George Tapp

RETIRED CONSTRUCTION worker George Tapp, who has stood as a Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) candidate in council elections in Salford, has been hospitalized after being deliberately knocked down by a car as he took part in a protest against blacklisting at Manchester City football ground on Wednesday.

The 64-year-old sustained two broken legs and a fractured knee cap, and is now recovering at Manchester Royal Infirmary hospital.

Witnesses say the car drove deliberately and at speed into a crowd of protesters who were leafleting at the BAM construction site.

BAM paid £38,371.85 to the Consulting Agency, a firm that ran anti-union blacklists, between 1996 and 2009.

Unite General Secretary Len McCluskey said: “blacklisting ruins lives and we believe it is continuing today on Crossrail because of contractors like BAM”

George Tapp injured

George is a respected labour movement figure in Salford who was a Labour councillor for the city s Ordsall ward from 1987 to 1995.

He has since twice fought the ward for TUSC, polling 381 votes (16%) in 2011 and 18.7% in 2012. He is an active fighter on pensioners issues, campaigning against council cuts and the bedroom tax only two weeks ago he called a 60-strong meeting in Ordsall to organise against the tax.

Dave Smith, Secretary of the Blacklist Support Group, said: “George is a blacklist hero. He recently led a delegation of blacklisted workers who encouraged the Mayor of Salford to ban blacklisting firms from publicly funded contracts. We wish him a speedy recovery”.

Messages of support should be sent to George via 07949 335 390