Construction workers claiming to have been wrongly jailed following an industrial dispute in the 1970s are to challenge a refusal by the miscarriage of justice watchdog to refer their case back to the Court of Appeal. The judicial review is the latest step in an epic fight by the so-called Shrewsbury 24 who say they were wrongly convicted of offences relating a national builders’ strike at Shrewsbury crown court in 1973.
Six men were jailed, including the actor Ricky Tomlinson who got two years, having been charged under arcane legislation (Conspiracy Act 1875) for offences relating to intimidation and damage to property for picketing during the first nationwide industrial action by the building trade.
The Shrewsbury 24 made an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) over six years ago in April 2012 but their application was only rejected earlier this year. ‘Our case should have been referred back to the Court of Appeal at least three years ago,’ commented the campaign secretary Eileen Turnbull. ‘The CCRC has dragged its feet for more than five years and then failed to apply the relevant law to the fresh evidence that we provided. We look forward to the full hearing in the spring as we are confident that we will succeed.’
Read more: Jon Robins, ‘The Justice Gap’, https://is.gd/FZG9bC
