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divdiv class=story-body readability=71 span class=story-date#13; span class=date31 October 2013/span#13;span class=time-textLast updated at /spanspan class=time14:32 ET/span#13; #13;/span#13;#13; #13;#13;#13; #13; #13; #13; #13; p class=introduction id=story_continues_1The prime minister has described allegations that Unite union members targeted the homes of Grangemouth refinery managers as quite shocking./p#13; pThe row follows claims by an Ineos director that a mob was sent by Unite to his home to intimidate him during the recent dispute./p#13; pDavid Cameron called on the Labour Party to investigate the claims about the union, which is its largest donor. /p#13; pUnite insisted all its activities have been legal and legitimate./p#13; pThe union defended its use of so-called leverage tactics, where managers are directly targeted as part of a protest, and argued that bad employers should have nowhere to hide./p#13; div class=story-feature wide readability=13#13; a class=hidden href=#story_continues_2Continue reading the main story/a h2Analysis/h2#13; !-- pullout-items--#13; #13; !-- pullout-body--#13; pIt was a bitter dispute set against the backdrop of heavy industry./p#13; pBut it's become clear that the Battle of Grangemouth was also fought in the leafy suburbs of Fife and Hampshire./p#13; pThe BBC understands that four Ineos directors were targeted by protestors from Unite, a tactic the union calls leverage. Others call it intimidation./p#13; pIn a quiet corner of Dunfermline today neither the Ineos director who lives here, nor his neighbours, wanted to be interviewed, concerned about their security./p#13; pBut the reactions of people here ranged from bemusement to shock and anger./p#13; pOne woman told me that she thought the protest was disgusting. There had been children around, she said./p#13; pIn this smart suburb of Dunfermline, this feels a little like class war./p#13; #13; !-- pullout-links--#13; /div p id=story_continues_2It comes after an a href=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2480643/Labours-Unite-paymasters-intimidated-managers-oil-refinery-battle.htmlIneos director, who is believed to live in Dunfermline, told the Daily Mail/a how he feared for the safety of his wife and his two young children after 30 Unite protesters turned up at his home during the school holidays./p#13; pPolice Scotland confirmed officers were called to an address in Dunfermline on Friday 18 October following reports of a protest./p#13; pA spokesman said: The occupants were not present during the protest and demonstrators had dispersed prior to their return to the property. Inquiries into this matter are ongoing./p#13; pBBC Scotland understands several other Ineos executives, including chairman and founder Jim Ratcliffe, were targeted by Unite./p#13; pIt is understood from police sources that there were four Unite actions against Ineos staff in Hampshire in October. /p#13; pOne was at a hotel in Beaulieu; another at a yacht club in Lymington. Ineos's headquarters is at Lyndhurst, in Hampshire, and senior staff are thought to live in the area./p#13; pSpeaking at a Cameron Direct event in Wolverhampton, the prime minister said the claims should be properly investigated by the Labour Party./p#13; pMr Cameron said people had a right to protest, and trade unions had a right to represent their members and take industrial action./p#13; div class=story-feature narrow#13; a class=hidden href=#story_continues_3Continue reading the main story/a h2 class=quote“spanStart Quote/span/h2#13;blockquote readability=1p class=first-childI don't know the truth of these allegations but I condemn intimidatory tactics from either unions or management in any dispute”/p/blockquote#13;span class=endquoteEnd Quote/span#13; span class=quote-creditEd Miliband/span#13; span class=quote-credit-titleLabour leader/span#13;#13; /div p id=story_continues_3But he said: No-one has a right to intimidate. Nobody has a right to bully. Nobody has a right to threatened people's families. No-one has a right to threaten people in their homes. If these things have happened, it is very serious. It needs to be properly examined. /p#13; pWe shouldn't forget that the union action at Grangemouth was in danger of killing off an absolutely vital industry for Scotland and for the UK. /p#13; pSo, I think we need to have these actions properly investigated and I think the Labour Party does also need to investigate what has been happening in the Unite union, not least because the person in question (Unite official Stephen Deans, whose treatment by Ineos sparked the dispute) is still chairman of the Falkirk Labour Party. /p#13; pSo these actions need to be taken. It's not acceptable to intimidate people./p#13; pLabour leader Ed Miliband told BBC Radio Bristol he was against any intimidatory tactics in any situation and I think that's the most important thing./p#13; pHe added: Let me be clear about this. I don't know the truth of these allegations but I condemn intimidatory tactics from either unions or management in any dispute. /p#13; pI think what David Cameron should be doing though is making sure is that in this dispute we've now got people back to work, and that is really important because we need to protect that national asset of Grangemouth and need to protect those jobs and we do that by both sides working together./p#13; pThe Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps had earlier called on Mr Miliband to condemn Unite's tactics during the Grangemouth dispute./p#13; pIn his letter to Mr Miliband, Mr Shapps described the strategy as thuggish./p#13; div class=story-feature wide readability=10#13; a class=hidden href=#story_continues_4Continue reading the main story/a h2Analysis/h2#13; !