Union members say their safety was put at risk after activists named them in a campaign against an "offensive" staff newsletter.

Now Unison could drop its support for Brighton and Hove Unemployed Workers Centre, which circulated copies of the offending leaflet to claimants.

Centre secretary Tony Greenstein and activist John Drury could also be brought before the union's National Executive Committee, which will decide if their union membership should be withdrawn.

It follows a row about articles printed in the staff newsletter of the Housing Benefit Fraud Service in June last year.

Mr Greenstein and other activists accused fraud staff of being offensive to claimants and said the articles mocked people on benefits and were insensitive.

In one section a fraud investigator recalled how his worst moment was when he had been stuck in a "nutter's flat" with a colleague and had been unable to open the door, with the "nutter" outside.

Another section was headlined The Top Three pension Excuses, where investigators were invited to submit people's classic excuses for not declaring an occupational pension.

Contributions came from staff at Brighton and Hove Housing Benefit Investigations and the Central Sussex Benefit Fraud Investigation Service.

Members of the Unemployed Workers Centre distributed copies of the leaflets to claimants, prompting complaints from Unison members whose names had been revealed to claimants.

Alex Knutsen, Unison branch secretary for Brighton and Hove, agreed the newsletter was offensive but he said some members felt their safety had been compromised.

He said it would be easy for disgruntled claimants to trace staff whose names were revealed, even though the staff had nothing to do with the production of the newsletter.