Merseyside MPs again called on the government to launch an inquiry into a shipyard strike which resulted in 37 workers "deliberately targeted" and jailed.
The workers from shipbuilding yard Cammell Laird were sentenced to a month in prison in 1984 after withdrawing their labour. The men downed tools in May before being sacked and ordered off the site under trespassing laws in August of the same year. After refusing, they were held under contempt of court laws and jailed.
The 37 workers, some of whom have since died, were imprisoned in the category A Walton Prison for their role in the official strike action over job losses. The workers were dismissed from their jobs and had all their redundancy and pensions withdrawn, and struggled to find paid work after their release.
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A parliamentary debate yesterday, Tuesday, February 7, heard calls from MPs and members of the GMB union for a public inquiry into the treatment of the blacklisted workers. The debate was raised by Labour MP Gareth Thomas who said the workers had been "painted as militants" but only acted to protect jobs in their community.
The member for Harrow West, who is a member of the GMB union, told the debate: "I can find no record of any other group of striking workers sent to prison for contempt, or indeed any other such large group of workers sent to prison at all, as a result of a national dispute."
A public inquiry into the jailing of the workers has previously been called for by Birkenhead MP Mick Whitley. And fellow Merseyside MP Ian Byrne, for West Derby, echoed his Labour colleague in a passionate speech during yesterday's debate.
Mr Byrne said the workers had been targeted "in an attempt to demoralise all those workers taking strike action across the country". He branded it a "devastating period which [Merseyside] still hasn't recovered from fully".
The West Derby MP also read a statement on behalf of friend and striker Alan Smith, who was 19 at the time of the strikes. He added a public inquiry would "give the victims the justice they deserve" which is "still being denied almost 40 years later".
Mr Thomas urged Justice Minister Edward Argar to launch a public inquiry and asked if it would be referred to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which is responsible for investigating alleged miscarriages of justice. Mr Argar said the sentencing of the workers was a "matter for our independent judiciary," but he recognised the "far-reaching and long-lasting impact" of the case.
He urged Mr Thomas to write directly to him so he could "look in greater detail into those legal routes that I hope might just slightly move things forward".
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