THE involvement of a former aide to Tony Blair in a plan to sack North-East supermarket workers who refused to quit their trade union was revealed yesterday.

Tim Allan, who was Downing Street's deputy press spokesman, is alleged to have urged Asda to make clear to staff at its Wearside depot that they would be dismissed if they refused to abandon the GMB, secret e-mails have shown.

The revelation provoked anger from Labour MP Fraser Kemp, who accused Mr Allan's public relations company of attempts to discredit the GMB.

The Houghton and Washington East MP has tabled a Parliamentary Motion criticising the tactics adopted by Portland PR, which was employed by the supermarket chain.

The motion is a major embarrassment to Mr Blair, who recently asked Mr Allan to return to Downing Street, an offer he rejected.

Last month, Asda was ordered to pay £850,000 to the 340 workers at the Washington depot after an employment tribunal ruled it had illegally discriminated against trade union members.

The staff will receive £2,500 each after Asda's offer of a ten per cent pay rise to give up a collective agreement negotiated by the GMB was found to be in breach of the law.

However, the plot to sack workers who refused the offer -and Mr Allan's involvement -was only revealed in e-mails disclosed to the union during the tribunal.

Seen by The Northern Echo, they show Asda seeking advice from the former No 10 spin doctor on a plan to give staff "a couple of weeks to sign up" and dismiss them if they refused. Mr Allan wrote back, saying: "We should not have a situation where people can claim they did not know the consequences of the ballot."

Mr Kemp, a former Government whip, said: "To be a member of a trade union is an absolutely fundamental right and people are entitled to exercise that right."

When the tribunal ruled, Paul Kenny, acting general secretary of GMB, said Asda had been found guilty of "trying to bribe their way to a union-free company".

An Asda spokesman said the e-mails between itself and Mr Allan were "simply an exchange as to the possible actions" if its workers voted for the proposals.

He said: "Colleagues did not vote for this package and, therefore, no changes to working practices took place.

"So all the e-mail refers to is a hypothetical situation that never arose."

A spokesman for Portland PR said it would not comm-ent on advice given to a client