Shrewsbury 24 Campaign

Terry Renshaw of The Shrewsbury 24 Campaign was the invited guest speaker at the April meeting of the Branch.

Terry outlined the history of the campaign to overturn the unjust prosecutions of 24 building workers following the first national building workers strike in 1972. The workers, all UCATT members, were arrested and charged with conspiracy, unlawful assembly and causing affray, apparently just for organising and forming picket lines at a McAlpine construction site. At subsequent trials held in December 1973, January 1974 and February 1974, 6 workers were sent to jail whilst others received suspended sentences. The Shrewsbury 24 have since campaigned for their cases to be referred to the Court of Appeal and hopefully, to have these miscarriages of justice overturned. Such a Court action might incur significant costs, currently estimated to be in the region of £150,000. Unite the Union has pledged to underwrite a substantial portion of the costs, with the remainder being dependent on donations.

Branch Chair Jake McLeod thanked Terry for his presentation. In addition to the Branch affiliating to the campaign, a collection from the 35 members present raised the sum of £273.00 by way of a donation.