THIS WEEK IN 1994: Outrage over naval base Irish boycott

Builders with Irish connections who had worked for decades in naval bases around the Portsmouth area were being barred in a security clampdown.
By The Newsroom
Published 1st Jul 2018, 07:00 BST
Updated 16th Jul 2018, 16:48 BST
Boycott - Labourer Tom Blake is barred from Portsmouth area naval bases in an anti-terrorist crackdownBoycott - Labourer Tom Blake is barred from Portsmouth area naval bases in an anti-terrorist crackdown
Boycott - Labourer Tom Blake is barred from Portsmouth area naval bases in an anti-terrorist crackdown

With the ever-present threat of terrorist attacks, the bases’ security vetted all visitors.

But the navy caused an outcry when it refused to let two labourers who had been working in the area for years into HMS Sultan at Gosport and Portsmouth dockyard.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Builders who were Irish-born or had Irish parents were angered by the navy’s crackdown which lost them pay.

Dublin-born bricklayer Tom Blake, who had lived in Portsmouth for nearly 40 years, had worked in bases across the region without any problem.

He had always declared where he was born and agreed there needed to be security.

But zealous staff at the navy’s school of marine engineering, HMS Sultan at Gosport, questioned 64-year-old Mr Blake’s parentage, including his grandmother’s maiden name.

The father-of-six was refused entry to both the base and Portsmouth dockyard.