Senior Unite official loses unfair dismissal claim

A senior official at one of the UK’s largest trade unions has lost an unfair dismissal claim amid a police investigation into allegations of bribery, fraud and money-laundering at the organisation.

Howard Beckett was assistant general secretary at Unite the Union until his suspension in August 2022, four months after police raided the union’s London headquarters.

In his tribunal judgement, employment judge Richard Nicolle said police searches had also taken place at Mr Beckett’s “flat in London and home on the Wirral on 6 April 2022”.

Mr Beckett argued the claims against him were “baseless”.

His lawyer has told the BBC he is appealing the Employment Tribunal’s judgement, has launched legal action against the union and its general secretary for breach of privacy, and he noted the judge had been critical of Unite.

Mr Beckett was initially told his suspension was due to allegations of “misleading” the union’s ruling executive council in relation to the construction of its vastly over-budget hotel and conference centre in Birmingham.

The project was originally estimated to cost £7m but more than £100m was eventually spent.

An independent valuation later concluded the finished building was worth only £29m.

General secretary Sharon Graham commissioned an inquiry which, the tribunal said, led to the discovery of £14m which did not feature “in the final accounts and it remaining a mystery as to how and when this figure had been assessed and then presumably paid” to a contractor.

Mr Beckett was also told he had been suspended due to “concerns about the probity of awarding contracts for affiliated services”.

A close ally of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Mr Beckett was off sick for almost 18 months before he resigned from Unite in January 2023.

His lawyer told the tribunal Mr Beckett had not been well enough to participate in a disciplinary hearing and the union’s disciplinary charges were “baseless”.

The employment judge rejected this, and also found Mr Beckett had not been demoted as he had claimed.

The judge did, however, say there were “significant deficiencies” in Unite’s “investigation and disciplinary processes”.

Judge Nicolle wrote: “It would have been extremely surprising in the Tribunal’s view had [Unite] allowed its Head of Legal to return to active employment in circumstances where there were ongoing police investigations into very serious matters to include bribery, money laundering and offences under proceeds of criminality legislation.”

Ms Graham, who succeeded Len McCluskey as Unite general secretary in 2021, did not give evidence to the tribunal.

A spokesperson for Unite said Ms Graham promised to leave “no stone unturned” when she commissioned two independent inquiries into the union’s previous administration.

They said: “The employment tribunal case involving the union’s former assistant general secretary Howard Beckett, which he lost on all counts, begins to allow the story to be told.

“We are also pursuing legal claims to recover money lost to the union and the general secretary has put safeguards in place to ensure that such things can never happen again.”