A FIGHT FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: october 2016 :: RMTnews 18 In 2006, a group of trade unionists came together in Liverpool to overturn this miscarriage of justice and the Shrewsbury 24 campaign was born. All the work carried out by us is done so on a voluntary basis and the monies raised through trade union and Labour Party affiliations pay our legal costs. The campaign decided to adopt a twin-track approach in the fight for justice for the pickets. Legally, the convictions could only be overturned by the Court of Appeal and the campaign has spent considerable time and effort towards that end. This legal work is combined with taking the case of the Shrewsbury 24 to every trade union and labour movement event the length and breadth of Britain. RMT has always been staunch supporters of the campaign. Bob Crow spoke at many of our events including handing in a petition to Downing Street containing tens of thousands of signatures. We have 21 national trade unions affiliated to our campaign, trades councils and hundreds of trades union and Labour Party branches. We realised that to overturn the convictions we needed to get the case back to the Court of Appeal. Only the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which has the power to refer cases of miscarriages of justice to the appeal courts. The terms of reference of the CCRC required us to obtain ‘fresh evidence’, which we obtained, and lodged an application to the CCRC on behalf of the pickets in April 2012. The government has withheld many files relating to the trials at Shrewsbury and have turned down repeated requests to disclose them. They cite section 23 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, which A FIGHT FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE Eileen Turnbull of the Shrewsbury 24 Campaign outlines why the prosecution of 24 building workers in the 1970s is unfinished business “We want to clear our names before we die. We were innocent of all charges.” Ricky Tomlinson, speaking in 2015 Handing in the petition