Construction companies which paid hundreds of thousands of
pounds to asecret blacklisting operationescaped prosecution
today.
A judge fined Ian Kerr, the man responsible for co-ordinating
the operation, £5,000 but said while he was not the only person to
blame he was "in the firing line".
The Information Commissioner's Office, which brought the case,
said it was looking at issuing information notices against 17
construction companies which financed the blacklisting warning them
as to their future behaviour.
There were angry scenes as Kerr left the building hiding in the
back of car while some of those who had been blacklisted shouted
abuse and banged on the vehicle. Many said they were disappointed
both at the small fine and that the construction companies had not
been prosecuted.
Knutsford Crown Court heard that 66-year-old Kerr ran The
Consulting Association, based in Driotwich. It kept details on the
activities of more than 3,200 workers and stored on a card index
system built up over 30 years. The database was used by companies
to vet potential employees. The association was funded over the
years by more than 40 construction firms to the tune of nearly
£500,000 between 2006 and 2009 alone. Kerr was said to have earned
an average annual salary of £34,000.
Kerr, who had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing, was fined
£5,000 with £1,187 in costs after judge Stephen Clarke heard he had
few assets and only a small pension.
David Smith, deputy information commissioner, said: "Ian Kerr
colluded with construction firms for many years flouting the Data
Protection Act and ignoring people's privacy rights."
Manchester electrician Steve Acheson, one of those blacklisted,
said: "Those high street names who have brought so much misery
should have been in the dock as well."
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