The war between Labour and Unite has reached a new level with the announcement that the party has handed its report on the alleged irregularities in Falkirk to the police.
So what laws could the union have broken? If the allegation that it signed up members to Labour without their knowledge or consent is proven, Unite could find itself in breach of the Data Protection Act, which requires individuals to give permission for their personal details to be passed to other organisations, and guilty of fraud by false representation.
As the Tories have been quick to point out, Conservative MP Henry Smith wrote to Scottish police yesterday asking them to investigate whether or not the union was guilty of the latter charge. He noted: “Under Scots law, the common law offence of fraud involves a false pretence made dishonestly in order to bring about some definite practical result.
“In this instance, it may be that Unite has made a false instrument in the form of the application forms and a false declaration, with the aim of signing up members without their knowledge in order to influence the Labour Party selection process.
“In addition to this, as these applications were signed on behalf of members without their knowledge, a crime of ‘uttering’ may have taken place through tendering forged documents with an intention to defraud.”
Labour’s decision to follow suit shows that it is now determined to be seen to take all necessary action against Unite.
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