Killing of David Wilkie
Encyclopedia
David Wilkie was killed during the miners' strike
in the United Kingdom
, when two striking miners dropped a concrete block from a footbridge onto his taxi whilst driving a strike breaking miner to his workplace. The attack caused a widespread revulsion at the extent of violence in the dispute. The two miners were convicted of murder
but the charge was reduced to manslaughter
on appeal, becoming a leading case on the issue of the difference between the two offences.
as a taxi driver, driving a Ford Cortina
for City Centre Cars, based in Bute Street
, Cardiff. He was regularly engaged in driving non-striking miners to work, as the bitter industrial dispute had made them targets for physical retaliation by those miners who were on strike. The Merthyr Tydfil
area was said to be the strongest in support of the strike of any mining area in Britain.
and worked at the Merthyr Vale
mine, six miles away. Wilkie was driving the same route as he had done for the previous ten days. He was accompanied by two police cars and a motorcycle outrider, and had just turned on to the A465 road
north of Rhymney at the "Asda roundabout" when two striking miners dropped a 46 lb concrete block from a bridge 27 feet over the road. Wilkie was killed instantly; Williams was only slightly hurt.
Margaret Thatcher
said, "My reaction is one of anger at what this had done to a family of a person only doing his duty and taking someone to work who wanted to go to work." Kim Howells
, speaking for the South Wales National Union of Mineworkers, blamed the attack on the attempts to persuade miners to return to work. Arthur Scargill
said he had been "deeply shocked by the tragedy" of Wilkie's death.
Wilkie lived with his fiancée, who was the mother of his 2-year-old daughter and was pregnant with a baby who was born six weeks later. He also had a 12-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son by a previous partner. Funds were opened to help the family; among the donors was philanthropist Paul Getty
. The Bishop of Llandaff
led Wilkie's funeral service; he called for "some sort of moratorium" and a return to work by the miners in return for an impartial board to investigate conditions in the coal industry.
On appeal, their convictions were reduced to manslaughter, and their life sentences were replaced with eight-year prison terms. The Lord Chief Justice
, Lord Lane
, explained that the crime would be murder if the death was a "natural consequence" of the miners' actions, but the legal phrase "natural consequence" was potentially misleading without further explanation. The appeal verdict of guilty to manslaughter was upheld in the House of Lords
. Hancock and Shankland were released on 30 November 1989, which was coincidentally the fifth anniversary of David Wilkie's death.
for the Labour Party
and served as a minister in the Blair government. In 2004 he said that when he heard that a taxi driver had been killed, he thought "hang on, we've got all those records we've kept over in the NUM offices, there's all those maps on the wall, we're gonna get implicated in this". He then destroyed "everything", because he feared a police raid on the union offices.
UK miners' strike (1984–1985)
The UK miners' strike was a major industrial action affecting the British coal industry. It was a defining moment in British industrial relations, and its defeat significantly weakened the British trades union movement...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, when two striking miners dropped a concrete block from a footbridge onto his taxi whilst driving a strike breaking miner to his workplace. The attack caused a widespread revulsion at the extent of violence in the dispute. The two miners were convicted of murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
but the charge was reduced to manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
on appeal, becoming a leading case on the issue of the difference between the two offences.
Background
David James Wilkie was born on 9 July 1949. He was working in Treforest, Mid GlamorganMid Glamorgan
Mid Glamorgan is a preserved county of Wales. From 1974 until 1996, it was also an administrative county, with a county council.Mid Glamorgan was formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972...
as a taxi driver, driving a Ford Cortina
Ford Cortina
As the 1960s dawned, BMC were revelling in the success of their new Mini – the first successful true minicar to be built in Britain in the postwar era...
for City Centre Cars, based in Bute Street
Bute Street (Cardiff)
Bute Street is a street in Cardiff, Wales. It links Cardiff Bay and Butetown with Cardiff city centre. It now has no road number...
, Cardiff. He was regularly engaged in driving non-striking miners to work, as the bitter industrial dispute had made them targets for physical retaliation by those miners who were on strike. The Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil is a town in Wales, with a population of about 30,000. Although once the largest town in Wales, it is now ranked as the 15th largest urban area in Wales. It also gives its name to a county borough, which has a population of around 55,000. It is located in the historic county of...
area was said to be the strongest in support of the strike of any mining area in Britain.
