Icatures of the conspiracy laws is that it can be a criminal offence for two or more persons to conspire fo do something which is not in itself a crime. The most notorious use of the conspiracy laws in this way in the past has been he persecution of the trade union movemen throughout in Ich of the 191h century fo conspiring to commit the civil wrong of "inducing breach of contract.
In 1962 a very wide-ranging application of the conspiracy laws was opened up when the House of Lords recognised the offence of 'conspiracy to commit a public mischief" on this occasion in the form of publishing an address book of prostilules, which was held to corrupt public morals. But this aspect of the law could he used in political caves, What is significant about the Bitingham case is thal since 181] the courts have held that "conspiracy to trespass" was not a crinse. This estahlished view was overturned last vear when urst the Court of Appeal and then the House of Lords upheld a champe of consincy to trespass" against a group of students trom Sierra Leone who had occupied their country's estbussy:
IMMUNE Workers who adopt occupation tactres in pursuit of industrial struggles should be immune from this use of the law: the 1875 Conspiracy and Protection of Proporty Act in addition to Imposing strict restrictions on pickets, also stopped the persecution nf ordinary trade union activily as conspiracies by providing that nothing done by more than one person involved in a trade dispute would be criminal unles it was a crime in its own right, However, students, squatters, and worker who take actions not directly connected with a dispute such as the attempt of the Birming ham bulklug workers to break the ring of secrecy which capitalism throws around many a man oPpose pretacous suhiect to this new extension of the law. More over the couris are quite capahle of extending narrowing down the definition of industrial dispute, thus withdrawing the protecton of the 1875 Act from an even wider range af actions.
The National Council for Civil Libertica Bas taken up this case and is providing legil defenc In a rocent circular to their trade union affiliates they say: The NCCL considers this cuse the most significant and probably the most dangerous of ail the criminal cases which have recently been brought against workers participating in industrial action, CCATT mulitants in Birmingham have set a good example in responding to this atlack. The editorial board of the UCATT Shop Stewards Committee bulletin has decided to bring out the bulletin on a weekly basis during the trial. A morting of CATT shop stewards last Wednesday called for a strike and demoos tration when the trial opens on 3 December, So far six major sites in the city have vored to stop, and letters have been sent to trade union branches and shop stewards committees throughout Birmingham urging them to take part.
Red Weekly 30 November 1973 Page 3
John MacLean, the Scottish revolutionary who died Great Britain, although held at the pitch of the Black and Tan