Senior Labour figures named in email scandal
Key Labour figures including schools secretary Ed Balls and party general secretary Ray Collins have been linked to the smear emails scandal in reports appearing in the Sunday newspapers.
The News of the World reports that Mr Collins chaired a meeting at the Unite Union’s headquarters last December which was attended by former prime ministerial aide and author of the emails, Damian McBride, and Labour blog editor Derek Draper.
Mr Collins has previously denied that a large operation to smear the Conservatives was being run in Downing Street.
The paper has cited the meeting as proof of involvement of a senior Labour figure and the Unite Union, a prominent financial backer of the party, in discussions on the setting up of the Red Rag website – which aimed to publish untrue information about high ranking members of the Conservative party.
Meanwhile, the Sunday Times has cited an unnamed Labour whistleblower as saying that schools secretary Ed Balls had been running a “shadow operation” from Downing Street designed to help him further his political career.
The operation involves regular strategy meetings on Wednesdays and Mr McBride has been in close contact with Mr Balls in the past with them exchanging regular emails, according to the Times.
The paper claims that eight senior government figures had urged Mr Brown to sack Mr McBride from his position prior to the email scandal. But the request was rejected upon Mr Balls’ support for Mr McBride, according to the insider quoted by the paper.
A spokesman for Ed Balls dismissed the allegations. He told the paper: “These allegations are completely fabricated and malevolent nonsense without any foundation in fact. The only fact is that Ed Balls and Liam Byrne have jointly chaired a meeting on Wednesday afternoons at the express request of the prime minister.
“Other than that, Ed has spent all his time trying to do his best for children and young people. He has always acted in the best interests of the Labour government.”
