Blacklisted: The Secret War between Big Business and Union Activists by Phil Chamberlain & Dave Smith

Author:Phil Chamberlain & Dave Smith [Chamberlain, Phil]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: David Clancy, blacklist files, union activists, Dave Smith, Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd, Data Protection Act, blacklisted, shop stewards, economic league, employment tribunals, Skanska, raid, Consulting Association, big business, Special Branch, blacklisting, dismissals, subscribers, Paul Corby, direct employment, Laing O’Rourke, MI5, representatives, subcontracting, SASC, UCATT, AEEU, Ian Davidson, Carillion, HBG Construction, Conservative Party, Costain, Ricky Tomlinson, breaches and concerns, Marry Kerr, Labour Party, Phil Chamberlain, Ian Kerr, JIB, ICO, AMEC, Unite, Balfour Beatty, Metropolitan Police, Steve Acheson, Kier, Infornation Commissioners Office, secrecy, Frank Westerman, NETCU, Amicus, EPIU, blacklist support group, individual, high court, police
Publisher: New Internationalist
Published: 2015-03-11T00:00:00+00:00

Ian Kerr takes centre stage

Kerr was accompanied by his wife Mary when he sat down to give evidence. Several police officers remained in the room to prevent any disturbance and Davidson came over to the public benches to warn against any disruption of the proceedings. It made for a tense start in the gilded committee room. There were to be fireworks – but they all came from Kerr. Over nearly four hours he set out calmly how the Association had operated, the names of those who had been his main contacts and the kinds of projects involved. McAlpine’s strategy from the day of the raid onwards to keep the fall-out focused on Kerr was in tatters.

Kerr revealed to MPs that McAlpine, Balfour Beatty ‘and possibly Skanksa’ had used the Association for their Olympic contracts. Other schemes for which companies had checked employees were the headquarters for GCHQ, hospital PFI projects, power stations and the Jubilee Line Extension. The ongoing multi-million-pound Crossrail project had been discussed by companies that subscribed to the Association, Kerr said.

MPs heard that the Association was established after Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd paid £10,000 to two of the Economic League’s directors for a list of names. Those directors, Stan Hardy and Jack Winder, would find themselves giving evidence before the MPs in the months to come. Like the scenes of the senate committee hearings from Godfather II, the names of the consigliori from the big construction families who took turns chairing TCA were all unveiled by Kerr. The last to hold the post was David Cochrane, McAlpine’s head of human resources. As an example of how close an interest McAlpine’s took in the Association, Kerr revealed that the company had paid his court fine. The money was paid to his daughters with instructions that they pay it on to their father in small batches to obscure its origin.

As Kerr continued to explain his role, it was clear that a number of leads had been established that would require further investigation. Speaking afterwards Justin Bowden, the GMB National Officer, said:

‘He blew off the lid which the construction companies like Carillion, Sir Robert McAlpine and Balfour Beatty had tried so hard to keep from coming off. They were clearly in it up to their necks.’7

The other witness who helped flesh out the conspiracy, albeit with a lawyer sitting by him and remarks calibrated not to prejudge pending legal action, was Cullum McAlpine. A director of the eponymous building giant, McAlpine generally works out of offices in Bristol. Described in one profile as ‘quite sharp, quite bright; quick on his feet’,8 he maintains impeccable social credentials with his membership of the Merchant Venturers – an exclusive club for Bristol businesspeople originally founded by slave traders.9 McAlpine lives in a manor house in South Gloucestershire, 15 minutes from the M4. According to Mary Kerr, it was a place her husband had visited once when he needed to deliver some items to the construction boss. She disputes the notion that McAlpine had a central role and certainly he attempted to portray his own role as hands-off.

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