Part of the union MP accepts Unite cash

Published: 2 April 2010
by RICHARD OSLEY

MP EMILY Thornberry is all smiles as she collects a £2,000 cheque towards her election campaign from trade union Unite.

The Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury has been challenged over her links to Unite, which has been behind the British Airways industrial action. 

In an exchange of letters, Conservative candidate Antonia Cox asked Ms Thornberry: “What parts of your campaign have been paid for by Unite?”

The MP replied that she had been a proud member of the union for 26 years but stopped short of saying she supported the BA strike. The company and the unions needed to hammer out a deal, she added. 

In her letter to Ms Cox, she included a photograph of her receiving the £2,000 cheque. She added that some of the donations to the national party from Unite were likely to have filtered down to her Islington South office because it is considered a marginal seat.