Buy Des Warren’s book The Key to my Cell for £4 inc, p&p on the Merchandise page.

Important Updates

17 June, 2020 – My memories of Des Warren, building worker and trade unionist by Harry Chadwick.

16 June, 2020, The Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign’s annual rally is to streamed live on their Facebook page at 1pm, Saturday 20th June. Read more here.

4 June, 2020, Terry Renshaw has written a piece for today’s Morning Star, ‘More Shrewsbury pickets’ cases referred to the Court of Appeal’. You can read it online here.

26 May 2020, CCRC refers more Shrewsbury pickets to the Court of Appeal

Following four new applications from the Shrewsbury 24 Campaign we are pleased to announce that the Criminal Cases Review Commission has now referred their convictions to the Court of Appeal. Supporters will remember that on 4 March 2020 the CCRC finally referred the convictions of eight pickets and invited applications from any others. From the beginning of the campaign we had tried to involve all the convicted pickets but many did not want to make an application because of the demonization that they had experienced in 1973-74 which led to many of them being blacklisted.

We are delighted that the families of four deceased pickets, Alfred James, Samuel Roy Warburton, Graham Roberts and John Kenneth Seaburg asked us to have their names cleared. The Campaign’s solicitors’ Bindmans, submitted applications on their behalf and these have been accepted by the CCRC and join the other eight. The Campaign now represents 12 of the 22 convicted pickets (two were acquitted in 1974):

Des Warren, John McKinsie Jones and Ken O’Shea (Trial 1); Malcolm Clee, Alfred James, Michael Pierce and Samuel Warburton (Trial 2); Kevin Butcher, Terry Renshaw, Graham Roberts, John Kenneth Seaburg and Thomas Bernard Williams (Trial 3).

The CCRC’s press release also states that Arthur Murray and Ricky Tomlinson, who had withdrawn from the Campaign and the legal case in 2017, have now independently resubmitted their names to the CCRC. This was on the back of the success of the original eight pickets whose cases were referred to the Court of Appeal on 4 March 2020.

Due to the Court of Appeal’s backlog and the added impact of coronavirus on the listing of cases we do not expect an appeal hearing until the end of the year. We will keep all our affiliates updated.

The CCRC’s latest press release is here.

On behalf of the Campaign we wish you all well. Keep safe.

Eileen Turnbull Harry Chadwick

Secretary Chairperson

4 March 2020, Shrewsbury Pickets Win At CCRC

The Criminal Cases Review Commission has today finally agreed to refer the convictions of the Shrewsbury pickets to the Court of Appeal. Eight of the North Wales building workers who were jailed or received suspended prison sentences in 1973-74, will now get the chance to show that they suffered a miscarriage of justice. They are Des Warren, John McKinsie Jones, Ken O’Shea, Michael Pierce, Terry Renshaw, Kevin Butcher, Malcolm Clee and Bernard Williams.

The Shrewsbury 24 Campaign has worked tirelessly since 2006 to publicise the case and gain support from trade unions and the Labour Party. The Campaign’s Researcher and Secretary, Eileen Turnbull, travelled throughout the UK to find the fresh evidence necessary to persuade the CCRC to refer the case to the appeal court. The documents that Turnbull unearthed now form the basis for the appeal.

Read more about the CCRC decision.

May Day 2019, Shrewsbury 24 succeeds in judicial review against Criminal Cases Review Commission

On International Workers’ Day we are delighted to inform all our supporters that we have won a crucial victory in our long struggle to overturn the convictions of the Shrewsbury 24.

Yesterday, 30th April 2019, halfway through the Judicial Review hearing in the Birmingham Administrative Court, the Criminal Cases Review Commission agreed to withdraw its previous decision not to refer the pickets’ cases to the Court of Appeal. The CCRC has agreed that it will now reconsider the case.

Read more about this victory.

December 2018 – Court gives green light for pickets to challenge CCRC

On Friday 9th November 2018 the Shrewsbury pickets won an important victory in their long struggle to overturn their convictions. In the Administrative Court in Birmingham, Mr Justice Jay gave permission for the pickets’ application for judicial review to proceed to a full hearing. Read more about this landmark decision.

Read the Morning Star article about the victory.

February 2018 – Campaign launches Judicial Review on behalf of the Shrewsbury pickets

The Shrewsbury 24 Campaign made an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) on behalf of the pickets on 3 April 2012. After sending several additional lengthy submissions to the CCRC over the past 5 years we have now received their Final Statement of Reasons. We were extremely disappointed to be informed by the CCRC that they had decided not to refer the pickets’ cases to the Court of Appeal.

Our legal team, led by Danny Friedman QC, have considered the CCRC’s reasons and advised us that we have grounds to challenge the CCRC’s decision through a judicial review in the Administrative Court. The pickets and the Campaign have discussed this advice and have decided to proceed with an application for judicial review. Read more about the Judicial Review…

December 2017 – Ken O’Shea R.I.P.

It is with great sadness that the Shrewsbury 24 Campaign has to announce the death of the eldest surviving picket, Kenneth Desmond Francis O’Shea on Boxing Day. He was 88. Read more…

Update July 2017 – CCRC, the fight goes on

The Criminal Cases Review Commission has issued a ‘Provisional Statement of Reasons’ in response to the applications of the Shrewsbury pickets. The CCRC has informed us that they do not propose to refer our case back to the Court of Appeal. Although we are very disappointed with their decision we remain absolutely certain that we will overturn this miscarriage of justice. Read More…

Campaign’s researcher, Eileen Turnbull, describes below how she tracked down the television programme, Red Under the Bed.

Ian Prowes has made a video for the Shrewsbury 24 Campaign of his cover of Alun Parry’s song My Name Is Dessie Warren. Read more…