The RMT took a motion on the tragic death of Steven Simpson to the TUC Disability conference. The motion details how Steven, a young gay man who was autistic, was brutally killed. On his 18th birthday, he was doused in tanning oil and set alight - he died the next day.

The judge in the case Roger Keen dismissed the crime as ‘good-natured horseplay’ that had gone too far, and sentenced Sheard to a unusually short sentence of just three and a half years in prison.

The RMT; having previously passed similar motions internally have stated our belief that this finding "adds insult to injury". The ​resolution to the TUC was passed unanimously; below is the resolution and the proposing speech.

Resolution on the murder of Steven Simpson

On 23rd June 2012, Steven Simpson, a gay autistic student, was verbally abused, stripped, and his body scrawled with offensive slogans. He was then doused in tanning oil and 20-year-old Jordan Sheard set fire to his crotch with a cigarette lighter. The flames engulfed his body, his attackers fleeing as neighbours tried desperately to extinguish the flames. Steven died the next day suffering 60% burns.

Steven was murdered because of his sexuality and disability. However, on 21st March 2013 at Sheffield Crown Court, Judge Roger Keen dismissed the crime as “good-natured horseplay” that had “gone too far” and sentenced Sheard to only three-and-a-half years in prison. Sheard’s lawyer described Steven’s killing as a “stupid prank that went wrong in a bad way".

We demand justice for Steven Simpson.

We believe that the sentence given to Jordan Sheard does not reflect the serious nature of the hate crime committed.

We call on the TUC to support campaigns to raise awareness of hate crime and the issues involved.

We believe that due to his appalling comments Judge Keen is unfit to hear cases such as this. We demand that his description of this attack as “good natured horseplay” is legally overturned.

Mo Mujahid's speech moving the resolution

Steven Simpson was a 18-year-old Further Education student in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. He was gay and autistic.

In June last year, Steven held a party at his home in Cudworth near Barnsley. 20 year old Jordan Sheard and others gate-crashed the party.

They verbally abused Steven, stripped him of his clothes and scrawled phrases like “I love dick” and “gay boy” across his body.

They then doused him in tanning oil, and Sheard lit his crotch with a cigarette lighter. The flames engulfed his body, and the cowardly attackers ran away as Steven’s neighbour tried desperately to put out the flames.

Steven Simpson died the next day after enduring 60% burns to his body.

Steven Simpson’s murder was the result of the hatred and humiliation caused to him because of his sexuality and his disability. He was bullied, de-humanised and then killed.

The least Steven and his loved ones should have been able to expect was justice, and a clear signal from the judicial system that hate crimes like this will not be tolerated.

But the eventual trial earlier this year at Sheffield Crown Court just added insult to injury.

Sheard’s defence lawyer called the murder a ‘stupid prank that went wrong in a bad way’.

A ‘stupid prank’ is knocking on someone’s door and running away. Or shaving your mate’s eyebrows off on their stag night. This was not a stupid prank. It was a murder fuelled by homophobia and prejudice against disabled people.

Judge Roger Keen dismissed the crime as ‘good-natured horseplay’ that had gone too far, and sentenced Sheard to a unusually short sentence of just three and a half years in prison.

The dictionary defines 'horseplay' as 'boisterous fooling around'. This was not horseplay, it was a hate crime.

The judge's comments and his sentence are deplorable. Just when we needed a clear message that violent crime against disabled people will not be tolerated, he gave the opposite message.

RMT is not part of the Daily Mail lock-them-up-and-throw-away-the-key brigade. We are not calling for hanging and flogging. But we are saying that this judge is not fit to hear cases like this, and that his disgraceful ruling should be legally overturned.

The determined campaign over the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence led to a sea change in attitudes to racist crime. We need a similar campaign for justice for this murdered teenager called Steven, another member of a persecuted minority totally failed by our so-called 'justice' system.

Please support this resolution. Justice for Steven Simpson!