CRITICISM of trade unions was cut at the last moment from a speech on Labour’s leadership contest delivered yesterday by Harriet Harman.

The acting leader spoke about the need to “let the public in” on the process by staging a live televised debate and open public hustings.

But she was due to say that the next leader would not be the “choice of the unions” when she addressed the press at the party’s Westminster headquarters.

The words were included in the early release copy of the speech posted online and sent to the press.

Ms Harman was expected to say: “The winner of this election is not going to be the choice of the unions or any single section or faction of the Labour Party.

“He or she is going to be choice of the Labour Party” (sic).

These comments would have echoed the outright attack on Unite launched by Jim Murphy on Saturday as he announced his resignation as Scottish Labour leader.

The tainted rightwinger stirred up division within the party, saying that “the next leader of the UK Labour Party should not be picked by (Unite leader) Len McCluskey.”

The speech Ms Harman was set to deliver, likely to have been written by a senior party staff member, was also scathing about the role of unions in electing Ed Miliband.

It said: “Last time the unions communicated directly with many of their members, sending them ballot papers with accompanying material only mentioning one candidate. There will be none of that this time.”

But the barbed comments on Unite and other unions were not included in the speech actually delivered by Ms Harman.

It is not clear whether the speech was redrafted because Ms Harman refused to make the comments.

Ms Harman did though dismiss suggestions that unions were gerrymandering the leadership contest, pointing out that they voted for the introduction of a one member, one vote electoral system.

“I don’t think there is going to be a break between Unite or any of the unions that are affiliated to the Labour Party,” she said.

Unite leader Len McCluskey also dismissed speculation that Unite would disaffiliate from Labour at its summer conference.

“We have no plans to disaffiliate from Labour. The party has never been more united,” he said.