Skip to main content
Last surviving member of Pentonville Five dies

THE last surviving member of the Pentonville Five died on Wednesday, the Morning Star understands.

Bernie Steer, along with Vic Turner, Derek Watkins, Cornelius Clancy and Anthony Merrick, was arrested on a picket line in east London during the 1972 dock strikes and imprisoned for contempt of court.

The National Industrial Relations Court had issued an injunction barring picketing after the Midland Cold Storage Company put through an application.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Sam Wild addresses the British Battalion
Spanish Civil War 90th Anniversary / 4 July 2026
4 July 2026

Thousands of remarkable Britons left ordinary lives behind to join the struggle against Franco. Here is a snapshot of those who answered the call

Broadcasting the news, during the General Strike of 1926, at a Government centre for the maintenance of essential services, May 1926
History / 4 May 2026
4 May 2026

The General Strike exposed the power of the working class — and the limits of its leadership, writes Dr DYLAN MURPHY

 Lord Radcliffe, who conducted an investigative tribunal after a series of ‘spy scandals’ during Harold Macmillan’s premiership
History / 9 November 2025
9 November 2025

In part II of a serialisation of his new book, JOHN McINALLY explores how witch-hunting drives took hold in the Civil Service as the cold war emerged in the wake of WWII

Class alternatives
Features / 16 October 2025
16 October 2025

KEVIN COURTNEY of Stand Up to Racism and JOHN PAGE of the Ella Baker School of Organising announce a joint project aiming to unite trade unions and social movements in creating new narratives to fight the divisive rhetoric of the far right