Karl Marx library fights Communist 'take-over' bid

As the man who exhorted the workers of the world to unite, Karl Marx might take a dim view of the events unfolding in the London library that bears his name.

The Marx Memorial Library in central London, set up in 1933 in response to the Nazi book burnings in Germany, is at the centre of a row that pays testimony to the enduring ability of communists to indulge in internecine warfare.

Long after Britain's Marxists ceased to wield any mainstream political influence, rival factions are at loggerheads over who should control the library, located in a Georgian mansion in Clerkenwell and worth millions. The handsome townhouse attracts scholars from across the world and describes itself as a library dedicated to "all aspects of the science of Marxism and the history of socialism and the working class movement".

But in a sign of the decline in comradely relations, the library's management committee made the first expulsion in its history amid complaints that it was facing a takeover by the Communist Party of Great Britain. In a confidential memo obtained by The Independent, the committee said it had expelled Mike Squires, a CPGB member, for being part of a group intent on assuming control the library.

Mary Rosser, the library chairman, said defending itself to the Charity Commission against accusations of misconduct by "the Mike Squires Group" had cost it £20,000 and it was in danger of losing its charitable status if the alleged CPGB entryists succeeded. The library said its small staff had been "intimidated and over-stretched" by dealing with the activities of the group.

The memo said: "[Dr Squires] was held to have formed a group - entitled the Mike Squires Group - which has used the medium of a political party, the CPGB, to attempt to mobilise members to join the charity and vote ... in line with the agenda of the CPGB."

Dr Squires, who was formally expelled from the library for allegedly misrepresenting its policies in a letter to the Morning Star newspaper, has strongly denied any wrongdoing. He said there was not "a single shred of evidence to support this [£20,000] figure or of the existence of 'the Mike Squires Group'." He claimed that all he had done was to seek new members for the library. He said: "I never denied that I met with other comrades to discuss the library. If a Tory wanted to join I'd say 'good'. No one wants it as an arm of the CPGB. It should be there for everyone who has an interest in Marxism."

Other members suggested it was this function which is at risk. Gary Morton, a member of the library and the CPGB, said: "The future is troubling because every year there is an excess of expenditure over income so it's just a matter of how long it will be until the shutters have to be put up."