Killing
On 30 November 1984, Wilkie's fare was David Williams, who lived in RhymneyRhymney
Rhymney is a town and a community located in the county borough of Caerphilly in south-east Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. Along with the villages of Pontlottyn, Fochriw, Abertysswg, Deri and New Tredegar, Rhymney is designated as the 'Upper Rhymney Valley' by the local...
and worked at the Merthyr Vale
Merthyr Vale
Merthyr Vale is a linear village in the Welsh county borough of Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan. Lying on the A4054 road it is on the east bank of the River Taff opposite Aberfan.-Ynys Owen:...
mine, six miles away. Wilkie was driving the same route as he had done for the previous ten days. He was accompanied by two police cars and a motorcycle outrider, and had just turned on to the A465 road
A465 road
The A465 is a major road in south Wales. It is more commonly known as the Heads of the Valleys Road because it joins together the north ends of the South Wales Valleys...
north of Rhymney at the "Asda roundabout" when two striking miners dropped a 46 lb concrete block from a bridge 27 feet over the road. Wilkie was killed instantly; Williams was only slightly hurt.
Reaction
Prime MinisterPrime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
said, "My reaction is one of anger at what this had done to a family of a person only doing his duty and taking someone to work who wanted to go to work." Kim Howells
Kim Howells
Kim Scott Howells is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Pontypridd from 1989 to 2010, and held a number of ministerial positions within the Government.-Biography:...
, speaking for the South Wales National Union of Mineworkers, blamed the attack on the attempts to persuade miners to return to work. Arthur Scargill
Arthur Scargill
Arthur Scargill is a British politician who was President of the National Union of Mineworkers from 1982 to 2002, leading the union through the 1984–85 miners' strike, a key event in British labour and political history...
said he had been "deeply shocked by the tragedy" of Wilkie's death.
Wilkie lived with his fiancée, who was the mother of his 2-year-old daughter and was pregnant with a baby who was born six weeks later. He also had a 12-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son by a previous partner. Funds were opened to help the family; among the donors was philanthropist Paul Getty
Paul Getty
Sir John Paul Getty KBE , born Eugene Paul Getty, was a wealthy American-born British philanthropist and book collector. He was the elder son of Jean Paul Getty, Sr...
. The Bishop of Llandaff
Roy Davies
Roy Thomas Davies was Bishop of Llandaff from 1985 to 1999.-Life:Davies was educated at St David's College, Lampeter, Wales obtaining a BA degree in 1955, and then at Jesus College, Oxford, where he obtained a BLitt in 1959. He trained for ordination at St Stephen's House, Oxford...
led Wilkie's funeral service; he called for "some sort of moratorium" and a return to work by the miners in return for an impartial board to investigate conditions in the coal industry.
Murder trial
The two men who caused Wilkie's death, Dean Hancock and Russell Shankland, were found guilty of murder by a majority verdict on 16 May 1985 and sentenced to life imprisonment. A third man, Anthony Williams, who had been present on the bridge but was found to have actively discouraged them from dropping the concrete block, was acquitted. The life sentences caused an outcry among the striking miners, who felt that the death of Wilkie was not a deliberate act; the strike had ended by the time the verdict was brought in, but 700 miners at Merthyr Vale walked out on hearing the news.On appeal, their convictions were reduced to manslaughter, and their life sentences were replaced with eight-year prison terms. The Lord Chief Justice
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary and President of the Courts of England and Wales. Historically, he was the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor, but that changed as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005,...
, Lord Lane
Geoffrey Lane, Baron Lane
Geoffrey Dawson Lane, Baron Lane AFC PC QC was a British Judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of England from 1980 to 1992. The later part of his term was marred by a succession of disputed convictions...
, explained that the crime would be murder if the death was a "natural consequence" of the miners' actions, but the legal phrase "natural consequence" was potentially misleading without further explanation. The appeal verdict of guilty to manslaughter was upheld in the House of Lords
Judicial functions of the House of Lords
The House of Lords, in addition to having a legislative function, historically also had a judicial function. It functioned as a court of first instance for the trials of peers, for impeachment cases, and as a court of last resort within the United Kingdom. In the latter case the House's...
. Hancock and Shankland were released on 30 November 1989, which was coincidentally the fifth anniversary of David Wilkie's death.
Aftermath
Kim Howells, the South Wales NUM official who commented on the killing of David Wilkie, later became a Member of ParliamentMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
and served as a minister in the Blair government. In 2004 he said that when he heard that a taxi driver had been killed, he thought "hang on, we've got all those records we've kept over in the NUM offices, there's all those maps on the wall, we're gonna get implicated in this". He then destroyed "everything", because he feared a police raid on the union offices.