Ricky Tomlinson (centre) with David Whyte and Eileen Turnbull
Ricky Tomlinson and Eileen Turnbull gave a talk at the University of Liverpool about the `Shrewsbury 24’ who were arrested following the first ever national building workers strike in Shrewsbury in 1972, and the campaign to clear their names.
Ricky was one of the `Shrewsbury 24’ and went to prison for 16 months for his involvement in the dispute. He is now spearheading the campaign to clear their names and have their cases overturned. Eileen is a PhD student in the Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology.
David Whyte, who organised the lecture, said: “Ricky and Eileen spoke passionately and clearly about their campaign to clear the names of the 24 building workers convicted, revealing the political nature of the 1973 trials.”
“They reported on and their case to the Criminal Cases Review Commission to overturn the convictions, on their work with a number of MPs to raise the issue in Parliament, and appealed to the audience to support the Downing Street e-petition to release classified documents relating to the case.”
The petition is at: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/35394’
The event was organised as part of the Department’s Social Justice Seminar Series