Remembering a rebel

Unite and the wider labour movement last night (February 12) paid tribute to RAF veteran, author and anti-austerity activist Harry Leslie Smith at a memorial event in London.

Smith, who came to prominence in the UK after delivering a speech at the Labour Party conference in 2014 in defence of the welfare state, passed in November in Canada at the age of 95.

Speakers at last night’s event included Unite general secretary Len McCluskey, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Labour general secretary Jennie Formby and author and columnist Owen Jones, among others. Harry’s son John, who worked with him closely in his activism, also spoke.

You can watch the full event in the video below: