Sir Ken Jackson has until now proudly proclaimed himself as Tony Blair's favourite trade unionist.

Described as a right-winger, he has defended the government's penchant for public-private partnership and was regarded as the prime minister's arch-fixer.

He is a moderniser and a chief advocate of the euro, who has accused Chancellor Gordon Brown of "ducking" the issue.

Sir Ken, 65 this year, believes up to three million jobs could be lost if the UK stays outside the single currency.

'Close ally'

He delivered a vote in favour of Frank Dobson, Mr Blair's chosen candidate for London Mayor, without a ballot of his members.

He has called for the TUC to replace its annual conference with a joint gathering with the CBI to get rid of the "them and us" mentality.

And he has criticised TUC general secretary John Monks for holding talks with Tory MPs.

Sir Ken has generally been supportive of the Blair administration and it is this closeness which is responsible for his current predicament.

Knighthood

In recent months, radical young leaders have won posts at the CWU, RMT and FBU.

They have adopted a more robust approach to relations with Labour, cutting political funding and threatening and carrying out strike action in pursuit of their aims.

However, Sir Ken's loyalty resulted in a knighthood in 2001.

He was an electrician in the RAF, before joining the Electrical Trade Union (ETU) in 1966.

Derek Hatton

Sir Ken was a local branch secretary in Wigan, moved on to Preston taking an area post and then took responsibility for Merseyside and the North West in the 1980s.

The union expanded and fought battles with the Militant Tendency while pressing for modernising Labour policies.

He clashed with Derek Hatton, Liverpool council's militant leader. Sir Ken carried out his union business with a bodyguard during those times.

In 1995 Sir Ken became general secretary of the merged AEEU, which has since merged with MSF to form Amicus, which has a million members, mainly in manufacturing.