Attachment
Report to the Executive Committee following
an article in The Sunday Times dated 22 May 1994
PURPOSE OF
THE REPORT
The Officers requested that a report be prepared
on recent events concerning the Leicester East Constituency Party,
in particular in respect of an article that appeared in the Sunday
Times dated 22 May 1994. The delay in producing the report has
been due to the fact that the Sunday Times has to be given some
time to compile the information in order to support its original
story.
OTHER DOCUMENTS
Members are asked to read in particular the
rules of the Labour Party in respect to clauses relating to persons
bringing the Party into disrepute and also the standing orders
of the Labour Group. It is also worth re-reading a letter from
the Constituency Secretary to the General Secretary of the Labour
Party concerning the conduct of Peter Soulsby and other Councillors
in respect of Public Meetings held by them which criticised other
Councillors.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
1. A meeting was called by Councillor Peter
Soulsby on Wednesday 20 April 1994 at the New Walk Centre. The
telephone calls to various Community Organisations were made by
Councillor Dave's Secretary. Community Leaders and Organisations
were called to the meeting at very short notice in order to hear
the then Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council. There was no
formal written Calling Notice and no agenda. At the meeting a
number of other Councillors were present and discussions and comments
took place led by Councillor Soulsby which were critical of other
Labour elected officials. In particular Members of the Community
were asked to note that Members of the Council who were of "Asian
Origin" were not voting together to support particular candidates.
2. Members of the Community Organisations
together with some Councillors were present at a meeting on Friday
22 April 1994 at the New Walk Centre. The purpose of the meeting
was to discover how Members of the Council were going to vote
at the Labour Group election Meeting scheduled to take place on
Tuesday 26 April 1994. A "Resolution" was adopted in
which Councillors of Asian origin on Leicester City Council were
asked to vote together and other clauses were adopted in that
resolution which were based on information given by Peter Soulsby
and others in their meeting 20 April 1994.
3. A meeting was held on Friday 29 April
1994 at 144 Uppingham Road following a request made by "Community
Leaders". These were the same "persons" that attended
the meetings on 22 April 1994. Present at the meeting were 36
individuals together with the Chair and Vice-Chair of Leicester
East CLP. The Chair and Vice-Chair will be aware that those present
at the meeting agreed that they had been misled by information
given to them on 22 April 1994 that they had no wish to direct
the Leicester East Party, individual Councillors, or elected Officials
as to how they should conduct their jobs and a number expressed
their regret that they had been invited by Peter Soulsby to be
involved in this matter. A second resolution was passed by them
at the meeting which they accepted fully that they had acted on
information that was not accurate. That resolution was printed
in full in the Leicester Mercury on Saturday 30 April 1994. That
definitive statement has never been challenged.
4. Following a meeting of the Executive
Committee of Leicester East CLP and the GMC it was decided that
a complaint be made in respect of the behaviour of Members of
the Labour Party who sought to involve those outside the Labour
Party in the internal workings of either the Labour Group or the
Constituency Party. The concern was noted that some of the people
attending the 22 April 1994 who subsequently came to put their
case on 29 April 1994 were not only not Members of the Labour
Party but were Members of other Political Parties. Only one person
actually lived in Leicester East CLP.
5. An article then appeared in the Sunday
Times dated May 22 1994. A complaint was then made by Keith Vaz
and others. It was felt impossible to believe that Members of
the Party had sought to settle their differences in the Party
by going to a Newspaper that had a tradition of being hostile
to the Party and in particular that it was owned by a person whose
Group had delivered massive support to the Conservative Party
before the last General Election.
6. The Sunday Times replied on 24 June 1994.
The reply sets out clearly the Members of the Party involved in
providing information to the Sunday Times and regrettably also
keen to discuss the internal workings of the Labour Group of which
they were Members. The Sunday Times has been very open and honest
in naming their sources of information.
Here is the sequence the Sunday Times describes
(and we refer them specifically to the person named by the Sunday
Times)
(i) Paul Sood
A Member of the Labour Party in the Leicester
South Constituency
"Rajiv Syal (the Reporter) was approached
by Paul Sood, Mr Sood, a Member of the Labour Party, said he was
worried about the role of Mr Vaz in Peter Soulsby's fall from
power".
(ii) "Syal was in Leicester from May 18-20.
The Sunday Times says that he interviewed five Councillors while
he was in Leicester between these dates."
(iii) Peter Soulsby
Not only was Peter Soulsby most co-operative
with the Sunday Times but also he helpfully provided the
Sunday Times with Private and Confidential letters that
were sent to him in his capacity as Leader of the Council. This
breach of confidentiality by ostensibly a person of integrity
holding an important office in the City Council to a National
Newspaper is a cause of great concern. Officers will recall that
last year when Peter Soulsby asked for a meeting with the Leicester
East Officers and Keith Vaz he stressed the importance of working
within the internal apparatus of the Labour Party to avoid the
Press being notified of any disagreements. He set up an elaborate
procedure whereby this could be achieved. It is therefore ironic
that it is Mr Soulsby himself who has chosen to go the Press in
this way.
(iv) Brian Bishop
Presently Labour Group Secretary and Chair of
Employment and Economic Development is also quoted in the complaint
as one of the Councillors who co-operated with the Sunday Times
releasing a letter signed by him, a copy of which neither
the officers nor ourselves have seen.
(v) Ned Newett
It has been understood that Ned Newett has been
conducting an investigation into the involvement of Members of
the Labour Group in the article in the Sunday Times. We
find this extraordinary in view of the fact that the Sunday
Times not only quotes him as one of the people who has co-signed
a letter of copy of which nobody has seen criticising the way
in which matters were dealt with but also quoted at length by
the Sunday Times in respect of what he did and said at
the meeting. Referring to the events at the Labour Group Meeting
the Sunday Times says "when other Labour Councillors
arrived, Ned Newett, the Labour Chief Whip, asked for a Ballot
Box at the back of the room for Councillors to place their votes.
