THE Finchley Labour aide who tried to launch a vicious smear campaign against the Conservatives could be ousted from the party.

Damian McBride, one of the Prime Minister’s closest advisers, quit his job last Saturday over emails that discussed setting up a website to spread malicious gossip about opposition members' private lives.

Now his position in the Labour party is on the line as members of his Finchley and Golders Green constituency decide whether to throw him out.

Labour MP for Finchley and Golders Green Rudi Vis supported his expulsion.

He said: “What he did was scandalous, totally scandalous.

“Something like this is really important, especially when the Government is not doing very well. He has done the Labour party an enormous disservice.

“I don’t believe he is the sort of member we should have.

“I have never met him, never seen him at any meetings, never even heard of him before, so it won't be any loss to us.”

Mr Vis said he believed Gordon Brown knew nothing about the emails, but admitted there was “maybe something rotten in Number 10”.

Mr McBride used his Downing Street account to send the emails in January to former Government spin doctor Derek Draper, who came up with the idea of the Red Rag gossip website.

The messages, which contained unfounded allegations about affairs between leading Tory MPs, were leaked when they came to the attention of Paul Staines, author of the Guido Fawkes blog.

Constituency executive committee member David Robinson said a decision would be made on Mr McBride’s future at the next executive meeting, on May 11.

The group's recommendations will then be accepted or rejected by the General Committee on May 27.

Mr Robinson said: “I can’t say absolutely yes or no as it is not my decision to make.

“But I will say that he has not done the Labour party any favours.

“Lots of people are saying that what he did was stupid, but it was much more than that – it was wrong.

“If we want to win the next general election, we need ideas and promises that the public will support.

"Attacking policies is fine, but attacking people on a personal level is just not right.

“You should never try to make capital out of other people’s lives.”

Andrew Dismore, Labour MP for Hendon, criticised the former aide, but stopped short of calling for his removal from the party.

He said: “Individual party membership is for him and his constituency to discuss and I will not be drawn on that.

“But smears are always pretty unpleasant, even if true, and doubly so if not.

“This was not acceptable and the Prime Minister has dealt with it and him, including an apology.

“There is plenty of meat to attack the Tories on, politically, locally and nationally, without this stuff."

The Prime Minister apologised last Thursday for the emails, saying he took "full responsibility for what happened".