Monday 10.38am. Natfhe's strident general secretary John Akker blasts off a fax with a broadside at Colleges' Employers' Forum chief executive Roger Ward over his role in the lecturers' contract dispute. "Colleges should realise that the major obstacle to a settlement is their organisation's chief executive," fumes Akker, bemoaning "the lies told".
Monday 12.44pm. Second version of Natfhe press release creeps off the fax, with a message to note the amended second page. Natfhe's cautious general secretary John Akker ticks Ward off for "the half-truths told".