced to six months, said: ‘We were innocent all along, yet it has taken us nearly 50 years to clear our names.
‘We all came from respectful working-class families – sadly my mother and four of my siblings have passed away without knowing that we were innocent.
‘This was a major miscarriage of justice and victimisation of not only innocent workers, but an attack on the working class and the trade union movement as a whole.
‘We have stood firm and we have been vindicated.
‘However, serious questions need to be asked about the role of the building industry bosses in our convictions and the highest offices of Government who all had a hand in our trial and conviction.
‘Make no mistake, our convictions were a political witch-hunt.’
Terry Renshaw was was convicted of unlawful assembly at the third and final trial and sentenced to four months’ imprisonment suspended for two years.
He said: ‘We never thought that we would see this day, when this miscarriage of justice was overturned.
‘The Court of Appeal has acknowledged that we did not receive a fair trial. The police and the prosecuting authorities used every trick in the book to secure guilty verdicts even if it meant trampling over our rights and manipulating the evidence.
‘On behalf of all the pickets, I would like to pay tribute to the Shrewsbury 24 Campaign, without whom we would never have achieved this victory.
‘In particular, we owe a great debt to our researcher, Eileen Turnbull, for working tirelessly to obtain the crucial evidence that got our case to the Court of Appeal and brought about our victory.’
Last month senior judges were told that a ‘covert Foreign Office agency’ known as the Information Research Department (IRD) provided ‘considerable assistance’ in making Red Under The Bed.
Danny Friedman QC, representing 12 of the trade unionists , said in written submissions that the head of the IRD had told a senior Foreign Office official that ‘we had a discreet but considerable hand in the programme’.
He added that the IRD ‘had consulted the Security Service’ – also known as MI5 – about the programme, which was also praised by then prime minister Edward Heath, who said: ‘We want as much as possible of this.’
Mr Friedman told the court: ‘It is obvious… a covert executive agency played a part in deliberately propagandising against the core subject matter of the proceedings.’