Vic Allen (1923–2014) was a British communist, human rights activist, political prisoner, sociologist, historian, economist and emeritus professor at the University of Leeds who worked closely with British trade unions, and was considered a key player in the resistance against Apartheid in South African.

[2] He was also known for being a key activist within the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), and for spending his life supporting the South African National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).

[3] During attempts to establish trade unions in Nigeria, he was accused of conspiring to overthrow the Nigerian government and spent 6 months in jail.

[3][2] After his death he was widely commendated by his fellow academics and activists for his lifelong commitment to worker's rights and racial equality.

[2] During his time as a bricklayer, he was lent books by a fellow construction worker which inspired him to pursue an education at the London School of Economics where he was taught by Harold Laski.

While working for the International Labour Organization in Geneva, Vic Allen was sent to Nigeria to study trade union organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa.

[2] During his time in Nigeria he attempted to help activists establish trade unions in the country, only for Allen to be arrested and charged with conspiring to overthrow the Nigerian government.

[11] In support of NUM, Allen was involved in a mission to smuggle £100,000 into South Africa to fund trade unions in the country.

[7] He was revealed in September 1999 to have been an "agent of influence" for the East German Stasi secret police, from material contained in the Mitrokhin Archive, possessing the code name "Barber".

[13][14][15][16] Allen admitted "pass[ing] on information about CND's activities ... [but] considered that perfectly legitimate because he belonged to a pro-Soviet, pro-East German faction of the group.

[19][20] Allen wrote and published three volumes of the history of the National Union of Miners (NUM) in South Africa, described by academics as "one of the strongest and most insightful produced to date".