Now look what has happened. Her job as RMT safety representative at Waterloo was taken over by Greg Tucker, another experienced train driver. In June last year, Greg was a general election candidate in Streatham for the Socialist Alliance and, as such, was subjected to some routine witch-hunting by the Evening Standard, including a testy piece by David Aaronovitch who made the same sort of points about Greg Tucker's politics rightwing commentators used to make about David Aaronovitch when he was a member of the Communist party (which Greg Tucker has never been).
On his first day back at work after the election campaign, Greg's supervisors were secretly instructed to carry out a ruthless investigation of every move he made. On one journey, where the speed limit dropped from 100mph to 90, he was found to have exceeded the limit by about 5mph for less than a minute. For this crime he was downgraded to ticket inspector, and his salary cut by more than half. At the disciplinary hearing that followed, ancient charges (such as being late for duty in 1993 and supporting the signal workers in their official strike in 1994) were exhumed for the first time.
Greg's case (and seven other similar ones) is part of the dispute that closes down South West Trains today. In separate ballots, strike action on pay was supported by 75% and strike action against the victimisation of Greg Tucker and others by 56%. The victimisation of safety reps is quite rightly seen by the RMT (and all other trade unions) as a threat to their existence. If safety representatives can be arbitrarily sacked, which trade unionists will volunteer to monitor safety?
South West Trains is a subsidiary of Stagecoach, which has made many millions for its owners and shareholders out of the privatisation of buses and trains. Its big chief is Brian Souter, a multi-millionaire evangelist, who boasts about his working-class upbringing and sympathies. In 1998, to their eternal shame, the Scottish TUC invited him to speak to their annual conference, where he treated delegates to a hideous rendering of a load of reactionary doggerel to the tune of the Red Flag. For some reason the sacking of safety representatives and facing down strikes against the overwhelming support of the workers concerned did not feature in his performance.
· Considering the acres of media space devoted to "business", it seems strange that there has been so little informed commentary on the biggest bankruptcy of all time - the Enron scandal. The most senior British businessman involved was Lord Wakeham, who, as Tory energy secretary in 1990, opened the Enron power station on Teesside, and later joined the main board and chaired the company's audit committee. He was very well paid by Enron but was apparently quite oblivious of the mess into which his company was plunging. Lord Wakeham is involved in many British boardrooms, which is his and their business. But should he really continue as the highly paid chairman of the press complaints commission? What happens if anyone complains about the press coverage of Enron, or the lack of it?
· Watching Toby Sculthorpe's devastating Rough Justice programme on BBC1 on Sunday was like re-dreaming an old nightmare. The framing of Oliver Campbell for the murder of an Asian shopkeeper in Lower Clapton in 1990 had all the features of the worst injustices of the 1980s, notably the framing of Stefan Kiszko for a child murder he could not possibly have committed.
Like Kiszko, Campbell was slow-witted and suggestible. Once his solicitor was persuaded to leave the police station, he was ready to confess to the murder. There was no forensic evidence whatever to convict the boy. The gunman shot the shopkeeper with his right hand, but Oliver Campbell was left-handed.
It was hard not to agree with Kirsty Wark, who presented the programme, that Campbell, who has been in jail for 10 years, should be released on bail, pending an appeal. David Blunkett has powers to release him now. Whether he does so could prove an interesting test of his mettle.
