Trade unions must not give the impression they are prepared to flout the “democratic will of the people” on the EU, Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan warned yesterday.

The rail union leader was addressing a Trade Unionists Against the EU (TUAEU) fringe on the theme Is Socialist Planning Compatible with the Single Market?

Mr Whelan warned that the EU’s fourth railway package will impose the disaster of Britain’s privatised railway across its member states and prevent renationalisation.