Post by Focus on Jun 23, 2013 21:18:46 GMT
* American communications company Blue State Digital won contract to
advise Ed Miliband
* Company's UK director Gregor Poynton is Labour candidate for Falkirk
* Threats were allegedly made to force Mr Poynton out of the race, leaving the
Unite-backed Karie Murphy as leading contender
* Ed Miliband under pressure to respond as former Falkirk MP Eric Joyce criticizes
him for ignoring allegations
Ed Miliband was last night embroiled in claims of a major corruption scandal involving allegations of ‘blackmail’ over the selection of a Labour candidate.
Ed Miliband, embroiled in claims of a major corruption scandal
Sources close to Mr Miliband have told reporters that the US employers of a Labour candidate were threatened with losing lucrative work with the party unless they told him to quit the race in favour of a pro-union rival.
A senior Labour figure is alleged to have applied pressure to the firm, run by one of Barack Obama’s advisers.
And it is claimed a high-profile Labour supporter sent an email to officials at the party’s HQ, ordering them to ‘bend the rules’ to approve bogus last-minute block membership applications to ‘fix’ victory for the Left-wing candidate.
Insiders say Mr Miliband is under pressure to censor the official report into the scandal to avoid political damage.
The MP who won the seat for Labour at the last Election last night issued a public challenge to the party leader to respond to ‘worrying claims that serious corruption allegations are being swept under the carpet’.
The row follows the contest to pick a successor to MP Eric Joyce after he was forced to resign from the Labour Party and his seat in Falkirk, as a result of a Commons fracas.
The contest was suspended last month following allegations that the Unite union recruited its members to the constituency, with fees being paid en bloc by the union – in some cases without the individuals even knowing they had joined.
The union denied it had broken any rules. Labour General Secretary Ian McNichol launched an inquiry, but publication of the report has been delayed.
This newspaper has been told it is because party chiefs are determined to bury the toxic new allegations.
Last night, Mr Joyce threw down the gauntlet to Mr Miliband. ‘It is being said the inquiry has been told a senior Labour figure emailed officials at party HQ telling them to process bogus applications,’ he said.
‘That is outrageous. And if it is true that one of the candidates’ employers was told to make him stand down by threatening to deprive them of Labour contracts, that would be political blackmail.
Gregor Poynton is the pro-Blair UK political director of American firm Blue State Digital
Unite-backed Karie Murphy was a leading contender to become the Labour candidate in Falkirk. Labour is accused of engineering a win for Ms Murphy
Mr Miliband must show that serious corruption allegations are not being swept under the carpet.’
The Mail on Sunday was secretly alerted to the Falkirk scandal by an individual close to the Labour leadership, who insisted on meeting well away from Westminster.
The two leading contenders for the safe Labour seat in Falkirk were Unite- backed Karie Murphy and Gregor Poynton, the pro-Tony Blair UK political director of US-run communications firm Blue State Digital.
It is run by American whizzkid Joe Rospars, who has masterminded campaigns for Barack Obama. Earlier this year, the firm won a contract to advise Mr Miliband.
The Labour whistleblower told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I was shocked to be told a senior Labour figure told Blue State Digital that unless Poynton pulled out of Falkirk, the company could lose contracts with Labour.’
When this newspaper put the allegation to Blue State Digital in America, a spokeswoman repeatedly stated: ‘We have no comment.’
Put to her that her stonewalling suggested the claim was true, she said: ‘No comment.’
The whistleblower also claimed a senior Labour figure had emailed staff at party HQ, urging them to process an 11th-hour block application to join Falkirk Labour Party by union supporters of Ms Murphy.
A 100 new members were recruited to Falkirk almost overnight – a 50 per cent rise in its ranks.
‘It was a blatant bid to rig a seat on behalf of a candidate,’ said the whistleblower.
Blue State Digital boss Joe Rospars (right) won a contract to advise Ed Miliband earlier this year. It has been alleged that threats were made that the contract could be withdrawn
Blairite Mr Poynton was knocked out of the Falkirk selection battle when pro-union Labour supporters voted to make it an all-women shortlist.
Mr Poynton’s allies claimed it was a crude device to prevent him defeating Ms Murphy.
Asked about claims that his US employers had been told to make him withdraw from the Falkirk contest, or face losing business from Labour, Mr Poynton declined to comment. A spokesman for Mr Miliband said: ‘We have no comment.’
The row is a rerun of the bitter squabbles between the rival camps of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown that tore Labour apart.
Labour’s Lord Mandelson has attacked the activities of pro-union supporters in Falkirk.
The Falkirk seat was left vacant after MP Eric Joyce (pictured) was forced to resign from his seat as a result of a Commons fracas/
The US-run communications firm Blue State Digital has masterminded campaigns for Barack Obama
Union chiefs claim the allegations of foul play are sour grapes by Blairites.
But even some union-sponsored MPs are worried about union tactics in Labour selection contests.
‘Some of the unions behave disgracefully and it should be stopped, but people are scared to speak out,’ said a Unite-backed Labour MP in a Commons bar last week, while nervously looking around to check he had not been overheard by any colleagues.
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Ms Murphy or Mr Poynton, who is married to moderate Labour MP Gemma Doyle.
A Labour spokesman said: ‘The Labour Party has acted swiftly and thoroughly to deal with this issue.
As soon as complaints were made about irregularities in relation to new members of the Falkirk CLP the selection of a candidate was suspended and an inquiry was set up.
‘Appropriate action will be taken if the inquiry reports Labour Party rules have been broken.’
‘The Labour Party has acted swiftly and thoroughly to deal with this issue' - I bet they fcking have!! - Fx
