 | 'There has been a sea change in attitudes over Tommy (Graham). The message is clear that allegations that have been made against him in the past will be looked at again.' A senior Labour office bearer. |  |
| 'There has been a sea change in attitudes over Tommy (Graham). The message is clear that allegations that have been made against him in the past will be looked at again.' A senior Labour office bearer. | |
A top-level Labour investigating team, led by the party's most senior official, began taking evidence in Glasgow yesterday from Renfrewshire party members. The team vowed that allegations would be examined "thoroughly and quickly".
Mr Graham, the MP for Renfrewshire West, was criticised in the suicide note left by Mr McMaster, his neighbour in Paisley South.
Mr Graham denies, however, that he was involved in a whispering campaign that alleged Mr McMaster was gay and had AIDS.
Mr Graham, who has been suspended while the inquiry is under way, is also under pressure from other neighbouring MPs, Irene Adams and Norman Godman, who claim he tried to discredit them to enable his friends to replace them.
Last night, Mr Graham remained silent when he arrived to face the inquiry. His brief appearance on the steps of Keir Hardie House in Park Circus was the first public appearance since the row broke more than six weeks ago. Since then, he has only issued statements through a solicitor. He made no statement last night.
The inquiry team is also investigating allegations that Mr Graham was involved in vote- rigging to safeguard his position and that he has interfered in the business of other parliamentary constituencies.
"There has been a sea change in attitudes over Tommy. The message is clear that allegations that have been made against him in the past will be looked at again," said a senior office bearer. "The writing is on the wall for him and his election agent and right-hand man, Harry Revie,"
Mr Revie, a Renfrewshire councillor who has also been suspended, was a director of FCB, the collapsed publicly- funded Paisley business from which £320,000 appears to have been illegally drained.
About 14 members of the Labour group on Renfrewshire Council turned up appearing sombre at the Scottish party HQ to be interviewed. The meetings were conducted by Labour's general secretary, Tom Sawyer; the assistant general secretary, David Gardner, and the senior Scottish officer, Lesley Quinn.
The main investigations will be carried out by a special taskforce of nine Scottish party members, including Keir Hardie officials, executive members and union officials.
Labour plans to reach a speedy conclusion to clear the way for the Paisley South by- election this year. A Labour spokesman said: "There can be no doubt that the Labour Party is taking this issue seriously. The inquiry will be carried out as thoroughly and quickly as possible."
The party tried to brush aside questions as to why such a serious inquiry was taking place in the absence of the Scottish general secretary, Jack McConnell. He is in the United States on a study tour of local government.
A party spokesman denied that Mr McConnell, who has been criticised for failing to prevent sleaze rows in Renfrewshire, Govan and Monklands from surfacing, was being kept out of the way. He said there was a desire for the inquiry to proceed apace and that other senior officials were involved.
Opponents of Mr Graham are encouraged by a meeting held by the Paisley South Constituency Labour Party on Monday with the chief whip, Nick Brown, and the Scottish whip, John McFall.
Members tried to dispel rumours about Mr McMaster's sexuality and were told there was a resolute determination to get to the bottom of the internecine fighting within Renfrewshire, which may have contributed to his death.
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