Former SNP leader Alex Salmond has announced the creation of a new pro-independence party which will stand in the Scottish Parliament election.
Salmons annoced the new party stating the Alba Party expected to field at least four candidates across every region of the country.
The new pro-indy party, founded by journalist Laurie Flynn, Journalist Laurie Flynn registered the party, whose aim is to deliver a supermajority for independence. in Holyrood by encouraging Yes supporters to back them on the list.
The former first minister, who quit the SNP amid a bitter feud with Nicola Sturgeon, will attempt to make his political comeback for the little-known Alba Party.
He will be the party’s leader and he will stand on the regional List in the North East.
If he is elected, it will be his third separate spell in the Scottish Parliament.
Alba Party was registered at the Electoral Commission this year.
The SNP on going fall out
On Wednesday, Salmond threatened further legal action against Leslie Evans, Scotland’s most senior civil servant, saying he felt compelled to do so because she “still refuses to accept real responsibility” for the expensive failures of the internal inquiry into harassment claims against him.
He also called for a police inquiry into the leak of the Scottish government’s botched harassment inquiry findings. Nicola Sturgeon, who was cleared of breaching the ministerial code over her dealings with Salmond around the claims, has made clear her support for Evans.
On Tuesday, the two women who originally made sexual harassment complaints against him described a culture of permissiveness at the heart of government, where a “blind eye” was turned. Following a subsequent police investigation and trial, a jury acquitted Salmond of all charges.
Salmond, who served as first minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014, has previously served as MP and MSP for Banff and Buchan, where he continues to enjoy considerable local support.
Of the Scottish parliament’s MSPs, 73 are elected to represent first past the post constituencies, whilst the remaining 56 are elected by the additional member system.
Scotland: Political Battleground
Scotland will be a battleground this election. The failing mainstream parties will be contesting seats but there will be new and old parties entering the Fray. Parties like George Galloways Workers Party along with the new face CPB, the Scottish TUSC election campaign also launch in February.
We will give our readers a full analysis of their democratic choices next month as the Scottish battle ground heats up.
Police confirm officers did not suffer broken bones at Bristol protest
Avon and Somerset Police has confirmed two of its officers injured during violent protests in Bristol did not suffer any broken bones.
Police bosses said two officers were taken to hospital – one with a broken arm and another with broken ribs and a punctured lung – following Sunday’s disorder.
It has since emerged neither of the two officers had suffered any broken bones.
The headlines following the Bristol protest described police officers with broken bones and even punctured lungs
However, yesterday, Avon and Somerset police quietly admitted that no officers suffered broken bones during Sunday’s Kill The Bill protest. In a statement posted to their website, the force said: “Thankfully following a full medical assessment of the two officers taken to hospital, neither were found to have suffered confirmed broken bones.”
This is quite an admission given that, in the hours following the riot, the force was telling all and sundry that an officer had been rushed to hospital with a punctured lung after being stamped on by a baying mob, claims that were, of course, uncritically repeated by the likes of the Telegraph and the Times.
Emily Apple senior editor at The Canary tweeted: “Time and again the mainstream media are happy to parrot police lies without questioning their narrative. Turns out no cops suffered broken bones at the #BristolProtest But that didn’t stop this fantasy from being splashed over every major mainstream outlet. #KillTheBill
Time and again the mainstream media are happy to parrot police lies without questioning their narrative. Turns out no cops suffered broken bones at the #BristolProtest But that didn't stop this fantasy from being splashed over every major mainstream outlet. #KillTheBillpic.twitter.com/jbUr7SYqAJ
If you can’t trust a copper, to tell the truth, who can you trust?
Chief Constable Andy Marsh stated reports that officers had suffered broken bones on Sunday and that one had sustained a punctured lung, were not true.
A force statement said the chief constable had spoken to injured officers and when he addressed the media on Monday, believed some injuries to be more serious than they were.
“We clarified the extent of injuries proactively in our official media update this morning to be as transparent as possible,” the statement said, adding the officer suspected to have had a punctured lung still required hospital treatment and a CT scan.
The number of officers assaulted on Sunday had risen from 21 to 40, with one journalist also attacked, it added.
‘I CALMLY TOLD POLICE I WAS A JOURNALIST, BUT THEY SAID THEY DIDN’T BELIEVE ME’
I watched riot police tussle with protesters on the same bit of road that I used to walk my eldest daughter to school when she went to St George Primary School at the foot of Brandon Hill.
Journalist Martin Booth, who attended Tuesday’s protest for the Bristol 24/7 website, said he believed police had been “quite heavy-handed” against protesters.
