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Labour fears Unite leaders, says Falkirk MP Eric Joyce Falkirk vote-rigging claims: Jack Straw calls for new inquiry
(about 5 hours later)
Falkirk MP Eric Joyce says Labour is protecting the Unite organiser at the centre of a selection row because it "fears" the organisation's leadership. Former cabinet minister Jack Straw has said the party should "actively consider" reopening its investigation into the Falkirk selection process.
Stevie Deans was accused of trying to rig the selection of the next Labour candidate in Falkirk, although an investigation cleared Unite. On BBC2's Daily Politics, the Labour MP said there was "a sufficient case... for there to be further questions that will need to be dealt with".
But Mr Joyce said Mr Deans remained party chairman in the constituency. The Sunday Times newspaper has reported that Unite thwarted the party's initial investigation.
Mr Deans has resigned from his job at the Grangemouth oil refinery, saying he was treated as the "enemy within". The union was accused of rigging the selection of a parliamentary candidate.
Unite previously voted for strike action over his treatment, which led to last week's shutdown of the plant. It denied doing "anything untoward" during Labour's internal investigation.
Mr Deans, the convener of the union in Scotland, worked at Grangemouth for about 25 years. Before resigning, he had been suspended by Ineos over claims he had used company time for political campaigning work. The affair began when Falkirk MP Eric Joyce announced he would be stepping down at the next general election in 2015 after he was convicted of assault at a House of Commons bar.
Ineos, which runs the oil refinery and petrochemical works, had been expected to reveal the outcome of a disciplinary case against him on Tuesday. 'Fears'
'Wrong reading' Labour investigated allegations earlier in 2013 that Unite had tried to sign up members without their knowledge in the constituency so that the union's favoured candidate was chosen to contest the 2015 general election for Labour.
Separately, Mr Deans was accused of trying to rig the selection of a parliamentary candidate in his role as chairman of the Labour Party in the Falkirk constituency. The investigation cleared Unite and its members of any wrongdoing after key witnesses withdrew their allegations, but the Sunday Times said it had seen a cache of emails raising questions about whether Unite influenced the outcome of the inquiry.
It was claimed he had signed up dozens of new members for Labour, promising the recruits that Unite would pay their membership fees on the understanding they would back the union's choice in the contest to select someone to replace Mr Joyce. Mr Straw said: "I don't think this is going to go away."
Mr Deans was suspended from the Labour Party but was later cleared by an investigation and reinstated. Falkirk MP Eric Joyce said Labour was protecting the Unite organiser at the centre of a selection row because it "fears" the organisation's leadership.
But Mr Joyce, who lost the Labour whip and agreed to stand down following his conviction for assault in a House of Commons bar, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The Labour Party, because it won't allow people to elect a new chair, is effectively keeping Deans in place, and I think it's to some degree because of a substantial amount of fear inside the Labour Party of the Unite leadership." Unite official Stevie Deans, who had worked at the Grangemouth petrochemical plant for about 25 years, resigned on Monday.
Mr Joyce said Unite's primary objective was moving Labour to the left rather than protecting workers' interests. He had been suspended by owner Ineos over claims he had used company time for political campaigning work.
But the union's chief of staff, Andrew Murray, told Today Mr Joyce had given a "wrong reading" of the situation. He added that there was "no evidence" that "anything untoward" had taken place. Ineos had been expected to reveal the outcome of a disciplinary case against him on Tuesday.
The union previously voted for strike action over his treatment, which led to last week's shutdown of the plant.
'Catastrophic tactics'
Separately, Mr Deans was accused of being involved in the Falkirk vote-rigging claims.
He was suspended from the Labour Party but was later cleared by an investigation and reinstated.
Former Foreign Secretary Mr Straw, the Labour MP for Blackburn, said the union had adopted "catastrophic tactics" in the industrial dispute at Grangemouth.
"Whichever way you look at what happened at Grangemouth it's hard to see how on earth the Unite union ended up with those tactics," he continued.
"Is there something of concern there? Of course there is. And is it a saga that does not reflect well on the national leadership of Unite - both in respect of their relations with the Labour Party but also in respect of their representation of their members at a huge plant like Grangemouth? Yes."
Unite chief of staff Andrew Murray told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Neither Unite nor anyone working for Unite made any contact with any witness to the Falkirk inquiry at all.
"All the statements that were sent in were agreed, approved and signed to the best of my knowledge by the people who signed them.
"There is no evidence even in the emails that have been printed by the Sunday Times that Mr Deans did anything untoward at all."