A FORMER anti-terrorist police officer complained yesterday that being named in a letter from John McDonnell to the Home Secretary had ruined his life.

Ex-Scotland Yard copper Gordon Mills said that being mentioned as one of those involved in a blacklisting operation against trade unionists by the shadow chancellor was an “attack on his integrity.”

Mr Mills made the front page of the Evening Standard arguing the allegations were “simply not true” and that the Hayes and Harlington MP had “smeared” him.

A McDonnell spokesman confirmed that it had been “well within his right to raise with the Home Secretary the matter of a serving police officer meeting an organisation that was involved in the illegal blacklisting of trade unionists while this officer was working for a unit that kept union activists under surveillance.

“Any MP would be failing in his duty not to raise matters of such importance with the appropriate minister for investigation.”