“Some of them were sitting down as the police waded in and it was quite shocking to see,” he said.
“These protesters may have been there against the law but they were not spoiling for any fight, from my perspective.”
These were extremely volatile situations and I saw it as my duty as a journalist to document as much of what I saw as possible.-Martin Booth
“Independent journalism has never been more important and vital than it is right now.” added Martin Booth
Government-appointed Commissioners will oversee parts of Liverpool City Council following a critical report, the local government secretary has said.
Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick stopped short of ordering a full takeover of the council, with commissioners instead being sent to oversee specific functions within the planning, highways and regeneration directorate.
Robert Jenrick told the House of Commons a “serious breakdown of governance” and “multiple apparent failures” meant he had to take action.
The authority has been under scrutiny since police began investigating building and development contracts.
The initial report was ordered after Joe Anderson, 63, Liverpool’s mayor, was arrested in December on suspicion of conspiracy to commit bribery and witness intimidation. He and Derek Hatton, 73, deputy leader of the council in the 1980s, were among 12 people detained.
Anderson is currently suspended from the Labour party on unpaid leave and no charges have been brought. The police had arrested 10 other people, including the city council’s head of regeneration Nick Kavanagh, in connection with Operation Aloft over the course of the previous 12 months.
Anderson has denied wrongdoing and has not been charged. He stood down as Liverpool Mayor.
Following the report, Jenrick said the “Best Value inspection”, commissioned in December, had found “multiple apparent failures” and a “deeply concerning picture of mismanagement” in some functions at the Labour-run authority.
This has now resulted in government Government-appointed Commissioners now overseeing parts of Liverpool City Council.
The scathing report into Liverpool City Council cites ‘secret cabal’ as it highlights shocking failures
Inspectors had found failings in planning and regeneration, including a “worrying lack of record-keeping” and documents “created retrospectively, discarded in skips or even destroyed”
There had been a lack of scrutiny in the highways department, with dysfunctional management, “no coherent business plan” and “dubious” contract deals
There had been issues in property management that had led to “a continued failure to correctly value land and assets”, meaning taxpayers had “frequently lost out”
There was a “fundamental failure… to understand and appreciate the basic standards governing those in public service” and “no established way to hold those falling below those acceptable standards to account”
“Given the gravity of the inspection findings, I must consider what would happen if the council fails to deliver the necessary changes at the necessary speed,” he said.
He said he was proposing to appoint commissioners to run some aspects at the city council for a minimum of three years.
He added that it was only the fifth time a “statutory intervention” had happened, as the move was regarded as a “last resort”.
“I want to underline the report is not a verdict on all the staff working at Liverpool City Council – in fact, [it] commends the hard work and dedication of many,” Mr Jenrick said.
He told the Commons: ‘I am also proposing that the council will, under the oversight of the commissioners, prepare and implement an improvement plan.’
Local elections, including a vote to elect a successor to Mr Anderson, are due to take place in May.
The Communities Secretary continued: ‘As a whole, the report is unequivocal – that Liverpool City Council has failed in numerous respects to comply with its best value duty.
‘It concludes that the council consistently failed to meet its statutory and managerial responsibilities and that the pervasive culture appeared to be rule avoidance.
‘It further concludes that changes need to be radical, delivered at pace, and there was no confidence that the council itself would be able to implement these to any sensible timescale.
Robert Jenrick is hardly a shining light of virtue.
As an aside, it’s fair to mention the Westferry planning scandal: Housing secretary Robert Jenrick admitted his bias towards Tory donor was unlawful. Link
The minister approved a housing scheme 12 days before the developer gave £12,000 to the Conservative Party.
Labour said the timing raises “cash for favours” suspicions – but Mr Jenrick insists he did nothing wrong.
Decision was unlawful.
However. Jenrick has since had to quash his own approval, conceding the decision was unlawful. Link
Todays parliamentary statement laid out in full the report and take over by an appointed commission
Commissioners would be at the council for “a maximum of three years”
Responding to a question from Garston and Halewood MP Maria Eagle, Robert Jenrick confirms that the work of the commissioners will be reviewed every six months.
He says that if progress is made quickly enough, the commissioners could leave the council sooner than that three year term.
‘There may also be further issues of which we are not yet aware, and the report is careful not to speak to matters that might compromise the ongoing police investigation.’
The Local Government Act 1999 gives the Secretary of State powers to appoint a person to inspect an authority and to intervene, taking over its functions, either directly or through commissioners, where there is evidence that it is failing in its compliance with what is described as “best value” duties.
