A BELATED apology by a transport official for his anti-union rant against striking train drivers “rings hollow,” rail unions said yesterday.

Department for Transport (DfT) official Peter Wilkinson, who earlier this year called train drivers “muppets,” is accused by unions RMT and Aslef of lying about drivers’ salaries and getting a string of facts wrong.

At a public meeting in Croydon hosted by Tory MP Gavin Barwell in February, Mr Wilkinson said he wanted a “punch-up” with the rail unions and that he would force them into a strike, then “break” them.