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British Airways’ passengers are facing the threat of further disruption after the airline’s cabin crew yesterday voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action in a dispute over pay, sick leave and staffing levels.

BA managers were due to hold emergency talks with union leaders this morning in the hope of averting another bout of chaos at Britain’s airports. It would be the third standstill in less than a year after thousands of passengers were left stranded by bad weather in the run-up to Christmas and thousands more were affected by a terrorism scare last August.

The walkout could come as early as next week but a threat is also hanging over the half-term school holiday next month, a key time for travel. The union must give seven days notice ahead of its intention to call a strike and any action must be taken within 28 days of the ballot result.

Industrial action would ground international and domestic flights. BA has 550 flights in and out of Heathrow a day, carrying 60,000 passengers, and a further 180 flights to and from Gatwick, carrying 15,000 people.

The dispute over working practices is separate to a long-running disagreement over BA’s attempts to plug a 2.1bn pensions deficit. A pensions deal was agreed in principle with four unions this month, which would mean staff pushing back their retirement age. That has since been rejected by at least one union, the GMB, which is about to ballot its members, mostly check-in and IT staff, raising the threat of yet more misery for travellers.

The Transport and General Workers Union said 96.1% of its cabin crew members voted in favour of strike action. There was a turnout of more than 80% for the vote, with about 8,100 backing the plan and 330 against.

The airline has targeted 450m of savings over the next two years through changes in working practices.

Jack Dromey, the T&G deputy general secretary, said the vote had left “no room for doubt” about how strongly the cabin crew felt. The union said the issues had been building up for two years. Among its complaints, the union claims staff are being forced to work when they are unwell under new absence rules and that some higher pay grades are being abolished. The T&G is expected to issue a statement on the pensions dispute this week.

BA disputes that staff are being forced to work when they are unwell. The airline says it is merely asking for doctors’ notes and monitoring workers who are often absent in an effort to cut down the average of 22 sick days taken by cabin crew each year.

In a statement, BA said it was “very disappointed” by the T&G threat. “We have suggested ways of meeting the union’s concerns - but up to now it has either refused to discuss our proposals or rejected them out of hand.”

A WEALTHY businessman is facing jail after paying a man in a pub 500 to take the blame for a speeding offence.

Steven Stewart, from Perth, took the gamble after finding himself facing his fourth speeding charge in three years - and an almost certain ban under the “totting up” procedure.

His Range Rover was clocked doing 86mph in an area with a 70mph limit on the A9 dual- carriageway at Dunblane last March.

Officers from Central Scotland Police’s camera enforcement unit sent him a letter asking whether he was the driver - which was returned, signed by him, confirming that he was.

He was then issued with a formal offer of a 60 fixed penalty.

Stirling Sheriff Court was told yesterday that it was then that Stewart, 38, managing director of a company described in court as one of Scotland’s leading plumbing and heating firms, realised he could face a driving ban.

Prosecutor Catriona Steele said the fixed-penalty notice was not returned, but the camera enforcement unit received a request from Stewart’s office to view the video taken by their speed-camera van.

Miss Steele said the video proved to be hazy and unclear, and it could not be said who the driver was.

She said suspicions were then raised when a letter was received from another man, enclosing his licence and 60 cheque, and claiming to have been driving the Range Rover at the time.

This man was interviewed and confessed to police that he had agreed to stand in for Stewart.

The court heard the businessman met his speeding stand-in in the Cherrybank Arms, a Perth pub, where he offered him 500 as an inducement to falsely admit to the offence. Stewart also offered 60 to cover the fine.

In return the man gave Stewart his driving licence and a cheque for 60 to return to the police to complete the fraud.

Miss Steele said Stewart was interviewed by police on 21 September, 2006, and insisted the other man had been the driver.

He explained the fact that he had named himself, and not his accomplice, as the driver on the first form because his secretary had filled it in wrongly - and he had signed it without looking at it.

Miss Steele said: “He admitted he knew this other man, and said he had given him permission to drive the car. He then refused to answer further questions and said this was on legal advice.”

Stewart pleaded guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice and speeding.

The businessman gave as his address the headquarters of his firm - Chas Stewart Plumbing & Heating of Perth.

Defence solicitor Ken Dalling said Stewart - who had been going through an “acrimonious” divorce at the time - had talked the issue over with friends.

He said: “The discussion was on the lines of, ‘Is there anything to be done about this speeding ticket?’

“He was told of a friend of a friend who was prepared to take responsibility for the speeding ticket.”

Mr Dalling added: “Mr Stewart is the rainmaker for his company, travelling thousands of miles a year to bring in business, and the carrot was too much for him.