Best value means in practice councils must deliver a balanced budget, provide statutory services and secure value for money in spending decisions.
Since 2010, the Secretary of State has previously intervened in four local authorities – Doncaster, Tower Hamlets, Rotherham and Northamptonshire.
Guidance from the MHCLG states each intervention is different and options include other approaches, such as the issuing of directions to provide for specific actions, rather than the appointment of commissioners.
Shadow communities secretary Steve Reed said: ‘Labour – both here and our leadership at the city council – accept this report in full.
Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to back government moves to take over the running of Liverpool
Responding in parliament to the statement this afternoon, the Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary told the Commons: “Labour both here and our leadership at the city council accept this report in full.
‘We support the Secretary of State’s intention to appoint commissioners, not to run the council, but to advise and support elected representatives in strengthening the council’s systems. This is a measured and sensible approach.
‘I want to reassure people in Liverpool that this does not mean Government ministers are coming in to run their city. We would never support a Tory takeover.
“We support his intention to appoint commissioners, not at this stage to run the council as he says, but to advise and support elected representatives in strengthening the council’s systems. This is a measured and appropriate response.”
He stressed to those watching that the proposals were not “as some would put it a Tory takeover”, and that government commissioners would “intervene directly only if the council’s elected leaders fail to implement their own improvement plan”.
“The Labour Party intends to appoint a senior figure to lead a review and reassure the people of Liverpool that the Labour Party takes these concerns seriously and will take action against anyone in our ranks who is involved in wrongdoing,” he said.
Paula Barker MP, the Labour representative in the Liverpool Wavertree seat, said that she “does not doubt the seriousness of the issues” raised and described the findings that public resources had been put at risk as “deeply worrying”.
“Resources are needed for investment on vital services on which my constituents depend, and that is even more so at a time when funding has been cut year on year,” she said. She asked Jenrick to confirm that commissioners will be independent.
“Commissioners will be appointed by me and will work to me,” Jenrick said. “But their task is to support the city and its elected leadership to ensure that a good and credible improvement plan is brought forward as quickly as possible.”
“We all appreciate the seriousness of the situation,” Dan Carden declared. The Liverpool Walton Labour MP asked how local people’s voices and democratic rights would be respected under the plan to improve the council’s functions.
“The people of Liverpool must be part of that process and this week I’ve been contacted by local people concerned that sending commissioners into Liverpool amounts to a takeover by Whitehall,” he declaired.
Jenrick told the MP that the elections in May will go ahead. He said that the commissioners would “stand behind” the elected mayor and councillors – “not to tell them what to do but to guide them and support them”.
“We have given them the authority to act should they need to, given the seriousness of some of the allegations, but it is not our hope or expectation that those powers will be exercised,” Robert Jenrick added.
Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby Ian Byrne asked the minister to reassure local residents that council-led work on the Covid pandemic response and vital services on which they rely will continue and “be both resourced and protected”.
Government officials are to take over the running of Liverpool City Council amid an ongoing corruption investigation by Merseyside Police, communities secretary Robert Jenrick is expected to announce today.
Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to back government moves to take over the running of Liverpool, one of his party’s key strongholds, after a property development scandal.
The Times reported that the Labour Leader will back the Whitehall take over of Liverpool city council offering no resistance to the takeover.
Labour supporters are outraged at Starmer’s capitulation to the Tories.
The communities secretary Jenrick will deliver a statement in Parliament that will have a profound impact on the future of Liverpool.
The report was ordered after Joe Anderson, 63, Liverpool’s mayor, was arrested in December on suspicion of conspiracy to commit bribery and witness intimidation. He and Derek Hatton, 73, deputy leader of the council in the 1980s, were among 12 people detained.
Anderson is currently suspended from the Labour party on unpaid leave and no charges have been brought. The police had arrested 10 other people, including the city council’s head of regeneration Nick Kavanagh, in connection with Operation Aloft over the course of the previous 12 months.
Anderson has denied wrongdoing and has not been charged. He stood down as Liverpool Mayor.
Shortly after Anderson’s arrest, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government sent a letter to Liverpool City Council asking for evidence that the council “is now operating properly and in line with its duty…given the seriousness of the issues”.
The council was ordered to disclose by 11 December details of any of its upcoming property development or disposal plans, and its strategy to secure “effective governance” given the string of high-profile arrests.
Prof Jonathan Tonge said using such measures in a city the size of Liverpool would be “unprecedented”.
The government did not comment on reports but said it would soon set out the “next steps” in response to the inspectors’ findings.
Installing commissioners – an action taken just four times in the past 25 years in England – is among various options available to ministers.
