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Reported today on City AM

For the full article visit: https://www.cityam.com/sir-kei....r-starmer-in-bullyin

Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of being complicit in the bullying of local party members in what has been described by some as a smear campaign against the Labour leadership frontrunner.A complaint has been made by the Holborn and St Pancras Constituency Labour Party (CLP) to party general secretary Jennie Formby, claiming Starmer's allies had subjected left-faction members to "hostility and abuse".Read more: Sadiq Khan backs Sir Keir Starmer for Labour leaderThe 31 Corbynistas complained that Starmer "has not tried to foster unity within our CLP" and had shut out the left-faction members from the branch, according to the Sunday Telegraph.However, allies of the shadow Brexit secretary claim that the letter is an attempt to undermine Starmer and prop up the left's preferred candidate – Corbyn ally Rebecca Long-Bailey.One ally told The Telegraph that the allegations were a "desperate and naked attack" on Starmer as his lead in polling continues to widen."One thing that all of us know about Keir is that he plays by the book and is committed to justice and fair play," they said."The campaign that is being run against him really is in the gutter at this stage."Elements of Starmer's local party have regularly fought against the Holborn and St Pancras MP and his allies, with particular pressure from Corbynista campaign group Momentum.Camden Momentum, who operate within Starmer's CLP, told Labour voters not to vote for their local MP in the leadership contest when he announced his candidacy.The group wrote in an op ed in the Camden New Journal that Starmer was "making an opportunistic tilt to the left – because he correctly perceives that the majority of the membership wants to continue what Jeremy Corbyn started".Read more: Keir Starmer is reminding Labour what winning look