ACTOR Ricky Tomlinson took centre stage in Glasgow to continue his personal crusade for justice exactly 40 years after he was jailed for conspiracy.

To the applause of trade union officials and members who attended a meeting last night organised by the National Union of Rail Maritime and Transport Workers, the Royle Family star vowed to clear his name.

Ricky was a plasterer in the early 1970s and took part in a strike by building workers. He was an active trade unionist and organised flying pickets to demonstrate at various locations.

He was arrested in 1972 along with more than 20 other strikers. Ricky later appeared before Shrewsbury Crown Court and, along with Des Warren, was jailed for two years after being found guilty of "conspiracy to intimidate". The pair became known as the 'Shrewsbury Two'.

Ricky did time in 14 different prisons and spent most of his sentence in solitary confinement. It was his punishment for refusing to wear prison clothes. Ricky and Mr Warren have always claimed they were both victims of a miscarriage of justice perpetrated by the security services and the Edward Health-led Tory government.

The Blackpool-born union activist later turned to acting and went on to star in the hit TV soap Brookside, the crime drama Cracker and the comedy The Royle Family.

But Ricky, who turns 74 later this month, remains determined to clear his name and that of steel fixer Mr Warren, who died seven years ago.

Speaking in Glasgow, Ricky declared: "We were convicted of 'conspiracy' but we were innocent then and we are innocent now.

"Crucial documents relating to the charges brought against us and the trials at Shrewsbury Crown Court continue to be withheld by the Government. Successive ministers have used section 23 of the Freedom of Information Act, which deals with national security, to say that it would not be in the public interest to release them. National security? My a***!"

Ricky, who is being backed by tens of thousands of supporters via an online petition, has made it plain he will battle to prove his innocence until his final breath,

In a recent interview he said: "I want my name clearing, hopefully before I die.

gordon.thomson@eveningtimes.co.uk