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| Union boss Jack Jones dies at 96 | Union boss Jack Jones dies at 96 |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Jack Jones, who led the Transport and General Workers' Union in the 1970s, has died at the age of 96. | Jack Jones, who led the Transport and General Workers' Union in the 1970s, has died at the age of 96. |
| His son Mick said Mr Jones died peacefully in a care home in Peckham, south London, on Tuesday evening. | His son Mick said Mr Jones died peacefully in a care home in Peckham, south London, on Tuesday evening. |
| Mr Jones was born in Liverpool and was general secretary of the TGWU from 1969 to 1978 at a time when it was one of the country's most powerful unions. | Mr Jones was born in Liverpool and was general secretary of the TGWU from 1969 to 1978 at a time when it was one of the country's most powerful unions. |
| His son said: "He had all the care he could want. He was active until the very end and had a good innings." | His son said: "He had all the care he could want. He was active until the very end and had a good innings." |
| Former TUC general secretary Norman Willis said Mr Jones was a "fighter" who would be fondly remembered. | Former TUC general secretary Norman Willis said Mr Jones was a "fighter" who would be fondly remembered. |
| "I worked with Jack in the T&G and through the TUC for many years. Jack Jones was a great fighter for ordinary people whether they were at work or unemployed or later as pensioners," he said. | "I worked with Jack in the T&G and through the TUC for many years. Jack Jones was a great fighter for ordinary people whether they were at work or unemployed or later as pensioners," he said. |
| "He never forgot the underdog and will be remembered with affection." | "He never forgot the underdog and will be remembered with affection." |
| 'True giant' | |
| Mr Jones fought in the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s and served as a Liverpool city councillor between 1936 and 1939. | |
| He became a TGWU organiser in Coventry and worked his way up through the union to become general secretary. He was on the Labour Party's policy-forming National Executive Committee from 1964 to 1967. | |
| Mr Jones, who turned down a peerage, continued his campaigning - for pensioners' rights - after retirement from his union post. | |
| TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said Mr Jones was a "true giant of the Labour movement". | |
| "He was a passionate internationalist showing raw courage on the battlefields of the Spanish Civil War," he said. | |
| "After his working life as a trade unionist, he became a champion for pensioners, holding ministers to account without fear or favour and urging governments to deliver dignity to the elderly." |