Labour staff have been warned that they will be disciplined over leaks after a memo revealed that “Christmas jumper day” was one of the few events in the party’s plans for the week.
Iain McNicol, general secretary, said it was crucial that “sensitive or confidential party information” did not reach the media in a Christmas email that was itself promptly leaked.
Insiders said his warning arose out of anger about a leaked “grid” of Labour’s plans over the coming days. It showed that the party had few items on its agenda, but had pencilled in a Christmas jumper day for tomorrow. The event coincides with Concert for Corbyn in Brighton, to be headlined by Paul Weller in aid of the leader’s arts causes.
The party would not comment on the leak, but it appears to have led to a stern warning from Mr McNicol. “Before we all escape the office for a well-deserved Xmas break, I wanted to email you all regarding recent leaks in the media which contain either sensitive or confidential party information,” he wrote.
“No member of staff should pass on information which they think will be used by our opponents to oppose and damage the party and its reputation. This damages the organisation and relationships which we are all trying to build and maintain. As laid down in our staff handbook, if a member of staff is found to have leaked confidential information either to a third party with the intent that this is passed on, or directly to a journalist, disciplinary proceedings will be initiated.”
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His note was leaked after a similar embarrassment for the government. Sir Jeremy Heywood, cabinet secretary, warned Whitehall staff about protecting information only to have his note passed to the Mail on Sunday.
Labour faced a fresh row last night over the hiring of a former member of staff at Sinn Fein. Jayne Fisher, who has been called Gerry Adams’s right-hand woman in London, will join Mr Corbyn’s team next month.
The leader’s links with Sinn Fein have long caused controversy. Weeks after the 1984 Brighton bombing, he invited Mr Adams, who had become president of Sinn Fein the previous year, to the Commons.
A Labour MP told The Times: “The government has a tiny majority and is being propped up by the Democratic Unionists, so to take on someone so obviously politically divisive is yet another strategic blunder.”