A LABOUR candidate embroiled in a High Court libel battle with a union has told a judge about a WhatsApp group of Labour MPs called the "Birthday Club".

Anna Turley, who was MP for Redcar and hopes to regain the seat at the forthcoming General Election, told Mr Justice Nicklin that the Birthday Club was a "closed, confidential group of individuals".

She said members had a "common interest" - sharing views and concerns amongst "moderate MPs" about the direction of the party.

Ms Turley said the group was a "useful means" of communicating privately and efficiently" and admission had been "carefully managed".

She has sued the Unite union over a March 2017 article published on an internet blog after she made an application for union membership.

Ms Turley, 40, says the article on the Skwawkbox blog - which contained a press statement from Unite, libelled her by conveying the meaning that she had acted dishonestly in submitting an application to join the union.

She has also sued Stephen Walker, a journalist who writes, edits and publishes Skwawkbox, and says Unite misused her private information.

Union bosses, and Mr Walker, are fighting the case and say Ms Turley has been dishonest and is not fit to be an MP.

Mr Justice Nicklin is overseeing a High Court trial in London.

The judge has heard that in December 2016, Ms Turley applied to be a Unite member under a Community membership category.

He has been told that Unite's Community section was aimed at people not in paid employment and cost 50p a week.

A barrister representing Unite says Ms Turley had been willing to "conceal, mislead and deceive".

Anthony Hudson QC told Mr Justice Nicklin that she wanted to vote against Unite general secretary Len McCluskey in an election without being noticed and without the union knowing she was an MP.

Ms Turley accepts that she joined the union so she could vote in an election and vote out Mr McCluskey, But she said she thought that she could join the Unite Community section.

She told the judge on Tuesday how then Labour MP Ruth Smeeth, who represented Stoke-on-Trent North, had alerted her and other Birthday Club members to a Unite election in a late-night WhatsApp message on December 5 2016.

"The message was sent to all members of a WhatsApp group called the Birthday Club," she told the judge in a written witness statement.

"The Birthday Club consisted of 51 Labour MPs at the time.

"It was a closed, confidential group of individuals with a common interest, namely sharing views and concerns amongst the moderate MPs about the direction of the party, sharing parliamentary activity, and discussing policy and politics.

"The group was a useful means of communicating privately and efficiently.

"Admission to the group was carefully managed by the group's then administrator, Chris Leslie MP."

She added: "I immediately replied to Ruth saying, 'Reckon they will notice if I try to join?'

"Ruth replied saying, 'Nope, Join the community branch it's cheaper! X "This prompted Stella Creasy MP and Chris Leslie MP, two other members of the WhatsApp group, to ask Ruth to send round the link to the community branch."

Ms Turley said she had followed the hyperlink and applied to join online using her mobile phone.

She said there was no indication that employed people could not be members of the Community section.