A massive week in our campaign
- On Wednesday with the walkout of the Spycops inquiry in a show of no confidence in Judge Mitting. The Blacklist Support Group took that décision in solidarity with others families including the Lawrence’s and other groups being represented within these proceedings.
Our collective message was clear – We are done with stonewalling and whitewashes.
https://newint.org/features/web-exclusive/2018/03/23/spycops-victims-walkout-police-inquiry
https://leftfootforward.org/2018/03/government-must-restore-credibility-of-spy-cops-inquiry/
- On Friday – The Met Police finally officially confirmed that Special Branch and other police were involved in the Blacklisting of construction workers. The following disclosures have now been widely reported in the worlds news. Blacklisted workers appeared and our supporters appeared on TV and radio throughout the day. This has been 6 years going back to 2012 since we first raised it through our QC Imran Khan through the IPCC.
Blacklist Support Group would like to have it placed on record our appreciation for all the activists, lawyers, investigative journalists, researchers, trade unionists and politicians who have worked alongside us and whose efforts have finally forced the Met Police to make these admissions.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43507728
https://www.union-news.co.uk/met-police-admit-spying-on-trade-unionists-for-blacklisting-bosses/
- After the revelations about police collusion in blacklisting, Unite the Union are now considering opening new legal proceedings against the Met Police. Watch this space
http://www.unitetheunion.org/news/police-blacklisting-admission-could-lead-to-fresh-legal-action/
- With the above in mind, we ask supporters to highlight the Met Police admission to their local elected Police Commissioner, many of whom are Labour politicians and run our Police Forces. We suggest that our supporters send letters using the text below as a standard template making amendments as you see fit:
Blacklist Support Group open letter to our Police Commissioner’s over police collusion and spying.
The Blacklist Support Group notes the recent and most shocking disclosures and statement of the Metropolitan Police regarding the undercover policing scandal. It is with huge dismay that it has taken 6 years for the Metropolitan Police to admit that police supplied information to the unlawful construction blacklist. And only then after our legal representatives complained to the IPCC back in 2012.
Our attention must now turn to the solutions. Aside from any legal action against these political policing units, we call upon Police Commissioners to now come out in full support of those who suffered as a consequence of these clandestine anti-democratic operations.
We therefore ask the Police Commissioners to go on record and condemn the actions of the undercover police units spying on trade unions unreservedly and call for these covert political policing units that spy on legal democratic political campaigns should be disbanded immediately.
Roy Bentham co-Secretary of the BSG added:
“This culture of impunity has to end. As someone who seen it as a Hillsborough survivor it’s appalling it still appears to be rife within our police forces. As Labour politicians, our commissioners also have a duty to serve the people who voted them in. A statement on denouncing these black ops is surely the bare minimum and we need promises of transparency going forward as that is the only way to win our trust back as ordinary working class citizens”
- Another great article from our friends at the International Employment Rights organisation mapping out the terms of reference for a full public inquiry into Blacklisting.
http://www.ier.org.uk/news/think-tank-blacklisted-workers-need-change-law-well-public-inquiry
- Retraining for Blacklisted workers.
Letters have gone out to Unite members with regards to this issue as set out in the settlement terms of the High Court cases.
We have also contacted Unite on behalf of blacklisted workers represented by Guney Clarke & Ryan solicitors in the High Court litigation. We will update on that in due course
- That was the week that was:
In solidarity and keep the faith
Roy Bentham – Joint secretary