Tomlinson still fighting for Shrewsbury 24 justice

Actor Ricky Tomlinson was one of the famous Shrewsbury 24, arrested following the national builders strikes to secure better wages and safety regimes in 1972.

Months after the strikes which Mr Tomlinson says were peaceful, the 24 were arrested on a number of charges.

After a 55 day trial at Shrewsbury Crown Court in 1973, Mr Tomlinson and Des Warren were found guilty of conspiracy to intimidate, and jailed for two and three years respectively.

Ever since, a campaign group and Tomlinson have been battling to overturn the decision, because they believe Tory ministers at the time piled pressure on authorities to prosecute the pickets as part of a Tory war with trade unions.

Now, at the age of 78 and despite battling in vein to get the truth for so many years, he still holds a glimmer of hope.

He said: "We're not going anywhere, I'm still fighting more than ever for the truth to come out of this.

"The campaign is still going and we want justice for those who were wrongly prosecuted."

A dossier was presented to the Criminal Cases Review Commission in a bid to get the guilty conviction taken to appeal.

However after a lengthy process, the CCRC found no grounds to take the decision to appeal in October last year.

The convictions all centred around September 6, 1972, when Mr Tomlinson was among the flying pickets that visited building sites to persuade non-union members to down tools.

Around 300 of them visited sites in Shrewsbury, where Mr Tomlinson still says the were joined by police officers and a good meeting was held.

Then five months later, the charges came and the pickets went on trial.

Mr Warren and Mr Tomlinson were jailed, and while inside he refused to wear inform, went on hunger strike and claimed they were political prisoners.

Mr Warren died in 2004 from Parkinson's disease, and Mr Tomlinson has previously said his death was linked to sedatives given to prisoners during the 1970s.

The decision from the CCRC not to go to appeal as been taken to a judicial review, and that process is ongoing.

Mr Tomlinson believes the files relating to the controversial case that are being withheld by the government hold the key to getting the convictions over turned.

After numerous attempts to get the files released, the government have said they won't be reviewed until 2021, and Mr Tomlinson, who turns 79 later this year still questions why.

He added: "These government papers they are covering up to protect someone need to come out, if they do they will show we shouldn't have been jailed.

"They can realise papers on Russian Spies and on the Iraq war invasion but they can't release papers on this. We've been told the papers relating to the Shrewsbury 24 won't be reviewed until 2021, which is ludicrous.

"By that point I'll be well into my 80s.

"I don't know what hope we have of getting them released, but we will still keep fighting."

Mr Tomlinson, star of TV shows Brookside and The Royal Family has been up and down the country, demonstrating and fighting for justice for decades.

One of his last visits to Shropshire was for a meeting at Oswestry Cricket Club where he urged fellow pickets to come forward to fight for justice.

He spoke about an article written by former housebuilding boss and Oswestry businessman Peter Starbuck, who had alleges Tomlinson and other pickets loaded crates of beer onto buses before the strike.

Tomlinson has always strongly refuted the claims, and has called for an apology and a face to face meeting with Mr Starbuck in the past, but nothing has materialised.

He added: "We he said was a mistake and I want an apology and I challenge him to a meeting about this, I have before and he has not taken up my offer.

"What he said about me being armed with ale on the buses added to the whole situation."

Mr Starbuck has been contacted for comment.