UNITE welcomed the failure of a complaint today from right-winger Gerard Coyne, who called for a fresh election for the union’s general secretary position.

A ruling by assistant certification officer Jeffrey Burke QC rejected a complaint by challenger Mr Coyne, a noted political opponent of Mr McCluskey, which alleged serious irregularities and rule breaches in the union’s general secretary election last year.

Mr McCluskey beat Mr Coyne soundly last April, but the defeated candidate claimed that a general secretary election was in breach of union rules because Mr McCluskey’s previous term of office had not expired.

Mr Coyne’s legal team then demanded that the courts reject the election result and order a re-run of the contest.

However, Unite pointed out that Mr Coyne had never made a complaint or made any objections about any particular wrongdoing during the election.

Figures from across the breadth of the labour movement heavily criticised the actions of Mr Coyne and his campaigning style.

Many perceived Mr Coyne's campaign, which relied heavily on op eds in anti-union papers like the Sun, as an attack on the politics of Unite and its support for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

His campaign was also marred by allegations of physical intimidation, with several supporters – alleged to have been members of Blairite pressure group Progress – having apparently assaulted a female member of Unite staff during a “protest” against Mr McCluskey in the union’s London offices.

In the end, Mr Burke ruled that Mr McCluskey and Unite had acted in accordance with its rules during the election and had no case to answer.

A Unite spokesperson welcomed the ruling and expressed the union’s hopes that “Mr Coyne will accept the judgement and looks forward to the election being fully upheld following June’s hearing, allowing the union to focus unhindered on the job of representing its members.”

Mr Coyne, who was supported in his leadership bid by Progress and the right-wing organisation Labour First, said: “I am naturally disappointed by today’s ruling.”