The Wapping Dispute
Who is the client? News International was the UK newspaper publishing arm of Rupert Murdoch’s media group, publishing national titles including The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun and News of the World. Farrer & Co’s involvement: Advising News International during the Wapping dispute, including on the legal implications of industrial action and workforce dismissal.
Background
The Wapping dispute was one of the most significant industrial relations conflicts of the late twentieth century and marked a turning point in the British newspaper industry. At its heart was News International’s decision to move printing operations to a new, highly automated plant at Wapping, enabling the adoption of new technology and a fundamental restructuring of newspaper production.
The move followed years of tension between newspaper publishers and print unions over working practices, technology and control. When negotiations broke down in early 1986, News International dismissed its print workforce and began publishing from Wapping using newly recruited labour. What followed was a prolonged and highly charged dispute, involving mass picketing, extensive policing, court injunctions, sequestration of union assets and sustained public controversy.
The dispute had lasting consequences for industrial relations, trade union power and the structure of the UK press, accelerating the end of traditional Fleet Street printing and reshaping the economics of newspaper publishing.
Our work
Farrer & Co acted as legal advisers to News International during the Wapping dispute, providing guidance in a fast-moving and legally complex environment shaped by industrial action, employment law and evolving industrial relations legislation.
The firm advised on the legal position arising from the termination of collective agreements, strike action and the dismissal of employees, as well as on the use of injunctions in response to unlawful industrial action. Sir Matthew Farrer, then a partner at the firm, was closely involved in the relationship and was responsible for bringing News International to the firm as a client. A key adviser on the employment law aspects of the dispute was Geoffrey Richards, an employment partner, who provided advice on the legal framework surrounding strike action and dismissal. In February 1986, a letter from Farrer & Co - later leaked and published in the Morning Star - confirmed advice on the company’s legal entitlement to dismiss employees following strike action. Its publication became part of the wider public and political scrutiny surrounding the dispute.
The matter required careful consideration of the interaction between employment law, industrial relations legislation and the operational realities of maintaining newspaper publication in highly contested circumstances. It also involved advising on issues connected to distribution and third-party relationships during the dispute.
At its peak, more than 20 partners, solicitors and trainees were involved, reflecting both the scale of the dispute and the intensity of the legal issues arising.
Why it matters
The Wapping dispute illustrates a defining feature of the firm’s work: advising clients facing fundamental structural change, where legal decisions carry wide commercial, social and political consequences.
The advice given to News International sat at the intersection of innovation and continuity - responding to technological transformation while operating within, and testing, the existing legal framework governing industrial relations. It also demonstrates the firm’s role in supporting clients through moments of intense scrutiny and controversy, where legal clarity and judgement are essential.
While the dispute remains contentious, its long-term impact on the newspaper industry and industrial relations is widely recognised. The firm’s involvement reflects its willingness to advise on complex and challenging matters that shape industries and institutions, a characteristic that continues to define its practice today.
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