[gpt]Rewrite this article in 3-5 professional paragraphs with insights and context. Use
subheadings for each section. End with “Why it matters:” followed by one impactful sentence:
Contractor on Unite’s disastrous hotel project also allegedly gave football tickets to former union boss
Len McCluskey, the former head of Unite, accepted private jet flights and football tickets arranged by the company building a multimillion pound hotel for the union, according to an internal dossier.
The Flanagan Group, which is run by friends of McCluskey, overcharged Unite by at least £30m for the Birmingham hotel and conference centre project, the interim report said.
The union spent “at least” £72m more than the hotel complex was worth.
Unite awarded the Flanagan Group the contract to build the hotel with “no competitive tendering process” and despite the company “having a history of poor performance, delays … and cost overruns on previous contracts”.
McCluskey described the company’s bosses as “good friends”.
A £400,000 union loan towards the purchase of a £700,000 flat for McCluskey had not been authorised by the executive committee in advance.
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Source: Politics | The Guardian
