Row over Labour contest stitch-up claim

Claims the Scottish Labour leadership election is being “rigged” have been dismissed as “baseless smears” by Unite.

The union called on Edinburgh South MP Ian Murray to withdraw comments in a letter to the party’s general secretary Brian Roy. In the letter the MP warned the leadership election was in danger of being “rigged” in favour of left-wing rival Richard Leonard.

In response, Unite said it was concerned about “repeated and underhand efforts to bring this election and our union into disrepute”.

In the letter, Mr Murray said: “I do think we are in danger of undoing all the progress we have made in the last year because the defence of the leadership election process is, at best, clumsy and, at worst, being rigged for a particular process.”

He said he had become “increasingly concerned” at the process that allows people who have signed up as a Labour Party supporter through an affiliated organisation or union to vote.