The Labour Party is to face legal moves to force it to set up branches in Northern Ireland, it emerged today.
GMB trade unionist Mr Andy McGivern, who has been waging a campaign to force Labour to organise in the North, revealed he is planning to approach equality commissions in England and Northern Ireland to help fund a court case against the party.
Mr McGivern said: "The basis of the case is that Labour is contravening Article 25 of the Race Relations Order (Northern Ireland 1997) by refusing to set up branches in the province.
"The article makes it unlawful to deny anyone on racial grounds membership of an organisation and Labour is doing just that by refusing to organise in Northern Ireland."
Mr McGivern announced his plan to take Prime Minister Tony Blair's party to court after the political office in Downing Street told him it was against Labour's constitution to set up branches in Northern Ireland.
Labour's sister party in Northern Ireland is the Social Democratic and Labour Party. However, campaigners for Labour organising in Northern Ireland argue that the SDLP, while it is a member of the Party of European Socialists, is primarily a nationalist party.
Mr McGivern said today he was seeking the support of his trade union for the case which would be taken in one of Northern Ireland's county courts.
"I am prepared to take this all the way and that means going to the European courts, if necessary," he added.
He is due to address GMB-affiliated Labour MPs in Westminster in July. He is also pressing the union to place a motion before Labour's next party conference, calling on it to lift its ban.
PA