Mike Grindley, GCHQ union campaigner dies aged 85

The man who led the second-longest campaign in British trade union history has died at the age of 85.

Mike Grindley, who lived in Cheltenham, was one of the 14 trade unionists who defied Margaret Thatcher's ban on unions at GCHQ intelligence centre on 25 January 1984.

Mr Grindley and his defiant colleagues were sacked before GCHQ unions were reinstated by Labour in 1997.

His friend Quentin Tallon said: "The world has lost a decent honest man."

Said to be in the interests of national security, the ban by the then Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher caused political rows and mass protests, with trade unions calling it a "breach of civil liberties".

The 14 workers including Mr Grindley, were sacked for refusing to give up their membership.

Unions were restored to GCHQ, the UK's intelligence, security and cyber agency 14 years later, when Tony Blair was elected prime minister in 1997.

Mr Tallon described how Mr Grindley's life changed "when an envelope dropped on his desk" and praised his willingness to stand up to the then government.

"It showed the character of the man," he said.

Mr Tallon said his friend whom he had known for 30 years made a "very important decision" during "an extremely difficult period in his life because he had three children and all were coming up to going to university".

On losing his friend, whom he described as someone "who stood up for his principles", Mr Tallon said: "Because of him people of GCHQ now have the right to belong to a free and independent trade union."

"He was an ordinary man who had been put in this position which he didn't want to be in but he had no option," he added.

"When he addressed meetings and rallies he had that gift to make people think they were up there doing this."

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]