SHAUN BRADY, the suspended general secretary of the train drivers’ union Aslef, has angrily rejected a deal brokered by the TUC to attempt to stem the turmoil at the union.
Mr Brady, who was suspended from his £65,000-a-year job after fighting with the union’s president at a barbecue, was offered a year’s salary to leave his job but he said that it was an attempt to buy his silence.
The offer came after a meeting yesterday between Brendan Barber, the TUC General Secretary, and the Blairite Mr Brady.
The TUC’s move seems likely to have entrenched positions at the troubled union. Mr Brady said that he would rather “commit suicide” than accept the offer.
He said that he had been trying to defend a woman at the barbecue who he claimed had been hit by the union’s left-wing president, Martin Samways.
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A leaked report comissioned by the union and endorsed by the TUC into last month’s infamous barbecue revealed a night of heavy drinking, culminating in a brawl in the flowerbeds between the union’s two top officials.
Aslef’s executive is taking disciplinary action against Mr Brady and Mr Samways over the altercation.
But the report found no evidence that Mick Blackburn, Mr Brady’s deputy, had been involved in the fight. It also said that there had been no reason to suspend three members of staff, including Julie Atkinson, Mr Brady’s personal assistant, who was assaulted by Mr Samways.
The report criticised Keith Norman, the acting general secretary, saying that the suspensions were “wholly inappropriate and without any explanation consistent with an intention to conduct a fair and impartial investigation”.
The report, chaired by Professor Aileen McColgan, found deep divisions within Aslef and a heavy drinking culture. It said that some witnesses were too afraid to give evidence and some memories may have been “clouded by alcohol”.