Five men, six days: Pentonville voices
Inside
The prison experiences of two of the Five.
Tony Merrick: “they was treating us as if we were . . . something from space” (2:35)
The reaction to the Five of the other prisoners and the warders; their indefinite sentence and their so-called “VIP treatment”.
Derek Watkins: “to me it was degrading in prison” (2:53)
Toilet indignities; “snide remarks” from warders; disabled prisoners; the 24-hour sound of supporters outside; the Five’s refusal to purge their contempt of court.
Communication
The dockers used print and radio (but apparently not television) to get their message across.
Micky Fenn (swearing): “they’re inside, why ain’t you out?” (3:14)
A poster designed on the back of a cigarette packet and stuck up far and wide.
Colin Ross: “they’ve had to borrow the Blue Peter studio” (2:37)
Ross conducts abortive telephone negotiations from the Palace of Westminster with journalist Alan Watkins about a television appearance by the dockers’ committee (all 32 of them).
Colin Ross: “we made a call for a general strike on BBC live . . . compared the Prime Minister with Adolph Hitler” (0:55)
Ross and colleague Jim Carpenter get an unsympathetic response on a radio phone-in.