 | 'Clearly I am concerned and worried. I will want, to the best of my ability, to argue the case. But the distractions and the difficulties [in Paisley] are obviously a matter of worry.' Secretary of State for Scotland, Donald Dewar. |  |
| 'Clearly I am concerned and worried. I will want, to the best of my ability, to argue the case. But the distractions and the difficulties [in Paisley] are obviously a matter of worry.' Secretary of State for Scotland, Donald Dewar. | |
Senior party figures were last night finalising plans for Mr Graham's suspension following the inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Mr McMaster's suicide last month. Party sources stressed that if evidence of serious misconduct is uncovered by the new inquiry, Mr Graham and other Labour members in Renfrewshire could be expelled from the party.
Yesterday, a Renfrewshire councillor at the centre of the Paisley smear scandal accused supporters of MP Irene Adams of mounting her own dirty tricks campaign. Paul Mack, who was named in the suicide note left by Mr McMaster, claimed an independent inquiry, chaired by a senior member of the judiciary, was required "to lance the boil which has infected the body politic of Paisley for far too long". It is unclear if the new inquiry will meet demands for a wider look into allegations of corruption in the Labour Party across the west of Scotland.
The move to suspend Mr Graham follows the Scottish Secretary, Donald Dewar's, admission yesterday that he was worried the mounting scandal in Renfrewshire could cast a shadow over the party's referendum campaign. His discomfort was heightened when the Tories' Scottish spokesman, Liam Fox, demanded that the Prime Minister should break his holiday in France to sort out the situation.
Senior figures in the Scottish Labour Party insisted last night that Mr Graham had to be suspended today, to ensure the issue did not tarnish the official launch tomorrow of the party's campaign for a Yes, Yes vote in the referendum. It is not known if Mr Graham has been informed of the decision.
While the investigation by Labour's chief whip, Nick Brown, has concluded that the whispering campaign played little or no part in Mr McMaster's depression and suicide, he has uncovered evidence of an orchestrated campaign of rumours against the dead MP and two of his parliamentary colleagues - Irene Adams and Norman Godman.
It is understood this campaign - which one senior source described as "venomous" - involved collusion with members of the Scottish National Party. The SNP has already suspended one of its councillors for his part in spreading rumours about Mr McMaster.
While no action will be taken against Mr Graham over Mr McMaster's suicide, the party is to suspend the MP for West Renfrewshire to allow a full inquiry into the vendettas being waged in Paisley. Mr Graham has consistently denied being involved in smearing fellow MPs.
A similar suspension from the parliamentary Labour Party was imposed on the Govan MP Mohammad Sarwar earlier this year, following claims of financial and voting-registration irregularities.
The decision to move against Mr Graham followed a day of discussions between senior party figures, which forced the Mr Dewar to cancel a long- standing meeting with businessmen in Dunfermline. Mr Dewar and Mr Brown are understood to have both agreed that swift action was needed, but the final details were still being ironed out late last night.
Their decision was based on the explosive revelations in Mr Brown's report. It found evidence that Mr McMaster was targeted by a smear campaign, along with Mrs Adams and Mr Godman, the MP for Greenock & Inverclyde.
Mr Brown concluded this did not have much impact on Mr McMaster's depression or his suicide. His view is supported by the report of the psychiatrist to whom the party had referred Mr McMaster, who said the MP suffered from clinical depression. The psychiatrist said there was no evidence that Mr McMaster had problems with his sexuality.
However, Mr Brown's inquiries did reveal clear evidence of the extent of the whispering campaign against the three MPs. Sources said the vendettas were tied up with "nasty power struggles" within the Paisley party, but also involved members of the SNP. The new inquiry by the party's national executive committee will examine whether Mr Graham and any other party members should be expelled or disciplined for bringing the party into disrepute by taking part in the campaign of rumour-mongering.
Mr Brown is also understood to have applauded the actions taken by the Scottish party in Paisley following a similar inquiry into corruption two years ago. Sources said he had expressed some sympathy with Scottish officials' complaints that their counterparts in London failed to act as decisively.
The pressure for action has been mounting within the party in recent days as Labour steps up its referendum campaign. More than two million leaflets outlining the Government's devolution proposals are being sent to homes in Scotland this week.
Mr Dewar expressed his own fears yesterday, though he hoped Scots would recognise devolution was a matter of principle and separate from events in Renfrewshire. "Clearly I am concerned and worried," he said. "I will want, to the best of my ability, to argue the case. But the distractions and the difficulties [in Paisley] are obviously a matter of worry."
The Tories sought to exploit Labour's embarrassment last night, when Liam Fox wrote a letter to Mr Blair demanding action. Dr Fox urged the Prime Minister to return to Britain to address the problem, adding: "The latest allegations of sleaze and impropriety surrounding the Labour party in Scotland are a serious blot on the Scottish political landscape and must be addressed at once."
However, his stance was attacked by George Reid of the SNP. "It is ludicrous and desperate for Dr Fox to use this as an argument against having a parliament at all," he said.
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