Labour councillors face suspension

The ruling Labour group on Hackney council in north London is expected to be suspended from the Labour party today, according to sources inside the troubled local authority.

The 39 councillors will be suspended en masse by the party's National Executive Committee (NEC) and invited to apply to rejoin, following a split last week when almost half voted against a mayoral candidate endorsed by Labour headquarters.

This is believed to be the largest single suspension of its members by the party - larger even than the Liverpool City Council expulsions under Derek Hatton, and the numbers thrown out over allegations of abuse in Walsall.

"Those who have toed the party line will probably get back in, but those who have flown in the face of party discipline will face expulsion," said one senior Labour councillor. "Either way, we all expect to be told today."

Last night a Labour spokesman said: "This is a proposal that is being put forward but I can't say for sure that it will be on [today's] NEC agenda."

The Hackney Labour group has been beset by allegations of dirty tricks, vote rigging and the establishment of an unauthorised decision-making caucus called the Manifesto Group. It has also been torn apart by a row over its controversial Housing Director, Bernard Crofton, who lost and then regained his job after being wrongly accused of racism.