On being Blacklisted

Ellenor Hutson

Ellenor Hutson writes on her experience of being on the construction blacklist

When I opened a recent letter from my Union, Unite, I was expecting to find a circular or, if I was really lucky, a complementary diary. Instead, I found a letter informing me I was on the Construction Blacklist.

The Construction Blacklist, as you may know, was compiled by the shadowy “Consulting  Association.”  Around half of the UK’s construction companies were paid subscribers to the list, which they used to deny work to thousands of people, many of whom lost their livelihoods for years.

Some of the people effected were left wingers, others conscientious health and safety reps, some were simply the subject of gossip. One man for example, merited an entry because he was thought to be cohabiting with a labour councillor. Another entry read only:  “1986- letter to the Crawley Gazette.”

Eventually, after years of campaigning by trade unionists, the Consulting Association was raided by officers of the Information Commissioners Office, the public body in charge of enforcing the Data Protection Act, who then passed a list of names to Unite, who checked it against their membership list and contacted me, presumably along with many others.

By why am I on it? I have never worked in the Construction Industry and yet it seems to check out.  Although the Information Commissioners Office were unable to give me much information over the phone they do have an entry matching my (unusually spelled) name, as well as my National Insurance number and date of birth.

The most likely explanation for my inclusion would be my involvement with the environmental movement during the 1990s. In his evidence to the Scottish Affairs Committee Ian Kerr- who has been prosecuted for administering the list explained that:

“In the mid ’90s the industry was, literally, taken unaware by the people who came along and built tree houses, cut the hydraulic lines on the equipment and put sand in the tanks……At the time the industry didn’t know so we had a separate meeting forum to discuss all these matters”

200 names on the blacklist were colour coded green to indicate environmentalists. A drop in the ocean compared to the thousands of names held overall. But no doubt a  lucrative side line for a man whose main business of emmiserating building workers and destroying trade unions netted him £50,000 a year, including a company car and lifetime membership of BUPA.

In evidence, Ian Kerr specifically mentioned the campaigns around the M11, Twyford Down, Bath Eastern Link Road and Manchester 2nd Runway.

I’ve now sent a photocopy of my passport and proof of address to the Information Commissioners Office and am waiting to receive a copy of my entry on the blacklist. This should show me what information was held, and more importantly, how it was obtained.

This could make interesting for reading. According to the Guardian, some of the information on the list could only have come from the police and security services.

Ian Kerr has even admitted to playing at spies himself on occasion, attending political meetings and trawling the left wing press for names. A comical image, given the surprising political illiteracy displayed in his evidence to the Scottish Affairs Committee.  At one point Kerr had to ask the chairman to explain the significance of the colours green and orange in sectarian politics. A degree of ignorance which is even more incredible given that his links to the state were almost certainly forged during the 1970’s when a forerunner to the Consulting Association, The Economic League, passed along information on Irish Republicans working in the building trade.

In the meantime, anyone who thinks they may be on the Construction Blacklist can find out for sure by calling the Information Commissioners Office on 01625 545745 and asking the Data Protection team for any information held on you by the Consulting Association.