Ed Miliband says he’s “incredibly angry” that “the Labour party has been besmirched by the behaviour of a few individuals”

Speaking to BBC News this evening, Ed Miliband said he’s angry about the Falkirk selection, and the behaviour of “a few individuals” – but he was particularly pointed in his reference to “the leadership of Unite the union in particular”, saying:

“Let me be clear about this: I am incredibly angry about what’s happened in Falkirk because I feel the good name of Labour party members, of trade union members and the Labour party has been besmirched by the behaviour of a few individuals – that’s why we’ve suspended the local party, that’s why we’ve now suspended two individuals, and that’s why we’re also clear that we’re losing down the scheme that allowed this abuse to happen.

“And I just want to be very clear about this: I’m not going to have abuse of membership procedures and Parliamentary selections in my party, and that is very clear and I want to be clear about that to the leadership of Unite the union in particular.”

Miliband’s comments came after a similarly forthright statement from Len McCluskey of Unite, as rather than today’s events dampening the tensions over Falkirk, the row between Unite and Labour looks set to rumble on.