Jackson urged to tell tribunal what he knows about vote rigging in his union

A tribunal will be urged today to force the Prime Minister's most trusted trade union ally to reveal the full story behind a vote-rigging scam. So far, Sir Ken Jackson, the leader of Amicus-AEEU who has denied involvement in the malpractice, has refused to hand over computer records and statements by witnesses.

Lawyers are demanding full disclosure on behalf of Roger Maskell, former secretary of Amicus-AEEU in London and the South-east, who left the union after admitting his part in the scandal. His solicitors say evidence will show Mr Maskell was unlawfully dismissed and that he had been instructed to participate in the malpractice.

Mr Maskell's lawyers will also call on the interim session of the employment tribunal in Bedford, to postpone a full hearing, at present scheduled for next month.

Solicitors for Mr Maskell will say that Derek Simpson, a left-winger who defeated Sir Ken for the leadership of the union, intends to launch a full inquiry into ballot-rigging when he takes over as general secretary in January. Mr Maskell's representatives will say that any finding by an employment tribunal in November could be superseded by evidence from Mr Simpson's investigation.

The malpractice was during Sir Ken's unsuccessful attempt to retain the leadership. Full-time union officials were transferred from branch to branch, to nominate Sir Ken more than once. Six Amicus-AEEU employees admitted conspiracy, but Mr Maskell has said Sir Ken, who will remain general secretary until January, was also involved in the "double- voting" scam.

The former official has also claimed Sir Ken was at meetings where it was suggested the incumbent could be nominated by branches even if they had not met to discuss the issue. Sir Ken says the allegations will be proved false.

But the union's national executive, which is dominated by right-wing supporters of Sir Ken, has rejected calls for an inquiry into double-voting, saying it has not been presented with any evidence.

A union official claimed Mr Maskell admitted before he left that he "could not blame anyone else" for the scandal and he had "not been instructed by anyone else" to engage in malpractice. A spokes- man said its general purposes committee decided the best place to resolve the dispute was at an employment tribunal, with formal legal standing.