Unite accuses Willie Walsh and BA of "buying" Tory MPs

Unite claimed that BA could have given up to £15,000 in free flights to Conservative Mark Pritchard, MP for The Wrekin, following what the union called a “viscious” attack by Mr Pritchard in the House of Commons this week.

During a Commons session on the BA strike Mr Pritchard accused Unite of “arch-hypocrisy” and asked if top union bosses “should set an example and forgo some of their £150,000-a-year pay packets?”

Mr Pritchard was then rebuked by the Speaker of the House, John Bercow, who said that the question did not relate to the issue being discussed.

Unite said that Mr Pritchard was guilty of a “clear breach of parliamentary protocol” by not declaring free flights provided by BA.

The union said, “In recent years Mark Pritchard has regularly enjoyed flight upgrades on his frequent Washington trips, up from economy plus to business class. On one occasion BA's generosity extended to include Mr Pritchard's wife, who was also granted an upgrade to business class. BA business class flights to Washington cost over £2,000 single. Unite estimates then, that in the past few years Mr Pritchard has benefited to the tune of £15,000 in flights - more than a cabin crew member at Gatwick earns in a year.”

Tony Woodley, Unite joint general secretary, said, "This is extraordinary hypocrisy from the Tories - their union-baiting charge is being led by someone with his snout in BA's trough.

"This Tory was happy enough to sip champagne in business class and be cared for by the BA cabin crew - but now he launches this disgraceful attack on them today.

"Willie Walsh should come clean on how many MPs he's bought - and MPs and the speaker of the House of Commons should demand to know why Mark Pritchard kept his BA kick-backs secret."

Unite’s accusations come after David Cameron, leader of the Conservatives, accused the government of being a “wholly owned subsidiary of Unite”.

Mr Cameron’s comments referred to the fact that 25 per cent of Labour funding in the last few years has come from Unite, around 160 Labour candidates are being contested by Unite members and the fact that Unite’s political director, Charlie Wheelan, is a regular visitor to Number 10 and is a close advisor to Prime Minister Gordon Brown.