Brown 'intervenes in BA disputewith phone call to union leader'

Gordon Brown intervened personally in a bid to prevent planned strike action by British Airways cabin crew, it was claimed today.

The Prime Minister is said by TheGuardian to have telephoned the joint general secretary of the Unite union, Tony Woodley, at the weekend to discuss possible solutions to the dispute.

The move emerged as the Government was embroiled in an extraordinary row with the country’s biggest union – and one of Labour’s biggest donors.

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Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said the planned seven days of industrial action could put the future of the airline at risk, calling the walkouts “totally unjustified”.

Unite hit back at the Minister, saying he was “badly informed” about the long-running dispute, adding that he should be urging the airline to reinstate an offer it withdrew last week.

Privately, union officials were said to be “livid” with Lord Adonis, one saying he had “blundered” into the dispute without knowing all the facts.

It is understood that the union made representations to 10 Downing Street about the Minister’s intervention.

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Lord Adonis appealed to Unite to return to the negotiating table in an attempt to avert the industrial action planned to begin with a three day strike from next Saturday, followed by a four day stoppage from the following weekend.

Lord Adonis told BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show: “The impact this will have will not only be deeply damaging on passengers, it will ... threaten the very existence of British Airways.

“The stakes are incredibly high in this strike. I absolutely deplore the strike, it is not only the damage it is going to do passengers and the inconvenience it’s going to cause – which is quite disproportionate to the issues at stake – but also the threat it poses to the future of one of our great companies in this country.”

A Unite spokesman said: “Unite was preparing to put BA’s offer to our members. Had they accepted it, there would be no strikes.

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“However, the company withdrew that offer on Friday without explanation. Lord Adonis should publicly urge management to put that offer back on the table.”

A Downing Street spokeswoman did not deny The Guardian claim that Mr Brown had called Mr Woodley, but said there would be no “running commentary” on efforts to resolve the dispute.