VIOLENT PASSENGER FINALLY JAILED FOR ATTACK ON RAIL STAFF

RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: november/december 2008 :: RMTnews 6 A drunken train passenger who savagely attacked two RMT members at Plymouth station has been jailed for four years in a private prosecution after the Crown Prosecution Service refused to pursue the case. Believed to be the first prosecution of its kind, the case was taken up by the two rail workers’ employer First Great Western. Sentencing Robert Halkett, Judge Paul Darlow said it was only down to the train company pursuing a private prosecution that "proper charges were laid and the proper sentence passed". Halkett, who has a string of convictions for attacks on rail staff, had pleaded guilty to two counts of actual bodily harm and a separate charge of theft at an earlier magistrates hearing. First Great Western's barrister, Stephen Mooney, told Plymouth Crown Court how Halkett boarded a train at Plymouth station in April last year and attacked train manager Robin Hawkins after he asked for his ticket. Platform staff member Karen Nicholson raced to assist and was then punched in the face by Halkett who fled the scene but was arrested the following day at the same station. Photos of the injured rail staff were taken by British Transport Police before they were treated in hospital. However, a doctor's report claimed the horrific wounds were "superficial”, leading the CPS to its "incorrect conclusion" not to prosecute. Senior CPS staff upheld the decision on appeal, leaving the rail firm "no option but to instigate a private prosecution". Judge Darlow called the attack "entirely unprovoked", adding Halkett had "an appalling record" before sentencing him for 39 months for each assault and a further nine months for theft to run consecutively. Following the sentencing, RMT members Karen Nicholson said that she had been ‘devastated’ when the BTP informed her that the case had been dropped. “When I was told it was like being assaulted again, we have the right to work in safety. I'm very happy with the result," she said. First Great Western's head of revenue protection Jim Beckwith said that it was the first time the company prosecuted for actual bodily harm. “We hope we don't have to again, but if we do we won't hesitate," he said. M embers of the Norwegian oil workers’ union Industri Energi took time out from a shop stewards conference in Bergen recently to show solidarity with RMT. Members of the Stena Drilling Employees Association and Trinity Employees Association, effectively national branches of the Norwegian union, were proud to display a clear message of support to offshore workers in the UK sector, displaying this eight metres long banner. RMT and IE are presently exploring ways of working together to ensure all offshore workers in the North Sea are properly organised. RMT recruitment DVDs were shown to delegates who were impressed at RMT's ability to produce 'in house' films aimed at specific groups of workers. VIOLENT PASSENGER FINALLY JAILED FOR ATTACK ON RAIL STAFF NORWEGIAN OIL WORKERS SHOW SOLIDARITY WITH RMT