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John McDonnell claims Corbyn supporters 'purged' | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell claims there has been a "rigged purge" of supporters of Jeremy Corbyn in Labour's leadership contest. | |
Mr McDonnell said thousands of members were being denied a vote "without being given an explanation". | |
He was reacting to the suspension from Labour of Ronnie Draper, who leads the Corbyn-supporting Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union. | |
Mr Draper said he was told his suspension related to social media. | |
Owen Smith is challenging Mr Corbyn for the Labour leadership, with the winner to be announced on 24 September. | |
Labour says a "robust validation process" of the almost 650,000 people eligible to vote in the contest will continue until polls close on 21 September. | |
This includes "verifying all voters share the aims and values of the Labour Party". | |
The party has not commented on the suspension of Mr Draper, which Mr McDonnell said appeared to be "part of a clear pattern of double standards". | |
He asked why action had not been taken against Labour peer Lord Sainsbury, who gave the Lib Dems more than £2m during the EU referendum campaign, or donor Michael Foster over an article referring to "Jeremy Corbyn and his Nazi storm troopers". | |
"Both will, as things stand, be able to vote in this election," Mr McDonnell said. | |
"Meanwhile, thousands of other members and registered supporters are reported to have been denied a vote without being given an explanation or opportunity to challenge the decision or process. | |
"Labour party members will not accept what appears to be a rigged purge of Jeremy Corbyn supporters. The conduct of this election must be fair and even-handed." | |
He said he would write to Labour's general secretary Iain McNicol to demand "clear information" on why members were being suspended. | |
The BFAWU union has almost 20,000 members in the food industry. | The BFAWU union has almost 20,000 members in the food industry. |
On Twitter, Mr Draper said he had been suspended having been a Labour member for most of his life, adding: "Democracy in action." | |