Court in the Act!

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The Workers Socialist League is a Trotskyist organisation fighting to construct a principled revolutionary leadership in the working class in Britain and internationally, and for the reconstruction of the Trotskyist Fourth International on the basis of the Transitional Programme.

The WSL fights at every step against the existing leaders of the trade unions and the Labour Party - now firmly harnessed to the bourgeois politicians of the Liberal Party in an Against their policies of class collaboration we put forward instead a programme which points to the independent class interests of the working class, its need to organise independently to overthrow capitalism, destroy its repressive state machinery and establish a Only in this way can workers resolve today's problems of tumbling living standards, mass unemployment, slashed social services, racial, Police last week guarding fascist slogans daubed on a wall in Brick Lane. East London.

Anti-fascists who organised to paint out the slogans were threatened with arresi and a possible charge of criminal damage. Only larer were the slogans covered over.

For the diminishing number of workers who retain illusions in British justice' • recent events have provided a series of jolts.

While thousands of workers have witnessed or fallen victim to legalised police brutality on picket lines or on anti-fascist demonstrations, rubber-stamp magistrates courts have ignored evidence to mete out savage sentences to those workers unfortunate enough to be arrested.

unspoken coalition arrangement.

socialist planned economy.

national and sexual oppression.

For more details on the WSL and fill in the form below.

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Address Trade Union Dartmouth A succession of high court rulings have attacked the independence and internal democracy of the trade unions and the Labour Party.

Racial And costly, unsuccessful show-trials of numbers of black youth-including the Carib Club trial, the Mangrove Nine and more recently the Islington 18, have proven nothing but the racial bias of police and their determination to further the racist myth that black youth ale no more than violent criminals.

Recent weeks have brought new events that highlight the workings of police and courts.

In Glasgow Sheriff's Court last week it was revealed that a black schoolboy had been charged with rape after an identity parade in which he had been the only black person in the line-up.

"fairer"

Woman Detective Constable Karin Howie was forced to agree with the defence solicitor that it would have been "fairer" if all the others-or even one or two-had been of African descent like the boy accused.

However, she said, one ot the five white boys on parade dia have an Afro-style haircut!

When pressed as to why there were so many whites and no black youth on the identity parade, the detective claimed that an arrangement made through a restaurant had • fallen through and "we had to do the best we could"

We are left to wonder whether earlier black patrons of the restaurant had been picked off one by one after getting conned into similar "identity parades"

Six months jail

Meanwhile in Lambeth, anti-fascist demonstrator John Lockwood has been jailed for six months by magistrates on the incredible charge of "assault on an unknown police officer" following the Lewisham antifascist march on August 13.

Contrast this vicious treatment to the puny £4,000 fine and 10-year driving ban handed out to wealthy 22 year old Bartholomew Smith after his £i6,000 Maserati slaughtered four people in March this year.

Smith's car, travelling at an estimated 80-100 mph, turned broadside across the road and crashed into an oncoming car.

Yet despite this lethal behaviour, Smith, an ex-public schoolboy and son of a former Tory MP and Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire was allowed to walk out of court having suffered no more than a fine that must amount to mere petty cash for a Maserati owner.

And on Friday another ex-public schoolboy, the Hon. Thomas Tyrell-Kenyon was given probation for setting fire to the YMCA hostel in Birmingham.

"A little fire"

He is reported to have the police:

"I wanted a little fire. I didn't intend to do all that damage. wanted to get myself put away because I am a let-down to the family".

Tyrell-Kenyon tried the wrong kind of offence. He should have stood peacefully on a Grunwick : picket line. That way he would have been in with a real chance of a jail sentence.

PHOTO: Laurence Sparham, IFL PHOTO: Andrew Wiard, Report SEEK

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DENOUNCES Between 100 and 150 firemen attended a lobbv and rally outside Birmingham Council House.

In pouring rain they heard speeches from amongst others iS, Wea day 14 Der ember