Sacked MP Anne Moffat accuses Labour of 'systematic and sustained bullying'

Anne Moffat accused Labour of "systematic and sustained bullying" today as she launched a bitter attack on the party for ousting her as its candidate for East Lothian . In a short but angry statement after her sacking was upheld by Labour's executive, Moffat claimed that bullying was endemic "at all levels" of the party and that her evidence had been repeatedly ignored by officials. "The manner in which I have been treated by so-called comrades and Labour party activists leaves me with a sense of disbelief that such conduct is prevalent in a democratic socialist party," she said. Moffat's counterblast came five days after her local party voted by 130 to 59 to deselect her at a special members-only meeting sanctioned by Labour's national executive committee, ending her nine increasingly troubled years as the MP for East Lothian. Her tenure has been marred by a bitter feud with local officials and activists over her style and workrate, which culminated in the constituency party being briefly suspended in 2008. Rows over her conduct had included her record travel expenses in 2004, allegations of an affair with another Labour MP, which she denies, her poor Commons speechmaking record and failure to attend constituency meetings. Party officials denied her bullying allegations and said Moffat had "lost the confidence of her own members". After dismissing her appeal today, Labour's executive has urgently begun the process of selecting a new candidate from an all-female shortlist, with just seven weeks before the expected general election date. It will defend an apparently strong 7,600 majority. As opposition parties derided Labour's handling of the affair, Moffat increased her party's discomfort by claiming Friday's vote was "shameful to the Labour movement. The contributions of individuals during the meeting were vicious and slanderous." She said she only learned of today's NEC decision from the media, and not from party officials. She added: "I want to take this opportunity to publicly put on record my absolute conviction that I have been the victim of systematic and sustained bullying at all levels of the Labour party. "I have never been asked to provide any evidence of this behaviour but I can assure everyone that I have never claimed anything which I could not evidence and substantiate. A bullying culture exists at all levels within the Labour party." She also claimed that Jack Dromey, the Unite deputy general secretary who was sent to East Lothian to investigate the internal feud in 2008, and Frank Roy, a senior Labour whip in Scotland, had put pressure on her to resign on health grounds or face deselection, three months before a formal complaint against her was made. A party spokesman said: "It's sad that she thinks she's the victim of systematic and sustained bullying, but every complaint she has made has been investigated by representatives of the NEC; every single complaint has been found to be groundless." After Friday's meeting one of her leading critics, Harry Cairney, chairman of Prestonpans Labour club, said she had been heard in silence by the members. He said the atmosphere there had been "conciliatory and business-like". Opposition parties believe the controversy has damaged Labour's chances of retaining the seat at the general election, despite Labour's confidence it can fight off the Liberal Democrats, who came second in 2005. Labour's majority for the Westminster constituency has been halved to 7,600 since it was held by John Home Robertson, who held both the Holyrood and Westminster East Lothian seats until he resigned as an MP in 2001 to focus on the Scottish parliament. The Holyrood seat of East Lothian is now held by the Scottish Labour leader, Iain Gray, who has repeatedly avoided been drawn into the controversy. After today's NEC decision, the Liberal Democrat candidate, Stuart Ritchie, said: "It doesn't matter to the people of East Lothian who the Labour candidate is. Whoever they end up with, Labour is falling apart here, but the Liberal Democrats are in second place and fighting hard. "In Iain Gray's backyard, the Labour party are weak and discredited, and choosing a new candidate won't change a thing." Other opposition parties said the affair was proof that Labour's election campaign was being derailed by scandal and infighting. Angus Robertson, the SNP's Westminster leader, said: "Labour is swamped by scandals in London and deselections in Scotland. "It is only the SNP who are offering local and national champions for Scotland at the general election. Increasingly, the Labour party is in local and national disarray." David McLetchie MSP, the Scottish Tory general election campaign manager, said: "This is yet more evidence of a party and a government in complete disarray. From trading political contacts for cash, from its biggest donor ruining the Easter holidays for millions through strikes, and now this sorry pantomime, Labour is in meltdown. "The East Lothian Labour party have well and truly burned their bridges with local people."