POLICE deliberately destroyed witness statements relating to striking building workers the Shrewsbury 24 in the 1970s because they were taken “before officers knew what they were trying to prove,” the Court of Appeal was told today.
And “higher echelons of the state” were involved in production of a “deeply prejudicial” TV programme which was broadcast during the first of the trials in 1973, the court was told.
The trials resulted in convictions of the 24 on charges including conspiracy to intimidate, unlawful assembly and affray.
Six people Des Warren, Ricky Tomlinson, John McKinsie Jones, Brian Williams, Arthur Murray and Mike Pierce were sent to prison for periods ranging from three years to six months. Others suffered lesser sentences.
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Last modified on Wed 3 Feb 2021 12.08 EST
Three government departments including the Security Service, MI5, collaborated to help convict a group of construction workers who had gone on strike to try to improve their pay and safety measures, the appeal court has heard.
Lawyers for the 14 trade unionists, including the actor Ricky Tomlinson, told the court that the “higher echelons of the state” were responsible for helping to get them unfairly convicted for offences arising out of a strike 47 years ago.
They have been campaigning for years to clear their names, arguing that the establishment persecuted them to undermine the trade union movement.
ACTOR and former building worker Ricky Tomlinson will appear in court this week to challenge the injustice visited on the Shrewsbury pickets almost 50 years ago.
Mr Tomlinson, from Liverpool, is one of the “Shrewsbury 24” workers who were unjustly convicted of offences relating to the 1972 nationwide strike on construction sites.
He will be appearing in the Court of Appeal in London on Wednesday alongside his friend Arthur Murray, who was also convicted. They will be represented by the Public Interest Law Centre.
Others of the 24 will be represented by the Shrewsbury 24 Campaign, which was launched in 2006.
The appeals are based on new evidence that statements were destroyed and legal arguments about a highly biased TV documentary, Red Under the Bed, which was screened by ITV in during the trial.
ON FEBRUARY 3-4 2021, the Court of Appeal will hear the appeals of the north Wales building workers who were prosecuted for picketing during the 1972 national building workers’ strike.
Six received prison sentences and 16 received suspended prison sentences. Only two were found not guilty. They have all maintained their innocence of all charges.
Due to the risks from coronavirus and government travel restrictions, we are unable to ask supporters to gather at the court to show their solidarity. We will provide updates on our website.
The Shrewsbury 24 Campaign was launched in 2006 to overturn this miscarriage of justice.
The campaign represents 12 pickets including Dennis Warren (deceased), John McKinsie Jones, Kenneth O’Shea (deceased), John Clee, William Pierce, Terence Renshaw, Patrick Kevin Butcher, Bernard Williams, Alfred James (deceased), Samuel Roy Warburton (deceased), Graham Roberts (deceased) and John Kenneth Seaburg (deceased).