Prof Tonge, from the University of Liverpool’s politics department, said commissioners had been brought in before but “there has been nothing on this scale”.
“You’re talking about a city of 500,000 people – about a city that has been dominated by the Labour Party in recent years,” he said.
Local and mayoral elections in May would still go ahead, he said, but would take place “in the shadow of commissioners potentially being appointed to run the city”.
“That would render the elected mayor and councillors powerless,” he said.
Some Liverpudlians might suggest the government put its “own house in order before you start interfering in our affairs,” Prof Tonge said, but ministers might insist they were forced to act in the face of a “damning report”.
It is rare for Whitehall to send in officials to take over the running of a local authority – though not unheard of. In 2014, then-communities secretary Eric Pickles ordered a team to go in and manage the finances and management of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets for a two-year period.
A Government-commissioned report by auditor PwC had identified a “worrying pattern of divisive community politics and alleged mismanagement of public money by the mayoral administration of Tower Hamlets”, and Pickles reportedly took action after failing to receive assurances from the council’s leadership that it would take steps to strengthen its governance.
Similar Whitehall intervention measures have been either put in place or threatened at the London Borough of Barnet and at Northampton Council in recent years, amid concern over local finances and leadership.
A painting by the British street artist Banksy sold for a record £16.75 million ($23.1 million, 19.4 million euros) on Tuesday, with proceeds going to health charities
Game Changer, by the anonymous graffiti artist, appeared in a foyer at Southampton General Hospital during the first wave of the pandemic.
Christie’s said the hammer price of £14.4m for the 1m (3ft) x 1m work was a “world auction record” for a Banksy.
Including a buyer’s premium, the purchaser paid £16.8m.
Christie’s said it would be donating “a significant portion” of its premium meaning a total of “more than £16m” would be used to support health organisations and charities that work with the NHS, including Southampton Hospitals Charity.
‘Symbol of its time’
Christie’s said in a statement the painting was a departure from Banksy’s usual irreverent style and was instead “a personal tribute to those who continue to turn the tide of the pandemic”.
“As an artwork, however, it will remain forever a symbol of its time: a reminder of the world’s real game changers, and of the vital work they perform,” the international art seller said.
Spokeswoman Katharine Arnold said: “Banksy is an extraordinary artist who is a constant barometer of nationwide sentiment.
“With the perfect image of a little boy playing with his superhero doll, a nurse sporting the international Red Cross, he perfectly captured the essence of this moment in time.
“As we have turned our focus towards our families and those we love, we express our gratitude to the people who continue to fight on the frontline against COVID-19.”
When the artwork first appeared at Southampton Hospital, it was accompanied by a note which read: “Thanks for all you’re doing. I hope this brightens the place up a bit, even if it’s only black and white.”
David French, interim chief executive officer at the University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust, said the “incredible gift” would help support staff “as they heal and recover” from the last 12 months.
“As a charitable gift it ensures our staff have a say in how money is spent to benefit them, our patients and our community and is a fantastic way to thank and reward them for the sacrifices they’ve made,” he said.
Game Changer was not Banksy’s only work reflecting the pandemic.
In the summer, the artist painted some trademark rats wearing face coverings on a tube train – which were later scrubbed off by cleaners who did not realise their significance.
Banksy also used the rats to present his own image of working from home.
Boris Johnson admitted he’d have done “many things” differently during the pandemic, during a press conference to mark the first anniversary of the UK plunging into lockdown.
It came on the day new figures from the Office for National Statistics showed a total of 149,117 people have had Covid-19 recorded on their death certificate since the pandemic began.
He told the Downing Street press conference: “In retrospect, there are probably many things that we wish that we’d known and many things that we wish we’d done differently at the time, in retrospect, because we were fighting a novel disease under very different circumstances than any previous government had imagined.
“The single biggest false assumption that we made was about the potential for asymptomatic transmission and that did govern a lot of policy in the early days, or that misunderstanding about the reality of asymptomatic transmission certainly led to real problems that we then had to work very, very hard to make up ground.”
Mr Johnson’s admission came as people across the UK have taken part in a minute’s silence to remember Covid-19 victims after a terrible 12 months that has cost the nation a loss of nearly 150,000 people.
Johnson said he believed one key error was a failure to appreciate how the disease could spread asymptomatically, while his chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, said lack of testing capacity and data meant the government lost control of tracking the virus’s spread.
