FROM an Accrington mill to British MP via a Moscow spy school. The story of Margaret McKay could easily have been the plot of a Hollywood blockbuster.

Born in Oswaldtwistle as Margaret McCarthy, the controversial Communist has died aged 89, leaving behind a tale of political secrecy and intrigue.

Her swing to Communism was triggered by an active involvement in the labour movement of the turbulent 1920s.

Then, following a trip to the Soviet Union, she was invited to Germany as a guest of the Communist Party.

In her autobiography 'A Generation in Revolt,' she describes her association with a spy school in Stalin's Moscow.

There are also reports of a friendship with Lenin's widow when Margaret worked in the trade union section of the Comintern, under the code name Clyde.

She resigned from the Communist Party and returned to Hyndburn to join the Accrington Trades Council and Oswaldtwistle Labour Party.

But it was as Labour MP for Clapham South West that she made most enemies.

During her time in office she was heavily criticised for frequent visits to the Middle East.

She set up the Anglo-Iranian parliamentary group and as the Six Day War raged, Margaret chaired a Jordan-British Friendship Fund, set up in the women MPs' restroom of the Commons.

She fell out of favour with her Clapham constituents and was deselected in 1970. She blamed media tycoon Robert Maxwell.

In a letter to Jim Ainsworth, author of a book about Hyndburn Trade Unions, Mrs McKay wrote: "..he (Maxwell) was my bitter political foe and aided in driving me out of Parliament.

"I had had four books published but Maxwell repeatedly swore to me that he would ensure I never had another."

After her de-selection, Margaret retired to the United Arab Emirates port Abu Dhabi, where she ended her days.

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