Labour MP Sam Tarry
(Picture: PA)Labour MP Sam Tarry has hired a top law firm to fight the party over his coming reselection battle, the Standard has learned.
But Mr Tarry, the partner of Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner, has said he has evidence of “rule-breaking, voter fraud... and the dangerous whipping up of community tensions to undermine the democratic reselection process” and submitted it to the party in July.
He has instructed top solicitors Carter-Ruck, who have previously represented Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Corbyn and former Tory MP Charlie Elphicke, to demand a halt to process until the allegations have been properly investigated by the party.
In a letter to Labour Party General Secretary David Evans, Carter-Ruck said: “We must ask that Mr Tarry receives your detailed and comprehensive response to his email of July 18 2022 and to the matters that it had particularised.
“Quite apart from it clearly being incumbent on the Labour Party to investigate and address such serious allegations of irregularity, this is plainly required in order that Mr Tarry might consider whether the trigger ballot was conducted legitimately and receive advice on the same.
“We add, although it ought to be beyond reasonable contention, there should clearly be no prospect of this process continuing further until the very serious matters raised by our client have been fully resolved.”
Applications for candidates to replace the Corbynite MP opened on Friday August 26 and the Labour party is expected to meet on Wednesday to agree a timetable for the full selection process.
The reselection process was triggered when all 10 local Labour branches in Ilford South voted for a new contest.
Jas Athwal, the leader of Redbridge Council, put his name forward to replace Mr Tarry and has been tipped a favourite to become the Labour candidate at the next election.
Mr Tarry was sacked as a shadow transport minister last month after giving media interviews on a picket line in support of striking RMT workers.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer maintained he was fired for making up policy “on the hoof”.
Supporters of Mr Tarry have claimed his reselection process was fast-tracked to be completed before the party’s annual conference next month out of “revenge”.
If he were to be deselected, the move could further deepen divisions between the Sir Keir’s leadership team and MPs on the left of the party.
Fellow Corbynite MP Apsana Begun also faces a reselection battle in Poplar and Limehouse in east London.
The Labour party declined to comment.
