HAVING reported on these pages in the past about the bizarre and surreal nature of Westminster, six weeks ago I found myself rising in the chamber at Prime Minister’s Questions to ask a question that is usually dismissed by the Establishment and liable to have me labelled a conspiracy theorist. 

It is one of the defining characteristics of the pantomime that is the House of Commons that MPs have to deploy the tactic of asking questions that they can predict the answer to in order to make a point. 

I asked for a public inquiry into blacklisting. Ten years on since the discovery of the documents that revealed the true nature of the Consulting Association, the seriousness and widespread depth of the blacklisting conspiracy is coming to light. 

For we now know, from leaked documents obtained in the Creedon report, that police and security forces across Britain conspired with major businesses and multinational corporations to provide information on trade union activists among others and that these details found their way onto blacklisting files, including those held by the Economic League.

The response I received from the Prime Minister was, not surprisingly, both bland and predictable. 

No recognition was given whatsoever that these actions destroyed lives, families and reputations for decades, no recognition for the campaigners who have fought against this historic injustice, nor any acknowledgement that many found themselves under police surveillance despite not having broken any laws. 

This systematic assault on political freedom was lightly dismissed as irrelevant by the former home secretary who is clinging on to power in No 10. 

Perhaps it is unsurprising that a PM whose very premiership is characterised by denial and obstinacy in the face of facts should be so unwilling to admit the truth. 

After my PMQ I received a letter one week later, with a curious statement in the last paragraph: “The government has not seen evidence that blacklisting has occurred since the 2010 regulations.” Really? 

This flies in the face of evidence received by the Scottish affairs select committee on sustainable employment which reported in December 2017 and which looked at many areas of employment practices and took up the mantle of the previous blacklisting inquiry by the committee, chaired by my predecessor Iain Davidson. 

The then minister stated in evidence that since new legislation had been passed — to make it illegal to engage in blacklisting employees — there had been a reduction in the practice and she was “yet to see any hard evidence that it is a problem that would merit a public inquiry.” 

The then minister accepted that blacklisting “will not have been eradicated altogether,” and told us that she would “encourage trade unions to bring their evidence forward.”

So on the one hand the government believes that there is no evidence, but on the other believes the practice has not been eradicated altogether. An unwillingness to address historic injustice never ends well for governments, and a growing body of evidence suggests that blacklisting is not so historic as all that. 

The Scottish affairs committee report ended with this crucial recommendation: “We welcome the minister’s evidence that there has been a reduction in blacklisting, but her acknowledgement that the practice ‘will not have been eradicated altogether’ means there is still work to be done, and we note with concern the evidence from union representatives that blacklisting is ‘as bad as it ever was.’ 

“We recommend that the UK government work with the trade unions to establish the current extent of blacklisting, and set out in response to this report how it will do so. 

“If blacklisting is found still to be in operation, the government must publish any evidence of blacklisting it uncovers, and bring forward proposals to eradicate the practice and provide remedies for workers who have been blacklisted.”

No evidence that the British government has acted on this recommendation exists. 

This was followed up by me tabling early day motion 2186, calling for a standalone public inquiry into blacklisting which has been supported by 41 SNP, Plaid Cymru and Labour MPs. 

This historic injustice of the blacklisting conspiracy is not just confined to the past, nor to those who presently find themselves blacklisted. 

A key factor in workers not being able to obtain justice has been the issue of workers’ status, and the practice of bogus self-employment, with rogue employers washing their hands of their legal obligations to look after their workforce. 

Dave Smith was on the Consulting Association blacklist and had a file running to more than 30 pages. 

When he discovered this, he took Carillion to court as it was named in the files as denying him work. 

Carillion cheerfully admitted doing it — and won the court case because, under British employment law, Smith was not directly employed by them. This was upheld in the European Court of Human Rights.

This particular gaping hole in employment protection still exists. The unfolding scandal has also exposed that blacklisting is not restricted to history or a few sectors such as construction. 

In 2015 Sir Robert Francis QC produced Freedom To Speak Up, a report into whistleblowing in the NHS. 

Francis said that many people reported on fears that whistleblowing would have a detrimental effect on their career and received evidence of “vindictive treatment” of people who raised concerns.

Common cause has also been found with the many groups targeted by undercover police officers. 

On the Consulting Association files were environmental campaigners, journalists and academics. Those involved in anti-roads protests and animal rights were of particular interest to the police and corporations.

Work by independent researchers, activists and journalists has revealed that more than 1,000 groups were infiltrated. 

These also included justice campaigns for those who had died in police custody or, like the Stephen Lawrence campaign, who cited police malpractice.

The campaigning strength of the Blacklist Support Group has been inspiring, and its work with other organisations to eradicate injustice greatly assists MPs in their work. 

It is now imperative that politicians and campaigners work collectively to address the many issues the blacklisting conspiracy has brought up. 

Firstly, simplifying a worker’s status in law, so that blacklisters don’t get off the hook. Secondly, pressing the government to act on the recommendations from both Scottish affairs committee reports, and lastly and crucially, campaigning and securing a full standalone public inquiry, so that justice can finally be served. 

In the midst of Brexit chaos these dedicated campaigners have not lost their focus and I will do everything I can to support them. 

Chris Stephens is SNP MP for Glasgow South West.