NUS to get corruption inquiry

The National Union of Students has bowed to demands from Scottish student leaders for an independent inquiry into allegations of corruption in the NUS.

A motion at the recent NUS Scotland conference, alleging that president Keith Robson had been involved in forged proxy-vote letters, was overwhelmingly defeated. But allegations about other Labour activists have since emerged in documents circulating in student unions.

Rob Shorthouse, president of Stirling's students representative council, wrote to Douglas Trainer, NUS president, calling for a decision on an independent inquiry's remit and composition by mid-May.

He warned that if Stirling's SRC was unhappy with the response, it was likely to seek a referendum on NUS membership.

Mr Shorthouse stressed that he did not belong to any political party, and was not pursuing an anti-Labour vendetta.

His letter said: "I think that the corruption has spread throughout our national union."

An NUS spokeswoman said: "The integrity of our democracy is something we take very seriously."