Progress Report on Blacklist Case

Blacklist Support Group Photo Opportunity

9:30am Friday 26th February 2016

Royal Courts of Justice

The Strand 

2 weeks ago it emerged in the Daily Mirror and subsequent press stories that a small number of blacklisted workers had received between £15-20 million in compensation between them but the full blacklisting super-trial is still scheduled to start on 7th May. The construction giants; Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Costain, Kier, Laing O’Rourke, Sir Robert McAlpine, Skanska and Vinci have already admitted their guilt and responsibility for targeting union activists during their 1993-2009 operation of the Consulting Association blacklist and for decades beforehand under the guise of the Economic League. It is believed that over 100 new claimants with blacklist files have joined the litigation within the last week alone. 

This Friday is the first hearing since the stories in the press and also the first since witness statements were exchanged by the legal teams. 16 leading industry figures have given written statements, including Directors of multinational companies and former Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of the Consulting Association. The glaring omission from the list of blacklisters is the name of Cullum McAlpine, the man who bankrolled and was founding chairman of the Consulting Association. In previous hearings, the High Court has been shocked to hear that not a single email or letter to or from McAlpine was disclosed, in fact many such documents were destroyed, despite a court order requiring full disclosure.  

Dave Smith, BSG secretary commented:

"As we get closer to May, we can nearly taste the victory. The prospect of directors of multinational corporations who violated our human rights being forced to give evidence under oath in the High Court is whetting our appetite.  

The British legal system needs to demonstrate that big business is not above the law. The guilty must be punished; in court and by their removal from publicly funded contracts. If there was any real justice, the wretches would already be in jail". 

Blacklist Support Group