Shrewsbury 24 (Release of Papers)

Ronnie Campbell Excerpts

Thursday 23rd January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Sir Gerald Howarth (Aldershot) (Con)]

It is very interesting to see no fewer than 34 Labour Members present.

[Mr Ronnie Campbell (Blyth Valley) (Lab)]

And trade unionists.

[Sir Gerald Howarth]

And trade unionists; I thank the hon. Gentleman for that helpful intervention. It is quite clear that old Labour is still alive and well and, in some respects, seeking both to justify and to romanticise mob rule and violence and intimidation.

[Mr Campbell]

You have not been listening.

[Sir Gerald Howarth]

Not only have I been listening, but I was party to the public debate at the time, for I had a letter published in The Times on 14 January 1975, when I was director of Freedom Under Law, calling on the then Home Secretary to allow the law to be upheld and for the jail sentences of Tomlinson and Warren to be maintained, so I have an interest in the matter.

It is important for Labour Members to realise that if they wish to secure the support of the British people at the next election, they need to make it clear that they renounce the kind of practices that prevailed in the 1970s and 1980s.