McDonnell lays into Brown over BA cabin crew rant

Despite continuing efforts to get talks restarted, Mr Brown bizarrely chose to sound off against the workers during an interview with BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.

Mr Brown snorted that the planned strikes by cabin crew were "unjustified and deplorable. We should not have a strike. It's not in the company's interest, it's not in the workers' interest and it's certainly not in the national interest."

Mr Brown urged that "we have got to find a way in which the two sides can get together," but a Downing Street spokesman refused to comment on possible behind-the-scenes action. Mr McDonnell accused Mr Brown of "making public statements that can only exacerbate the situation."

He tabled a Commons early day motion declaring that Mr Brown and Transport Secretary Lord Adonis "would be better employed bringing both sides together to facilitate a negotiated settlement."

Mr McDonnell accused: "By coming down today so strongly on the side of the management, Gordon Brown and Andrew Adonis have only made things worse.

"What is needed is a cool-headed, objective approach from the Prime Minister."

Unite union joint leader Tony Woodley said: "I don't blame our PM for trying to help bring together parties to resolve the dispute.

"But it is rather unfortunate that politicians of all parties always want to kick the unions and kick the employees when in actual fact it's my members who've been kicked here."

Conservative Party chairman Eric Pickles moaned about new Labour's financial relationship with cabin crew union Unite, which he said now provided "25 per cent" of new Labour's funding.

Mr Pickles complained that the Prime Minister was "so reliant on this increasingly militant union that is intent on bringing a British company to its knees."

Thousands of cabin crew are set to walk out for three days from this Saturday and four days from March 27 in a dispute over jobs, pay and working conditions.