-- pullout-items--#13; #13; !-- pullout-body--#13; pThe Grangemouth dispute and the Labour selection row in Falkirk are two separate controversies which are inextricably linked. /p#13; pClaims that Unite sought to fix the selection battle, so that its preferred candidate became the next Falkirk MP, forced Ed Miliband to overhaul his party's financial links with affiliated unions. /p#13; pWhen the original claims surfaced, the prime minister said it was a sign Len McCluskey was pulling Labour's strings. /p#13; pUnite's role in the near-closure of the Grangemouth petrochemical plant over the treatment of a shop steward involved in the Falkirk row has given Labour's opponents yet more ammunition. /p#13; pAllegations of dirty tricks by a union which many believe almost cost 800 Scottish workers their jobs adds fuel to a very political fire. /p#13; pWhile Unite denies wrongdoing, the latest development makes life for Labour and its links to Britain's largest union yet more uncomfortable./p#13; #13; !-- pullout-links--#13; /div p id=story_continues_4He urged Mr Miliband to condemn the approach, to refuse money from Unite until those responsible were disciplined, and again called on Labour to investigate allegations of vote rigging in the Falkirk constituency./p#13; pHe claimed Unite sent a group called the Leverage Team to threaten senior Ineos executives at home, and to seriously intimidate their families./p#13; pHe said it was clear from Unite's website that the tactics were not an isolated incident but a consistent strategy that they have used across the country./p#13; pUnite claims on its website that leveraging tactics have secured landmark victories in the past against employers such as Honda, London Buses and Mayr Melnhof Packaging./p#13; pA spokesman for the union defended its targeting of Ineos managers during the Grangemouth dispute./p#13; pThe spokesman added: All the activities referred to are both legal and legitimate in the context of an industrial dispute. Bad employers should have nowhere to hide./p#13; pOf course all campaigning in the context of the Ineos dispute has now ended with the agreement made with the company. /p#13; pHowever, for the workers and their union to be described as 'bullies' is beyond satire./p#13; span class=cross-head'Rogue official'/span#13; pUnite also said Mr Shapps' letter showed how our basic liberties - including the right to protest - are not safe with the Tories and accused him of standing up for the powerful against the weak./p#13; !-- Embedding the video player --#13;!-- This is the embedded player component --#13;#13;#13; #13; #13;#13;#13;#13;!-- wwrights check --#13;!-- Empty country is used on test environment --#13;#13;#13;#13;div class=videoInStoryC readability=3#13; div id=emp-24765629-125657 class=emp#13; #13; #13; noscript#13; div class=warning readability=1#13; img class=holding src=http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/70835000/jpg/_70835319_70835318.jpg alt=General Secretary of Unite the Union, Len McCluskey/pstrongPlease turn on JavaScript./strong Media requires JavaScript to play./p#13; /div#13; /noscript#13; #13; !-- embedding script --#13; #13; /div#13; !-- companion banner -- #13; #13; #13; #13; !-- END - companion banner --!-- caption --p class=captionGeneral Secretary of Unite, Len McCluskey: Nothing illegal, and certainly no bullying or intimidation/p#13; !-- END - caption --#13; #13; #13;#13;/div#13;!-- end of the embedded player component --#13;#13;!-- Player embedded -- pThe Grangemouth dispute began over the treatment of Unite union official, Stephen Deans, over allegations he was involved in attempting to rig the selection of a Labour candidate in Falkirk./p#13; pIt escalated to the threat of strike action but despite this being dropped, the operator shut down the plant and issued a survival plan, which was rejected by union members./p#13; pIneos then announced the closure of the petrochemical plant at the site with the loss of 800 jobs. /p#13; pAfter crisis talks, the union accepted the revised terms and conditions, allowing the plant to stay open./p#13; pOn Wednesday, the prime minister blamed a rogue union official for the Grangemouth dispute./p#13; pSpeaking in the Commons, Mr Cameron said the dispute had nearly brought the industry to its knees./p#13; pUnite general secretary Len McCluskey has since challenged Mr Cameron to repeat his rogue official allegation outside of the Commons, to see what the courts make of them./p#13; div class=comment-introduction readability=-49#13; p class=introductionWhat is your reaction to this story? 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