GUTTER PRESS barons were yesterday accused of putting out a “desperate smear” to help the Tories cling to power, after the Daily Mail ran a front page article attacking Labour candidate links to Unite.

The right-wing rag, which supported Adolf Hitler in the 1930s and last year branded Ed Miliband’s emigre father “the man who hated Britain,” accused Unite general secretary Len McCluskey of exercising a “sinister hold” over the Labour leader.

The paper claimed an “investigation” had revealed that 54 of the party’s 106 target candidates were associated with Unite — despite a similar finding being reported by gutter pals the Sun some months ago.

A number of trade unions have donated large sums to Labour in the run-up to the general election, but have also offered support to individual candidates on the ground, deploying canvassing teams to marginals and organsing “pizza and politics” rallies for pro-union candidates.

Yesterday union activists hit the streets in Chingford and Woodford Green, the suburban London constituency currently held by hated Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith.

The delegation was joined by Labour London Assembly member Tom Copley, who told the Star: “The trade unions are as much a part of the labour movement as the Labour Party.

“They’re a great way of drawing people into the Labour Party, which is why we have such a strong and diverse field of candidates standing across the country.

“It’s a desperate smear by people who don’t understand and do not seek to understand the Labour Party and how the party represents people.”

The Mail’s attempts to paint the candidate connections as something unusual are made laughable by Labour’s own rulebook, which requires all members in work to also be members of a trade union.

Unite said the financial contributions of trade union members compared favourably to the funding tactics of other parties in the election.

“Unlike the Tories who are bankrolled by hedge funds located in offshore tax havens, trade union money is the most transparent in British politics,” a spokesman said.

“Our money is used to support all Labour candidates fighting for working people up and down the country.”