“I think in retrospect, there are probably many things that we wish that we’d known and many things that we wish we’d done differently at the time, because we were fighting a novel disease under very different circumstances than any previous government had ever imagined,” Johnson said.Advertisement
“Perhaps the single biggest false assumption that we made was about the potential for asymptomatic transmission, and that did govern a lot of policy in the early days. All that misunderstanding about the reality of asymptomatic transmission certainly led to real problems that [meant] we then really had to work very hard to make up ground.”
Though evidence of asymptomatic transmission only became widespread public knowledge in March 2020, preliminary evidence was already being presented to the government from late January.
In the minutes of the government’s scientific advisory group for Emergencies (Sage) from 28 January, it says: “There is limited evidence of asymptomatic transmission, but early indications imply some is occurring.” It says Public Health England was investigating the prevalence of such transmission. A fortnight later, it says better testing of travellers would be needed to understand asymptomatic cases.
Johnson refused to say he regretted the decision not to lock down the country earlier, both at the start of the first wave and the second , the latter of which he is said to have personally strongly opposed.
“All I can say is we took all the decisions with the interests of the British people foremost in our hearts and in an effort to protect the public and to prevent death and suffering,” he said. “That was what we were trying to do at all stages.”
But he again refused to put a date on a time for an inquiry, saying only that “doubtless there will be a moment to properly review, to learn lessons and make sure we learn them for future pandemics”.
During the Downing Street press conference, England’s chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, also conceded the country had endured “a bad outcome”, but the prime minister once again refused to commit to a public inquiry to look at the decisions taken by the government over the last year.
Rebuffing calls for an inquiry, he said lessons would be learned at the right time. He did announce there would be “a fitting and a permanent memorial to the loved ones we have lost and to commemorate this whole period”.
Both Johnson and Whitty repeated stark warnings about the risk of a third wave of infections in the UK after steep rises in European countries.
Whitty said there would “definitely be another surge” of Covid cases despite the vaccine programme, saying there would be “bumps and twists on the road” ahead, a hint at the struggles the UK has faced over new variants and the looming threat of export bans on vaccine supplies.
One year on…
Mr Johnson said that “at the right moment” a permanent memorial to those who died from coronavirus will be built and the “whole period” will be commemorated.
MPs and peers in both Houses of Parliament and ministers in the devolved nations marked the anniversary at midday, while NHS and social care workers also joined the pause for reflection.
Cathedrals in Blackburn, Winchester, Gloucester and York also fell silent in honour of those who have died during the pandemic.
The idea of a permeant memorial to our lost ones would be fitting but for the living, we would like not only to see an enquiry into the handling of the covid crisis but we would also like an audit of public money spent and to who the billions of public many were handed out to.
A Tory candidate has had to apologise after he called for Bristol to be bombed following the unrest caused by the protest and riots in the city on Sunday.
A Tory candidate has had to apologise after he called for Bristol to be bombed following the unrest caused by the riots in the city on Sunday.
Stephen Halbhuber, who is hoping to represent St Anthony’s ward in Eastbourne and also works within the NHS, tweeted ‘just bomb Bristol’ in reaction to the violent scenes.
Mr Halbhuber is the Conservative Party candidate for the St Anthony’s Ward in Eastbourne, with local elections on the town due to take place on May 6.
His comments drew criticism from a number of people.
One Twitter user described it as “utterly disgraceful behaviour”, and questioned whether Mr Halbhuber could be trusted.
The user wrote: “Local council candidate calling for people to be bombed? Disgraceful behaviour. You can’t even be trusted with a Twitter account, let alone a council state. Utterly disgraceful behaviour.”
Another user named Martin called it a “very inappropriate tweet”, and tagged Home Secretary Priti Patel to ask whether she supported Mr Halbhuber’s comments.
After his tweet went viral, Halbhuber tweeted an unreserved apology before shutting his account down: “I want to apologise unreservedly for my comments last night, and for any offence caused. Needless to say, it is not something that I believe or would advocate for. In the cold light of day, I completely regret them.
“I have a responsibility to residents to act with propriety and tolerance. Yesterday, I fell beneath that standard, and can only apologise and promise to learn from my mistake.”
Some MP’s were also quick to put their foot in their mouths like the Labour MP for Chesterfield Toby Perkins. The centrist and ally of Sir Keir Starmer tweeted in reference to the police using Batons on protesters: “This looks to me like entirely appropriate use of the baton. A good example of proportionate policing under extreme pressure. Well done.”
Paul Mason Tweeted a response to Perkins stating: “Your comments are politically disgraceful and illiterate even from a public order point of view. The commanders of those officers will have been desperate to de-escalate and return to normal policing. We need an inquiry into what happened.”
It should be understood from the onset, this is an attack on our civil liberties.
