Ricky Tomlinson’s criminal conviction is set to be re-examined.
The 80-year-old actor was jailed for two years in 1973 after he was one of 24 trade unionists found guilty of unlawful assembly, affray and conspiracy at Shrewsbury Crown Court, but the Criminal Cases Review Commission has now asked the Court of Appeal to review his conviction.
The ‘Royle Family’ star – who worked as a plasterer before becoming an actor – was jailed after he participated in the first national building workers’ strike, in 1972, in a bid to have wages and safety measures improved on building sites.
However, Ricky has been campaigning for years to have his name cleared and he’s welcomed the decision to have his conviction re-examined, telling The Guardian newspaper that it’s "good news".
The actor maintains that his prosecution was part of a politically-motivated attack on trade unions.
A key piece of evidence in the case was a TV documentary called ‘Red under the Bed’, which focused on left-wing trade unionists and was broadcast during the trial.
At the time, lawyers argued that the documentary had prejudiced the verdict.
Ricky’s conviction ultimately made it tough for him to find work, but he finally got his break in the 1980s, when he played Bobby Grant in ‘Brookside’.
The actor previously insisted that he and the other trade unionists were targeted by the government.
Ricky explained: "It’s simple, really simple. Back then they were afraid of what the miners were going to do. So they needed someone to make an example of.
"They couldn’t use the dockers or the railway industry, because they were organised – they could call a strike at the drop of a hat, they could paralyse the country. But we couldn’t. So they thought: We’ll pick on the building workers."