EDITORIAL BOARD : Mandy Baker, Julia Brandreth, John Bulaitis, Andrew Burgin, Terry Conway, Sam Feeney, Phil Hearse, John Lister, Kathy Lowe, Pauline Roland, Liam McUaid, Piers Moystn, Karen O'Toole, Alan Thornett, James White and Paul Wilcox. SPONSORED BY: International Socialist Group, Socialist Solidarity Network and individuals including Toby Abse, Patrick Baker Julia Brandreth, Andrew Burgin, Brenda and Brian Bushell, Mathew Caygill, Duncan Chapple, Frances Curran, Norma Dowd, Andy Gibbons, Jamie Gough, Catriona Grant, Patrick Hall, Rick Hatcher, Wayne Holmes, Nick Lidgett, Nick Long, Frank McMahon, Lesley Mahmood, Margaret Manning, Liam McQuade, Alan McCoombes, Martin Milne, Piers Moystn, Karen O'Toole, Surykant Raithatha Paul Shawcroft, Norman Traub, Rick Simon, Colin Smith, Murray Smith, Sarah Taversham, Doug Thorpe, Tony Traub, Bill Walton Alan Thornett
The three part series True Spies BBC October and November shed some interesting light on the murky activities about the role of the secret state - the special branch, MI5, and the industrial section of the special branch - in conducting covert activities, many of them illegal, against militant trade unionists, political organisations, and left MPs with impunity.
Remarkably, it claims that 22 prominent trade union leaders, in the 1970s were Special Branch informants. These including Joe Gormley and even Ray Buckton, who were regularly giving them information about their own members. Buckton was on the left of the movement for many years.
The programme, however, is not a masterpiece of investigative journalism, since it is clear that the services • pulled himself together and did his job. cer, Tony Robinson, told us how in the 1970s CP members and Trotskyists were regarded as "subversives". It was therefore crucial, he said, to counter their influence. Consequently "if civil rights are infringed so be it".
The ends, he explained, justified the means. Ricky Tomlinson, he said, had been regarded as a 'political thug' at the time of the building workers.
Asked if he had any regrets he said arrogantly "No, I did the job I was paid for, and I did it well."
Tariq Ali was told to his surprise that the IMG was infiltrated at top level and that the agent had worked closely with him obtaining keys to the IMG office -The main claim was that they were responsible for the sacking of convenor and trade union Combine Committee chair Derek Robinson from British Leyland's Longbridge car factory in November 1979.
To make this claim, however, they had to rewrite the entire history of the The Cowley car plants in the 1970s: how mary of these were spies?
EDITORS: John Bulaitis, Terry Conway, John Lister DESIGN: Pete McGreal and John Lister Roger Welch, and James White. www.socialistresistance.net.
Only his sacking would inflict the defeat on the unions that Edwardes wanted.
The idea that the secret service played any significant role in this is completely incredible. If that's the best example they can find of the secret services being successful, they were largely wasting their time.
Much of the information which they supplied was useless to the employers. Tom Richardson, who was industrial relations manager in the Cowley Assembly plant in the 1970s has related since how the Special Branch and MI5 were "buzzing around all the time" in
He gives an example of a weekend trip 1 made with Reg Parsons (a onetime leftwing steward, who later went over to the right) to a European car
Richardson says Special Branch that they had followed Alan Thornett Published by SOCIALIST RESISTANCE, PO Box | 109, London N4 2UU. and anti-imperialist movement. Our central aims are: central to the resistance pay. and people with disabilities ists and movements in Europe and beyond Socialist Resistance is produced by an elected editorial board. But we need your involvement.
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socialist www.socialistresistance.net
Fiat
workers hit the
streets In
their
battle
against
plant
closures terity. of the right wing government. cover may trigger further anger. improved pay and conditions