Exclusive: McCluskey responds to Graham’s “61 pages of smears and innuendo”

Former general secretary dissects his successor’s dragged-out smear campaign

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham was slammed by former ally Tony Woodhouse earlier this week for her campaign of “false” smears against the union management that preceded her – and of which she was fully a part. Her critic mysteriously dismissed his own comments, quoted exactly and in full by Skwawkbox.

Graham has claimed for years to have evidence that her predecessor Len McCluskey and his team acted wrongly over the union’s profitable Birmingham conference centre and has spent a presumed huge amount on money on lawyers and investigations. The ‘mainstream’ press have been briefed and have eagerly run with the allegations – yet nine months after claiming the full (and implied to be damning) report was imminent, she could only say this week that:

some of our trusted leaders, colleagues & friends may have been deceiving us, misusing our resources & abusing their power.

Now McCluskey has written to members of Unite’s elected executive with his response to Graham’s campaign – by this time a re-election campaign – dismissing as “61 pages of innuendos, smears and unfounded allegations. Skwawkbox has obtained a copy of his rebuttal, which is reproduced below (emphases added):

August 2025

A RESPONSE TO UNITE 61 PAGE REPORT FROM LEN McCLUSKEY

The publication of the 61 page so called “interim report” is nothing short of disgraceful and is an attempt to blacken my name and that of the Executive Council members who served during my time as General Secretary.

It is full of innuendos, smears and unfounded allegations.

The 61-page document has been compiled internally within Unite presumably by Sharon Graham’s office. They have cherrypicked specific pieces out of the 4 reports, done by so called independents, and have constructed them in such a way to create the most damaging image.

The essence of the report is to allege that I gave the Flanagan Group the contract to build the Birmingham Project because they were my friends and as such, they reciprocated with hospitality gifts; football flights and tickets are mentioned numerous times. For the record I paid for all my football travel and tickets.

Perhaps the worst form of their cherry picking was to quote Matt Hubbard (not even a Unite employee at the time, but who appears to have been rewarded by being made Head of Unite’s property) who stated, “Ed Sabisky didn’t want Flanagans but was instructed by Len McCluskey”. The authors of the report decided not to use Tony Woodley’s contradictory view on this matter because it didn’t fit their biased narrative.

Tony Woodley’s friendship with Ed Sabisky goes back 35 years. They were close friends and Ed asked Tony to assist him in the early stages of the project and negotiations with Birmingham City Council. Tony Woodley told the Martin Bowdery KC inquiry that it was Ed who appointed Flanagans, because of the circumstances at the time. It was not Len McCluskey.

Furthermore, Tony sent a message to Sharon Graham on July 6th this year making it clear that “For clarity Len McCluskey did not instruct Ed to appoint Flanagans.” Attached.

So why wasn’t this included in the report? Well because it didn’t assist in their hatchet job and it meant that a lot of their other accusations made no sense.

Another serious issue is that I am accused (5 times) in the report of overruling the advice of lawyers and Unite staff who were recommending not to use Flanagans. This is untrue and no proof has been provided to substantiate this allegation despite a request from my lawyer.

Additionally, never once was I advised by anyone that Consarc had queried some invoices.

Like any good illusion the report is sprinkled with some truths. I am accused of signing documents, and I have to say that on a monthly basis over eleven years I signed dozens of documents placed on my desk by my senior staff; not just for Ed Sabisky but for all my key Heads of Department, including Sharon Graham. It was impracticable for me to read those documents; I trusted and relied on all my leading executive officials for their professional guidance.

What is also outrageous in the Report is the image painted of the United Left and the Executive Council members during my time as GS.

It is an insult to each member to suggest they they failed in their duty to hold myself and others to account.

The picture painted by the Report is a complete falsehood. There was full and open debate on all issues including property. Ed Sabisky gave a ‘Finance & Property’ report at every monthly F&GPC (72) and quarterly to the Executive Council meeting (36) answering questions and dealing with issues raised.

It is an insult to Tony Woodhouse who chaired the EC impeccably and was highly respected in the union. I note that he has issued a statement which is attached and says it all. Attached.

Statements from BDO and Dark & Co are dubious, as they make allegations without proof and neither have interviewed me as GS nor Tony Woodhouse as Executive Chair to ascertain our views.

BDO are the same accountants that gave a clean bill of health in 2020 and recommended that the cost of Birmingham £98m be included in the accounts to their satisfaction. I wonder what prompted their U turn…

The report quoted Martin Bowdery saying that he could not find any evidence that the Unite protocol made any real financial impact is extraordinary, when he himself told me that his panel had calculated that at least £14m extra had been attributed to the Unite protocol [to use only unionised and directly employed workers].

And it is unbelievable for Tony Seaman to be quoted as saying he could not get access as to whether workers on site were union members or not. He was made a convenor on a considerable salary to make certain that the Unite Protocol was being adhered to. He never once raised any concerns with me or the Executive Council.

The media of course lapped up the attacks, with Joe Pike (once an employee of Rupert Murdoch now an employee of the BBC) being fed information and emails for nearly four years by Unite Comms Department.

And what of the BBC? They led with a sensationalist story about football flights and tickets on their 6pm News, followed by children starving in Gaza. It says a lot about the BBC.

Sharon Graham has sent her report and her comments to every member. I of course do not have this facility so I’m asking you to share and distribute to as many people as possible.

Len McCluskey.

Graham was, of course, also among the union management who discussed and signed off on the Birmingham project – and had one of her closest allies overseeing it as ‘project-specific convenor’.

In stark contrast to the financial health of the union that Graham inherited, Unite under Graham’s management has seen its strike fund collapse by more than 90% and has raised its membership fees repeatedly in the last year despite Graham’s claims of increased member numbers.

Graham’s tenure has also been marked by allegations and admissions of anti-worker and ‘union-busting’ activity against Unite’s own staff. She has been embroiled in a dispute by staff working in the department she created for her husband to run, who allege that he and managers working under him have bullied and abused staff.

At least three and by some reports four of the five women working in the department have quit and Graham and her team have been accused by furious workers of employing union-busting tactics to break up the strike, including having allies join the GMB union that represents staff working for Unite to try to vote down the strike action, an allegation that the union’s sector committee has demanded be investigated. Unite’s officers and their union representatives have also accused her of using Murdoch-esque anti-union legislation to stop them organising collectively.

And in a stunning development exclusively reported by Skwawkbox, lawyers acting for Unite and Graham also confirmed Skwawkbox’s reporting that the union had destroyed evidence gathered by staff, particularly women, who had recorded the behaviour her husband, Jack Clarke, in their complaint that he was behaving abusively and misogynistically.

McCluskey appears to have kept his counsel so far, despite all these allegations and admissions against Graham, out of a sense of not wanting to interfere after retiring from the general secretary role. Now it appears the gloves are off.

Unite has been contacted for comment.

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