The Protests came in response to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which will grant police significant powers to place restrictions on protests.
What started as a non-violent demonstration in the city centre against the government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill turned ugly after hundreds of protesters marched from College Green to the New Bridewell police station.
The event was dubbed ‘Kill the Bill’, in reference to the attempts to stop the Government’s proposed law which would give police and the Home Secretary increased powers to stop protests.
1984 was not supposed to be an instruction manual
1984 Orwellian Dystopia
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”- John F. Kennedy
There is an inevitable truth in the words of JFK, its not a justification of violence but it is a warning of more protest and a rejection of a system that has overstretched in its intrusions onto peoples liberties and lives.
This is not a Left or Right issue, this is an issue that affects all people of all persuasions. Thomas Paine once said: “He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression.” in that light it’s understood ensuring our liberties are not taken from us or restricted in any way is ‘common cause’.
The British people are many things and have many layers of complexities but the one thing that binds us all is our freedoms, those hard fought battles from the Magna Carta of 1215 to the Human Rights Act 1998, were not given they were won.
Freedom of speech and the right to protest peacefully are protected by the law both the common law and the Human Rights Act 1998 cover these fundamental rights.
Common law stipulates our rights: personal security, personal liberty and private property, and auxiliary rights necessary to secure them, such as access to justice. Rights to a fair trial, right to open justice and to freedom of speech are recognised both in the common law and in the Convention of Human rights.
The British people will and must guard their freedoms fiercely least they be taken away.
The Bill also makes a special new law to protect monuments and statues, in the wake of the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston, with the crime of damaging them punishable by up to ten years in prison.
There is no justification for wanton violence and destruction wherever it comes from but its safe to say after the restrictions of lockdown and the injustice of this Bill it will be a very hot summer.
This bill can only lead to more civil unrest, it does not just effect the Left but all citizens.
“Our right to protest is not and should never be viewed as a gift from the state.”
“They walk from this court – as they have always been – innocent men”
Victims of police corruption, they are victims of a political trial, and they are victims of a Conservative Government – who at the time were looking to take revenge against the trade union movement
Ricky Tomlinson and 13 fellow trade unionists convicted in the so-called Shrewsbury 24 trials have cleared their names after 48 years.
Before becoming one of Britain’s best-loved actors through roles in Brookside and The Royle Family, Ricky Tomlinson was controversially jailed for his part in a strike in 1972.
In 1972, Ricky Tomlinson was a plasterer in his mid-30s, living in a council house in north Wales, known by his real name Eric Tomlinson, with his familiar gift of the gab and a fiery streak.
When building workers went on a national strike that May, Tomlinson was among the leaders of a “flying picket” that visited building sites to persuade non-union members to down tools.
On 6 September, 300 members of a flying picket, including Tomlinson, visited building sites around Shrewsbury.
The year 1972 had been a torrid one for Edward Heath’s Conservative government. Strikes by miners and dockers had forced the prime minister to call two states of emergency.
Tomlinson played couch potato Jim Royle in TV comedy The Royle Family Copyright Fair Use
Tomlinson says the pickets were asked to visit a building site (“called the Brookside site, funnily enough”) that was full of “lumpers”, casual workers who were paid lump sums and undermined the strength of the union.
Police accompanied them at all times, he points out, and made no arrests on the day.
Five months later, 24 were charged with committing offences on that day including conspiracy to intimidate, unlawful assembly and affray.
In the end, three were jailed. Tomlinson, given a two-year sentence, was among them. Fellow picket leader Des Warren got three years.
Tomlinson, Warren and the others insisted they were innocent and had been set up by the political establishment. Their treatment led to protests, bitter arguments within the Labour party and the threat of a general strike.
Six of the 14 who joined the appeal have since died, including Dennis Warren, who was jailed for three years.
Des Warren and Ricky Tomlinson were sent to prison as the ‘Shrewsbury Two’ after the 1972 national builders’ strike (Image: Mirrorpix)
Lawyers for the men argued that the trials were unfair on two grounds.
The first was that handwritten statements from witnesses had been destroyed by police before the defence could examine them at the time of the trials.
They also suggested that the airing of a BBC documentary about communism in the trade union movement, called Red Under the Bed, was prejudicial and could have influenced jurors.
Lord Justice Fulford, presiding over the Court of Appeal hearings at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, ruled that the destruction of the statements rendered their convictions unsafe, but dismissed the arguments over the documentary.
In a written judgment he said: “If the destruction of the handwritten statements had been revealed to the appellants at the time of the trial, this issue could have been comprehensively investigated with the witnesses when they gave evidence, and the judge would have been able to give appropriate directions.