He wanted to protect waverers from pressure from those sitting
next to them, who might see how they were marking their Ballot
Papers". We find this statement coming from a Labour Chief
Whip about Members of his own Group to a National Newspaper hostile
to the Labour Party as being extraordinary.
(vi) David Taylor
David Taylor told the Sunday Times of
alleged incidents which occurred at the time of the meeting we
quote "Taylor told the Sunday Times in an account
supported by two other witnesses". The reporter apparently
interviewed Labour Councillors but they were prepared to discuss
what was happening at their Group Meeting in the presence of others,
it is not clear whether these were Councillors or others or merely
members of the public.
(vii) Bhupen Dave
The Sunday Times confirms that they spoke
at length with Bhupen Dave before the article was produced and
in particular refers to a conversation that they had with him
in the week commencing June 24, 1994. The Sunday Times
quotes Dave as saying "I wanted to win the election,
(Bhupen Dave reaffirmed to the Sunday Times this week)
but it became apparent that I couldn't . . . I wanted to make
way for Shore because he stood a better chance of winning."
Mr Dave did not inform the Sunday Times that a month before
the AGM he had decided to apply for a job in the Social Services
Department writing a personal letter to the Director of Social
services saying that he was prepared to step down as Deputy Leader
if he had got that job. He also failed to disclose that he had
gone on live radio and explained the reasons for his resignation
on the Monday of the week before the AGM (Monday 18 April 1994)
the transcript has now been prepared and sent to the Press Complaints
Commission.
What is regrettable is that Labour Councillors
like Bhupen Dave are still speaking to the Sunday Times
and assisting them in what they are doing.
CONCLUSION
A democratic election took place on Tuesday
26 April 1994. It is those that who were defeated seem unwilling
to accept the democratic will of the Labour Group. We find most
regrettable the following matters:
(i) Members of the Labour Party and the
Labour Group have chosen to have a complete disregard to the wellbeing
and rules of the Party and instead have chosen to settle their
scores by other means. It may well be that they never believed
that they would be named in such matters if they did they are
clearly naive about the way in which the Murdoch press operates.
(ii) We deplore the way in which race has
been used in particular by Peter Soulsby as a means by which pressure
should be put on people of Asian origin who happen to be Labour
Councillors. We deplore any attempts to split the people of Leicester
East on racial lines, or indeed on religious lines. We think this
is particularly distressing as Peter Soulsby has always represented
electoral wards that have a substantial Asian population.
(iii) We recognise that both Paul Sood and
Peter Soulsby were candidates for the Leicester East Parliamentary
nomination in June 1985 a selection which as we know was won by
Keith Vaz. We believe that they should accept this verdict and
not seek to continue with this personal rivalry.
(iv) We are proud of Leicester East Labour
Party's record as far as race issues go. We have the best record
of any of the Constituencies in the whole of Leicester for the
selection and election of Labour candidates. There are six Councillors
of Asian origin on the City Council and two County Councillors
of Asian origin, Leicester East has more people of Asian origin
serving on the two Councils than the rest of the City put together.
We deplore any attempts to suggest otherwise.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
THE CONSTITUENCY,
THE MP AND
THE COUNCIL
LEADERSHIP
As Officers will know there was a meeting held
last year at Peter Soulsby's request between the Officers of the
Constituency the MP and the Labour Group Executive in which terms
of reference were agreed as to how to deal with outstanding points.
It was agreed at Peter Soulsby's suggestion that if there were
any disputes that they should be handled internally without having
to go to the Press! We realise that Keith Vaz subsequent to the
meeting felt that it would be better for letters to be sent via
the Chief Executive of the City Council rather than directly to
elected Members on issues of importance because he did feel that
such issues should be dealt with in a non Party Political way.
We understand that in respect of Councillor
Soulsby Keith Vaz last spoke to him in November 1993 when Councillor
Soulsby telephoned him at the House of Commons following the publication
of the Rate Support Grant Statement and sought his advice as to
how it should be handled when Councillor Soulsby appeared on "Newsnight".
Keith Vaz provided Councillor Soulsby with all the information
he required.
In respect of Councillor Dave Keith Vaz informs
us that he has always enjoyed excellent relations with Councillor
Dave and was very surprised by the comments he has made to the
Sunday Times. Councillor Dave called to see him a month
before the AGM at Councillor Dave's request in order to inform
him in advance that he was applying for the job as the Divisional
Manager (Leicester East) for the Social Services Department. He
told him at that stage that he would be stepping down as Deputy
Leader if he got the job. A day later Councillor Dave telephoned
him both on his emergency number and at his office concerning
an immigration problem that Councillor Dave's brother, who lived
in London, had. Keith Vaz subsequently dealt with this problem,
sorting out the difficulty even though Councillor Dave's brother
was not a constituent. He finds it extraordinary that on a private
level Labour Councillors seek support, encouragement, and advice
and assistance but publicly they are willing to criticise. Following
Councillor Dave's resignation Keith Vaz wrote to him to regret
his departure and to follow up a conversation Councillor Dave
had had with him about appointments to quangos.
RECOMMENDATIONS
We recommend the following:-
(i) That the Labour Group be informed of
the fact that the Leicester East Labour Party has completed its
investigation as to what led to the Sunday Times article on 22
May 1994. That it is for the Labour Group to take whatever disciplinary
action it deems necessary against those who seek to undermine
standing orders. We believe this is clearly a case where the party
has been brought into disrepute. We intend that a copy of this
report be sent to the Regional Office.
31 July 1994
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