THE president of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Newton B Jones, was sacked from his post today for alleged misuse of union funds for personal use.

The union is known in Britain because of a planned merger with transport union TSSA which fell through last year after being agreed against widespread opposition within TSSA, whose own then leader Manuel Cortes would also later be dismissed.

Mr Jones, who had led the boilermakers since 2003, was ordered to reimburse the union and to immediately resign from all positions. 

The union’s executive committee had been told to pay his wife Kateryna more than $100,000 (£79,814) plus benefits “for apparently no union purpose while she was living in Ukraine” and spent more than $20,000 (£15,957) on flights to Ukraine for Mr Jones “to visit his wife and to go to the home which he owns in the Ukraine.”

Mr Jones and his wife also submitted about $40,000 (£31,914) in receipts for lavish and expensive meals in North Carolina with no justification for the expenses. 

Mr Jones said in an email to the Kansas Star, without elaborating, that the situation was not what it seems. 

A statement from the executive today said: “The drastic action of removing president Jones immediately and directing other actions is clearly necessary because of the seriousness of these allegations and the harm to our membership.” 

Mr Jones has the right to appeal at the union’s next national convention in 2026.