“We have no doubt that if that had happened, the trial process would have ensured fairness to the accused. Self-evidently, that is not what occurred.
The judge added: “By the standards of today, what occurred was unfair to the extent that the verdicts cannot be upheld.”
Jeremy Corbyn’s Peace and justice project tweeted: “49 years ago, two dozen Shrewsbury builders joined their union’s first national strike for safe sites and fair pay. In response, bosses, police and courts trampled over the law to jail them. It’s taken half a century to get justice. This morning, every conviction was quashed.”
49 years ago, two dozen Shrewsbury builders joined their union's first national strike for safe sites and fair pay. In response, bosses, police and courts trampled over the law to jail them.
It's taken half a century to get justice. This morning, every conviction was quashed. pic.twitter.com/cC8CatCjaw
— Peace and Justice Project (@corbyn_project) March 23, 2021
Speaking after the ruling, Mr Tomlinson 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.’’
Solicitor Paul Heron of the Public Interest Law Centre, who represented Mr Tomlinson and fellow trade union exoneree Arthur Murray, said: “I am pleased that the convictions of my clients Ricky Tomlinson and Arthur Murray have now been overturned.
“However, it is important to remember that following their convictions in 1973 they were blacklisted by the building industry.
“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.”
A statement from the Public Interest Law Centre said: “The convictions of the ‘Shrewsbury 24’ have been quashed. They are unsafe, and they walk from this court – as they have always been – innocent men.
“We say they are victims of police corruption, they are victims of a political trial, and they are victims of a Conservative Government – who at the time were looking to take revenge against the trade union movement.”
Trade unions reported Ikea to French authorities back in 2012, accusing it of collecting data by fraudulent means.
Ikea France has been accused of collecting personal data by fraudulent means and the illicit disclosure of personal information.
The French subsidiary of Ikea and some of its executives are to go on trial over accusations that customers and employees were illegally spied on.
Unions have specifically alleged that Ikea France had paid to gain access to police files that had information about targeted individuals. Ikea France denied spying on anyone, but Sweden-based Ikea fired four executives in France after French prosecutors opened a criminal probe in 2012.
Ikea France, as a corporate entity, will be in the dock as well as several of its former executives who risk prison terms.
French investigative publications Le Canard Enchaine and Mediapart uncovered the surveillance scheme in 2012, and prosecutors got on the case after the Force Ouvriere union lodged a legal complaint.
Prosecutors say Ikea France set up a “spying system” across its operations across the country, collecting information about the private lives of hundreds of staff and prospective staff, including confidential information about criminal records.
Since the media revelations broke the company has sacked four executives, but Ikea France, which employs 10,000 people, still faces a fine of up to 3.75 million euros ($4.5 million).
One accusation alleged that Ikea France used unauthorised data to try to catch an employee who had claimed unemployment benefits but drove a Porsche. Another says the subsidiary investigated an employee’s criminal record to determine how the employee was able to own a BMW on a low income.
The 15 people also appearing before the court in Versailles near Paris include former store managers and top executives such as former CEO Stefan Vanoverbeke and his predecessor, Jean-Louis Baillot.
Former Ikea France director Stefan Vanoverbeke
The group also includes four police officers accused of handing over confidential information.
The charges include the illegal gathering of personal information, receiving illegally gathered personal information, and violating professional confidentiality, some of which carry a maximum prison term of 10 years.
At the heart of the system is Jean-Francois Paris, Ikea France’s former director of risk management.
Prosectors say he regularly sent lists of names to be investigated to private investigators, whose combined annual bill could run up to 600,000 euros, according to court documents seen by AFP.
The court is investigating Ikea’s practices between 2009 and 2012, but prosecutors say they started nearly a decade earlier.
Customers the company was in a dispute with also allegedly had their personal information inappropriately accessed.
Ikea France, a subsidiary of Swedish furniture company Ikea, said Monday that it has cooperated with French judicial authorities and that such activities “seriously undermine the company’s values and ethical standards.”
“Ikea France takes the protection of its employees’ and customers’ data very seriously,” the company said in a statement. It said it adopted compliance and training procedures to prevent illegal activity after the investigation was opened in 2012.
The former head of Ikea France’s risk management department, Jean-Francois Paris, acknowledged to French judges that 530,000 to 630,000 euros a year ($633,000 to $753,000) were earmarked for such investigations. Paris, who is among those accused, said his department was responsible for handling it.
Former Ikea France CEOs Jean-Louis Baillot and Stefan Vanoverbeke, former Chief Financial Officer Dariusz Rychert, store managers and police officers are also going on trial.
