From Jimmy McGovern to Len McCluskey: The household names rallying behind Writing On The Wall’s employees

Dear readers — it’s Abi here, fighting fit after a week of coughing, spluttering and generally feeling quite sorry for myself at Post HQ. They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and (while I am partial to a flair for the dramatic) I can truly say I feel refreshed after my bout of flu, ready for another week of hard-hitting journalism here in Merseyside. Hurrah!

Over the weekend, David Lloyd returned to our pages with his ode to Liverpool’s great department stores. As always, it’s a perfect mix of nostalgia, reflection and a yearning for what we’ve lost through the rise of cookie cutter chain shops taking over the city centre.

“I couldn’t love this article more,” one of you wrote in the comments. “A lovely article bringing back memories that we didn’t realise at the time were so important”, wrote another. Make sure you don’t miss out on that one.

The lost department stores of Liverpool

‘We gave them our lives’

The PostDavid Lloyd

On with today’s edition, which includes an update on our investigation into literature festival Writing On The Wall (WOW). Last year, WOW threatened six of its staff with dismissal after a WhatsApp group complaining about its bosses was found on a work computer. Since then the situation has escalated, with high profile figures across the country now showing their support for the employees. 

Also in today’s edition: a rather awkward social media blunder by the metro mayor, more bad news for Wirral council and a major investment from Singapore. Enjoy!

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The big story: The household names rallying behind Writing On The Wall’s employees

Top line: An open letter criticising the working practices of Liverpool’s biggest literature festival has received over 250 signatures — including from famed screen writer Jimmy McGovern and ex-Unite boss Len McCluskey. 

Context: In early November, The Post published an investigation revealing how six employees of Writing On The Wall (WOW) were being threatened with dismissal after their bosses discovered a private WhatsApp group on a work computer. 

The group, which was made up of past and present employees of WOW, was used to vent about management at the festival — specifically its co-directors: Mike Morris and Madeline Heneghan. Messages ranged from crude to concerning — in one exchange, employees joked about being treated like kids; in another, staff complained about “gaslighting” behaviour and anxiety-inducing working conditions. 

While these text exchanges were found on a work computer, WOW staff were expected to use their personal phones and WhatsApp accounts for work communications, as well as personal messaging. This muddied the waters over whether management were entitled to search through messages exchanged by employees. At the time, staff members told The Post they felt “violated” by their messages being read without their consent.

Since then, the situation has escalated. In late November, the Community Advice Service Association (CASA) began representing the staffers involved. Despite this, WOW declined CASA’s offer to take up mediation. 

In an email sent to Stuart Borthwick — WOW’s chairman of trustees — on 4 December, a representative from CASA described how Borthwick and a HR representative “did not come prepared” to a prearranged meeting, adding that WOW does not have a policy on computer usage, or a policy about managers monitoring staff communications.

 “We offered our services to you in order to help resolve a horrendous situation which management have created at WOW,” the CASA representative wrote. “We are very saddened and concerned to read that you do not intend to take up the offer.” 

At the time, a spokesperson from WOW told The Post that they “cannot comment publicly on ongoing proceedings" – however, they disputed they were unprepared for meetings, adding that "contemporaneous handwritten notes from that meeting indicate that the summary you have received is not accurate".

An open letter: A fortnight ago, an open letter was published in support of the staff members affected. The letter says that supporters of the festival are “very concerned to learn of the current position of the women of WoW who have raised concerns about their working environment”. It explains that WOW have taken the decision to not uphold the complaints of violation of privacy by the staffers, and have dismissed their “collective grievances”. “We call upon the trustees of WoW to use their best endeavours to bring about a fair and transparent resolution of this unacceptable situation,” it ends.

So far, the open letter has amassed over 250 signatures — including from famed screen writer Jimmy McGovern, Mirror journalist Brian Reade and Len McCluskey, the former general secretary of Unite union.

We contacted Jimmy McGovern and Brian Reade for comment on their support of the petition, but they did not provide The Post with a statement.

We also contacted WOW about the open letter. They told us:

“Writing on the Wall notes the circulation of the open letter referring to an ongoing internal HR process. To respect confidentiality and to be fair to all parties involved, Writing on the Wall cannot comment publicly on ongoing proceedings. We can, however, clarify that our priority at this stage is to follow the established internal processes for addressing such matters, in line with our policies and legal obligations. Any decisions regarding external involvement will be considered carefully within that framework.”

