More news from Animal Farm

Continuing a great tradition of some trough-snuffling pigs being more equal than others, we have this gem in the Gaariund:

The joint leader of the country's biggest trade union is expected to face questioning today by his national executive over demands he has made for nearly £100,000 to vacate a heavily subsidised London flat which was purchased by a personal acquaintance in a deal worth £1m.

Tony Woodley, the joint general secretary of Unite, which represents some of the lowest paid workers in the United Kingdom and is now bankrolling the Labour party, is to be asked to explain his role in the deal, which was originally a sale between another union and a commercial company.

Hmmm. So, let me get this straight: he was living in a heavily subsidised flat and when they wanted to chuck him out, he didn't say "Thanks for letting me stay there for fuck all for the last 15 years", he said "Give me £100,000 and I'll move"???

And I do mean for fuck all:

Woodley has been living there for 15 years at a fixed rent of £200 a month with all his electricity and heating bills included

Jesus. Even in Elephant and Castle, that's a fucking sweet deal. And it's described as "a historic building", so it's probably not just two up and two down terrace in a slum, either.

• The flat has never been registered as a residential dwelling so Woodley has never paid any council tax on it.
• It was granted to him as an inter-union favour by the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU).
• The CSEU was negotiating to sell the commercial offices and the flat to a Scottish property company, Unicorn Developments, and offered him £15,000 to quit it.
• After much negotiating they later raised this to £55,000 but suddenly, to the company's solicitors' surprise, the Transport and General Workers Union – as part of Unite – made an identical offer for the same building.
• Then a private company in Woodley's home town in Merseyside, Purple Apple, which also has a contract to manage the TGWU properties, made a higher offer. Documents show that the sale was made personally to the late Gerry White, then director of the firm and who the union confirm was a long standing acquaintance of Woodley's. The commercial firm pulled out.

Go read the whole thing.

Brothers.