A trade union has hit back at accusations it might attempt to influence the Labour selection in Finchley and Golders Green, labelling Tory claims “nonsense”.

Conservative MP for the constituency Mike Freer said this morning the Labour group should “come clean” about its membership.

His comments came after a leaked document revealed trade union Unite was backing one of the Labour candidates aiming for selection in Finchley and Golders Green at the 2015 General Election.

Unite became embroiled in controversy earlier this month amid accusations it had flooded Labour Party groups in other constituencies with its own members in order to influence candidate selections.

Responding to Mr Freer’s comments this afternoon, a Unite spokesman said: "This is a desperate effort by a failing Tory to distract the people of Barnet from the chaos they have caused at this council locally. 

"The Tory allegations are just nonsense. Unite has at all times conducted itself in an open and democratic fashion in relation to selections. That is why there have been no complaints made nor the remotest suggestion that the union or either of those two candidates has done anything at all wrong.

"Tory claims to the contrary are shameful when they know full well that their own selection processes are far from squeaky clean. The scandal that has hit Tory council selections in Havering Council expose this hypocrisy.

"This is just a shameless effort on their part to conduct a political witchhunt against trade unions and their members, reminding working people again that they are not at all welcome in the nasty party."