If convicted, the two ex-CEOs face sentences of up to 10 years in prison and fines of 750,000 euros ($894,000). Ikea France faces a maximum penalty of 3.75 million euros ($4.47m). The trial is scheduled to last until April 2.
The company also faces potential damages from civil lawsuits filed by unions and 74 employees.
“It would appear inconceivable that a company of this size, with several stores in different countries, would not be aware of the illegality of the private data available to it,” investigating judges involved in the case said, according to court documents.
In France, Ikea employs more than 10,000 people in 34 stores, an e-commerce site and a customer support centre. SOURCE: AP
Last week Tory peer Norman Tebbit admitted Special Branch spied on union leaders, he boosted his recollections during a parliamentary zoom meeting set up by Labour MP Richard Bergan stating that he received regular briefs from special branch on the activities of trade unionists while he was a minister.
Toby Perkins Labour MP for Chesterfield clearly made his thoughts known as he waded into the after event Twitter discussions into last nights ‘kill the Bill protest’ at Bristol opposing the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. A bill that infringes on our fundamental rights to protest.
Perkins response sparked an outcry from Left-wing supporters and some well known Left-wing commentators like Owen Jones, Paul Mason along with Guardian and Jacobin columnist Abi Wilkinson.
The centrist Labour MP and ally of Sir Keir Starmer Tweeted: “This looks to me like entirely appropriate use of the baton. A good example of proportionate policing under extreme pressure. Well done.”
This looks to me like entirely appropriate use of the baton. A good example of proportionate policing under extreme pressure. Well done ???. — Toby Perkins MP
No one is condoningviolence of any sort but to see a Labour MP cheerleading the police in their use of a Baton shows a real disconnect from the people.
Paul Mason actually calls it when he Tweeted a response to Perkins stating: “Your comments are politically disgraceful and illiterate even from a public order point of view. The commanders of those officers will have been desperate to de-escalate and return to normal policing. We need an inquiry into what happened.”
Perkins was taken to task at his comments one Tweet expressing by Ellie Baker who suggested “If you’ve ever wondered how fascism arose in Nazi Germany, just listen to centrists lecturing an oppressed people on the correct way to protest as their Prime minister mobilises to deny your right to peaceful protest .shame on you Perkins“
Owen Jones Tweeted: “This ghoul isn’t some random right-wing troll on Twitter – he’s a Labour MP. People like this throughout history cheered on the police beating striking miners, LGBTQ activists and suffragettes, all claiming it was proportionate action given the circumstances. Nauseating.”
This ghoul isn't some random right-wing troll on Twitter – he's a Labour MP.
People like this throughout history cheered on the police beating striking miners, LGBTQ activists and suffragettes, all claiming it was proportionate action given the circumstances.
Perkins made claim the police are public workers and needed protection. Comparisons of police brutality were made with the miners strike, Perkins took acceptation to that.
That’s offensive crap.
Comparing these people with the miners at Orgreave some-of who were close friends is miles out.
What started as a non-violent demonstration in the city centre against the government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill turned ugly after hundreds of protesters marched from College Green to the New Bridewell police station.
The event was dubbed ‘Kill the Bill’, in reference to the attempts to stop the Government’s proposed law which would give police and the Home Secretary increased powers to stop protests.
The Bill also makes a special new law to protect monuments and statues, in the wake of the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston, with the crime of damaging them punishable by up to ten years in prison.
Many protesters were wearing face masks and carried placards, including slogans such as “say no to UK police state” and “freedom to protest is fundamental to democracy” and “Kill the Bill”.
Abi Wilkinson certainly called it right when she said: “Violence is unacceptable regardless of circumstances, zero exceptions. I thought that was the line?”
Violence is unacceptable regardless of circumstances, zero exceptions. I thought that was the line? https://t.co/Wcx5gzfhJb
The question is what next for the centrist playbook? “spare the rod, spoil the child”?
People will not be cowed
There is no justification for wanton violence and destruction wherever it comes from but its safe to say after the restrictions of lockdown and the injustice of this Bill it will be a very hot summer.
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”- John F. Kennedy
There is an inevitable truth in the words of JFK, its not a justification of violence but it is a warning of more protest and a rejection of a system that has overstretched in its intrusions onto peoples liberties and lives.
This bill can only lead to more civil unrest, it does not just effect the Left but all citizens.
The civil liberties group Liberty described the vote on Tuesday evening as a “dark stain on our democracy”, adding: “Our right to protest is not and should never be viewed as a gift from the state.”
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