The criminal convictions of actor Ricky Tomlinson, star of the popular series The Royle Family, are to be re-examined by appeal court judges in the UK after an official body suggested he may have been unjustly jailed.
Tomlinson and other trade unionists have been trying to clear their names for decades after they were jailed during a strike in the 1970s.
On Tuesday, the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which scrutinises alleged miscarriages of justice in the UK, announced it had asked the court of appeal to review the cases of Tomlinson and a number of other individuals.
The 80-year old actor declared the ruling to be "good news," and a chance to prove that he and 23 other men were prosecuted in what amounted to 'a politically motivated attack on the trade union movement by the government, police and managers,' according to The Guardian.
The veteran actor worked as a plasterer before becoming a celebrated actor in the Ken Loach-directed Raining Stones and Riff Raff. His role as the curmudgeonly - but vaguely lovable - head of the household in The Royle Family brought him to a much wider TV audience.
Tomlinson was imprisoned in 1973 for two years during a strike after he was convicted of conspiring to intimidate and affray. He had participated in the first British national building workers' strike in 1972, whose aim was to secure better wages and safety regimes on sites.
