DEPUTY PM Nick Clegg came under renewed fire yesterday for taking cash from a boss who is planning to force British workers onto the dole queues in order to take advantage of budget Bulgarian wages.

The loathed Lib Dem leader has pocketed £34,500 from Autofill Yarns director Anthony Ullmann to help him hang onto his Sheffield Hallam seat in the face of a strong Labour challenge.

Mr Clegg has refused to criticise Mr Ullmann over his plan to sack 160 staff at the company’s Nottinghamshire factory in order to move production abroad.

Bulgaria has the lowest average Labour costs in the European Union at €3.70 (£2.91) per hour, according to the European Commission.

And Labour MP Kevin Brennan asked him yesterday whether he would still be taking the bosses’ bung if the threatened jobs were in Sheffield.

But Mr Clegg insisted it was a private matter and claimed he was “less in hock to vested interests” than MPs who receive funding from trade unions.

“I certainly make no apologies for the transparent way in which myself and my colleagues in my party receive donations,” he said.

“It’s a lot more transparent and a lot less in hock to vested interests than the huge dollops he and his party receive from the trade unions.”

The Star reported last month how the Lib Dem resorted to a similar slur when quizzed on his link with Mr Ullmann in Parliament.

TUC Midlands regional officer Lee Barron hit back, telling Mr Clegg trade union money is “the most transparent form of political funding that exists.”