Len McCluskey, former head of the Unite union, accepted flights on a private jet arranged by a building company, it has been revealed.
An investigation entitled ‘Project Clean Up’ led by McCluskey’s successor, Sharon Graham, found that he had taken flights and accepted tickets to the Champions League finals in 2018 and 2019 from Flanagan Group.
The building firm was commissioned to build a multi-million pound hotel and conference centre for the union in Birmingham, and the investigation found that it had overcharged the union by at least £30 million.
Flights and football tickets were “consistently organised and paid for” by the Flanagan Group, the investigation report found, with no indication that McCluskey had reimbursed the company.
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In her message to union members and representatives in the report, Graham said: “I said at the time of the election that I would leave no stone unturned to get to the truth and that is exactly what I have done.”
The investigation included an independent inquiry by KC Martin Bowdery into the Birmingham hotel project. This was then followed by two further independent reports into the deal; an investigation into potential criminality, and an investigation by a team of forensic accountants.
They found that the union spent as much as £125 million on the development, which has since been valued at just £38 million.
Graham added: “It is clear that a relationship between the main contractor and the leadership of the union has been a significant factor in the investigations.
“Whether or not these activities reach a benchmark for prosecution is a matter for the police. But what is clear to me is that money left our union when it should not have, and other money that should have come into the union did not.”
McCluskey’s lawyers have rejected any suggestion of improper dealings.
He retired as union leader in 2021. Unite is one of the UK’s largest trade unions with more than 1.2 million members.
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