“He acted out of desperation, and he bitterly regrets it. His business is very profitable. He can pay any fine.”

He said Stewart was managing director of the company, founded by his father in the 1970s, and which now employed 20 people.

The firm boasts it covers contracts from the Highlands to Ayrshire, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Sheriff Andrew Cubie deferred sentence reports.

Releasing him on bail and imposing an immediate interim driving ban, Sheriff Cubie told him: “I don’t want you to be under any illusions, Mr Stewart - custody is a very realistic possibility in relation to this matter. I regard it as very serious.”

Referring to the fact that it was not until nine months after the incident that Stewart had admitted the scam, Sheriff Cubie told the court: “I find it very difficult to reconcile his expressions of extreme regret with the fact that he did not plead guilty at the first available opportunity.”

The businessman, a leading member of Perthshire Chamber of Commerce, was driven away from court in his Range Rover by a friend.

He said: “I’ve got no comment - nothing at all.”

Related topic

- http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=307
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=307

President George Bush flew to Europe to confront Vladimir Putin today over US plans to base a new missile defence system in former Russian satellite countries.

The White House described as unhelpful a warning by Mr Putin that if the US goes ahead with its plan, Russia will retaliate by training its missiles on European targets.

Echoing the White House line, a Nato spokesman, James Appathurai, said: “These kind of comments are unhelpful and unwelcome.”

US-Russian relations have deteriorated sharply since the two leaders met six years ago and Mr Bush said he had looked into Mr Putin’s soul and that he liked what he saw there.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Stephen Hadley, the national security adviser at the White House, acknowledged that “there has been some escalation in the rhetoric”.

He said: “We think that that is not helpful. We would like to have a constructive dialogue with Russia on this issue. We have had it in the past.”

Moscow sees the basing of the missile system in Eastern Europe as a threat. The US reiterated today it was a defence system, aimed not at Russia but countering a potential attack from so-called rogue states, namely Iran.

Mr Bush and Mr Putin are set for a showdown at the G8 summit in Germany, where they are due to hold bilateral talks on Thursday.

The Bush administration has become increasingly impatient with what it regards as Mr Putin’s increasingly authoritarian approach at home and abroad, the use of oil as a weapon to bully its neighbours, failure to support tough international sanctions against Iran and its championing of Serbian opposition to an independent Kosovo.

Mr Bush did little to soothe Russia by making his first stop in Europe the Czech Republic, which is to house a radar base integral to the missile system. He will end his tour in Europe in Poland, the other base for the missile system.

Downing Street responded to Mr Putin’s threat by saying Russia must decide whether it wants a constructive relationship with Europe and the west.

It is likely that Mr Putin and Tony Blair will meet at the G8 summit where he is expected to press Russia to recognise that the west respects Russia and want a constructive relationship on issues such as Kosovo and Iran.

A Bush administration source cautioned against any breakthroughs in US-Russian relations at the G8 summit. Hopes have been transferred to a more relaxed meeting at the Bush holiday compound in New England, scheduled for July 1-2.

Other US concerns include the crackdown by Mr Putin on pro-democracy activists in Russia, increasing centralisation and the possibility that he will not stand down, as required by the constitution, at the end of his term in office. There are fears that Mr Putin could exploit the showdown with the US as an excuse to extend his stay.

Under Russia’s constitution, Mr Putin is obliged to step down next spring after two four-year terms as leader. Mr Putin has always insisted he will leave office on schedule. But over the weekend he said he was too young to retire - a hint that he may be considering a continued political role.

Most analysts believe Mr Putin will indeed leave office unless he is convinced that Russia faces a serious external threat. But Mr Putin’s recent attacks on the west - and the sharp decline in US-Russian relations - could be interpreted as a sign that the threat has now arrived.

The pro-Kremlin United Russia party today said it would discuss with Mr Putin the issue of having longer presidential terms - probably from 2012 - lasting for five or even seven years. “We will have a meeting in early July and I believe we will discuss this initiative in detail,’ Boris Gryzlov, the party’s leader and Duma speaker said today.

Meanwhile, Mr Putin’s most probable successor, Sergei Ivanov, Russia’s first deputy prime minister, and another hawkish KGB veteran, hailed Russia’s recent successful cruise missile test.

Mr Ivanov said that the experimental short-range Iskander-M missile fired last week from southern Astrakhan had hit its target to within 1m.

“This is a good result considering it was a pretrial,” Mr Ivanov declared. The missile is likely to be deployed in the Russian enclave of Kalingrad and used to target the US missile bases in Poland and the Czech Republic, analysts suggest.