Labour MP denies dishonesty during libel battle with union
A LABOUR candidate accused of being dishonest when joining a union has denied making “any false declarations”.
Anna Turley – who was a Labour MP in Redcar and hopes to regain the seat – is embroiled in a libel battle at the High Court in London.
She has sued Unite over a March 2017 article published on an internet blog after she made an application for union membership.
Ms Turley, 40, says the article on the Skwawkbox blog, which contained a press statement from Unite, libelled her by conveying the meaning that she had acted dishonestly in submitting an application to join the union.
She has also sued Stephen Walker, a journalist who writes, edits and publishes Skwawkbox, and says Unite misused her private information.
A judge began overseeing a trial on Monday.
Ms Turley told Mr Justice Nicklin yesterday: “I didn’t make any false declarations.”
Union bosses are fighting the case and say Ms Turley has been dishonest and is not fit to be an MP.
The judge has heard that in December 2016, Ms Turley applied to be a Unite member under a Community membership category.
He has been told that Unite’s Community section was aimed at people not in paid employment and cost 50p a week.
A barrister representing Unite says Ms Turley, whose constituency is part of the historic North Riding of Yorkshire and will be defending a majority of more than 9,000 votes over the Conservatives at the General Election, had been willing to “conceal, mislead and deceive”.
Anthony Hudson QC told Mr Justice Nicklin that she wanted to vote against Unite general secretary Len McCluskey in an election without being noticed and without the union knowing she was an MP.
But Ms Turley said she had thought that she could join the Unite Community section.
“My understanding of the Unite Community was that it was a community-based, grass-roots, campaigning political organisation,” she told the judge. “I thought I was entitled to join. “At that time I didn’t believe I was breaching rules. I thought I was joining within the rules.
“At the time I did it in good faith because I thought anybody could join. I didn’t expect membership fees to be high. I thought I was joining a campaigning grassroots group.”
She added: “As soon as it was pointed out to me that I was not allowed to be in that group, I said, ‘please transfer me’.”
The hearing continues.