Tony Nelson, a representative from CASA, told The Post that “only a glance through the names confirms not just the breadth of local but national support.” He continued: “Those who wonder about the truth of the case should study the list — it comprises an impressive number of people whose reputation for fighting for social justice is second to none.”

Bottom line: For the employees affected, all they want is a peaceful and fair resolution. In their view, WOW have violated their privacy and they should not be dismissed from their jobs over messages exchanged in what they believed was a private chat. As the weeks roll on, the likelihood of WOW shifting to see things their way feels increasingly unlikely.

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Your Post briefing

The Post spotted something rather odd on X last week. An AI-generated image of a Merseytravel bus was circulated, edited to look like a tank with machine guns fixed to the top. The destination brandished on the front of the vehicle? Stockbridge Village. While you may come to expect this kind of low level pettiness from anonymous tweeters, what we didn’t expect was metro mayor Steve Rotheram getting involved. In response to that tweet, the mayor wrote “Brilliant”. Does Rotheram have it in for the poor residents of Stockbridge Village? The Post asked the mayor’s office about the now-deleted tweet, and they told us “the mayor’s reply was intended sarcastically in response to what was clearly an over-the-top AI image. It was a throwaway comment — but he accepts that on social media, tone doesn’t always come across as intended. As soon as it became clear the comment had been taken literally by some, it was deleted.”

Merseyside Police has referred itself to the police watchdog after a man died during an attempted police stop. The 23-year-old was on an electric bike in the city centre when police attempted to “stop him and carry out inquiries”. He drove into the side of a stationary police van, and while police gave first aid and CPR at the scene, he died shortly after his arrival to hospital. The force said it was cooperating "fully with an independent investigation", and a post-mortem exam will be carried out to confirm the cause of death.

If things weren’t bad enough already for Wirral council, an independent evaluation has found the local authority paid £63m over the value of two office blocks. The council opened the Mallory and Irvine offices in Birkenhead back in 2023, paying £75m to lease them for 35 years. However, a new valuation has estimated their cost at just £13.5m. To make matters worse, one of the blocks remains completely tenantless; the lack of rental income contributing to the mounting financial problems faced by the council — which has until March to balance its books to avoid government intervention.  

And finally, some good business news for the city region. Three years ago, we published a piece about how businesses were leaving Liverpool for Manchester and London. Now, perhaps the tide is turning: a global tech firm has decided to relocate here, investing up to £4m in the city region over the next three years and creating dozens of jobs. LogChain, a Singaporean company that specialises in digital logistics, said it would “build the most innovative trading environment in the world” here in the North West, with metro mayor Steve Rotheram describing Liverpool as “a place that 'gets' trade, logistics and technology”. 

Photo of the week

Forget the January blues — the February fear set in last week as another month races towards a close. But this photo of a well-dressed pooch sat outside M&S in Lime Street cheered us up this morning. We hope it does the same for you!

We’re always keen to feature photos from our readers — if you have a snap you’d like to share please email it to editor@livpost.co.uk for a chance to be featured in our Monday editions.

Post Picks

💤On Wednesday, Box Park is hosting a talk by dream specialist Dr Helen Nuttall, all about what happens to our brains when we go to sleep. Just how do we create a whole new world in our imaginations each night? A Q&A will follow after — details here.

🎭On Saturday, St Helens Library is hosting Robert Farbquhar’s one-act comedy Stella, which centres around a woman navigating a turbulent relationship with her distant father. Set in Liverpool, a young Stella questions life, love, and her own identity, all while refusing to settle. It’s directed by Chris Tomlinson — and we think it’s a must see this week! Details here.

🎸Also on Saturday: Jacaranda Records presents a listening party in celebration of the release of indie icon Mitski's new album, 'Nothing's About to Happen to Me.' Find out more here.

Recommended reads 📖

This weekend the BBC published a joyous read on Jimmy Chan — a Kung Fu master that taught martial arts in a tiny Liverpool restaurant in the 1970s. "He had this persona. He had a mean look; you wouldn't mess with him,” one former pupil told reporter Lynette Horsburgh. Read it here.

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