Militant escape! Brent's answer to Newsline

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They will hear the results of the three-person inquiry on the dispute - set up on the urging of TGWU full-timers who are clearly anxious to end the seven week strike. The dockers are Meanwhile it has been reported that 900 Port of London Authority dockers out of the total 4000 have applied for voluntary redundancy terms proposed by the employers. enlists lis A letter to Alex Mitchell Newsline from Brent East.

76 Austen House, London NW6 5YL Dear Mr Mitchell, At the Brent East CLP General Management Committee, on Thursday 28 April, we voted by 71 votes to 4 to proceed to reselection without the approval of the Labour Party NEC.

On the same night the following letter to Newsline was circulated.

"On April 26, Newsline, the daily paper of the WRP, printed article by Paul Feldman, called "Ganging up to block Livingstone" • This article smeared Socialist Organiser supporters in Brent by accusing them of preparing to gang up with Reg Freeson, the NEC, the BBC, etc against Ken Livingstone. This is part of a campaign Newsline has been waging against SO for the past five weeks.

"The article by Feldman talks of SO's "barely concealed threat that Livingstone may not get the votes of Socialist Organiser members at the reselection meeting, ... while Freeson and the 'Socialist Organiser' find a coincidence of views, the right wing of the NEC is doing its level best to make sure that the reselection doesn't take place at all in Brent East."

"SO has criticised Livingstone and has differences with him on a number of questions, including his relationship with the WRP.

"Between Freeson and Livingstone, SO supports Livingstone and SO supporters in Brent East have been centrally involved in the left wing drive to unseat Freeson and in support of Livingstone.

"Newsline is here indulging in the sort of journalistic practice which led to its censure by the National Union of Journalists for a campaign which falsely alleged that SO supporter Peter McIntyre, an Oxford journalist, set up the recent police raid against the homeless there and which led Audrey Wise to describe " Newsline in Tribune "a' rag"

"We demand that you immediately retract."

This was signed by the following: Alf Filer, Secretary, Colin Adams, Chair, Dave Statham, Treasurer, Mike Heiser, Assistant Secretary, Emma Tait, Vice-Chair; Pete Firmin, Membership Secretary, Mick Woods, Trade Union Liaison Officer, Steve Barton, Youth Liaison Officer, Angela Wright, Press Officer, Tom Whiteside, Social Secretary, Christine Winter, ^ Fundraiser, jean spray, S. Hashimi, Christine McKimmie • Alan Taylor: Mapesbury Ward. Lynda Woodroffe; Tom Wilson, Kilburn Branch, Shan Jagdeo, Brentwater Kyron Connolly, Queen's Park; Deborah Knight, Carlton; Councillor Graham Durham, Cricklewood: Chris - Khamis, Brondesbury, Rosemary Deane, Sally Palmer, Women's Section; Councillor Cyril Shaw, Kilburn TGWU delegate and the Chair of Brent Labour Group, R. Coady, Brondesbury UCATT, Vince Thompson, Cricklewood NUR; Roland Brady, London North West. POEU, Sheila Healey, West End POEU, Danny O'Neill, NUR, Euston No. 1, Jill Freid, North London Poly Labour Club, Paul Wilkinson, observer from Willesden Green Branch, Paul Franklin, 1, Secretary of the Local Government Committee of Brent Labour Party (who while not a member of Brent East, asked for his name to be added to he list in solidarity with SO).

As you can see, this is by no means all those present. But we were engaged in the rather important business of defending our right to reselect at the time, and most of these signatures were obtained in the pub after the If I may allow myself a few comments: one of your members was handing out copies of the article at the Trades Council on Wednesday 27th. When I challenged him that it was a pack of lies he refused to discuss it with me.

That morning, myself with other members of Brent East, had lobbied the NEC, and we received support from other SO supporters in the London area, as well as others,..

No WRP members were present. We obviously have a very canny way of defending Freeson and stabbing Ken in the back.

To be honest, SO is fairly accustomed to allegations of being coppers' narks, provocateurs, Zionists, and state agents, in your rag, but may Iask you to keep your poisoned little pens out of the major battle in which Brent East is at present engaged.

Yours sincerely, MICK WOODS D THE