RICKY TOMLINSON & THE SHREWSBURY 24

RICKY TOMLINSON & THE SHREWSBURY 24

Ricky Tomlinson and others, jailed in 1973 for “conspiracy

to intimidate” at a Shrewsbury strike, allege it was a plot

by Ted Heath's Tory government to intimidate the unions.

The Shrewsbury 24, were they,

The victims of a plot;

By the then Tory Government,

To jail and let them rot?

“Conspiring to intimidate”,

Is clearly a grave charge;

And no one guilty of such crimes,

Is usually left at large.

But some say that the whole affair,

Was one big put-up job;

Designed to bash the unions,

And paint them as a mob.

It's been alleged the Government,

Of PM, Edward Heath;

Arranged the fit-up so that Ted,

Could really show his teeth     

                                   
Now some will claim that such a plot,

Is totally absurd;

And that it's just a simple case,

Where civil servants erred.

But all the evidence is that,

Our governments are fly;

And harass many activists,

And others on the sly. (1)

(1) The government, despite the 30 year rule, has

refused to release the papers on this matter on the

somewhat specious grounds of “national security”.

© Richard Layton