Eric Hammond, former leader of the EETPU electricians’ trade union, will be remembered primarily for his secret deal in 1986 with Rupert Murdoch to break the power of print unions over newspaper production. His members set up and operated new presses at News International’s Wapping site in east London and for months were bussed in under police escort amid violent demonstrations.

That deal helped transform the economics of newspaper production. But Hammond, who has died aged 79, had a wider impact. A one-time left-winger, he turned into a scourge of militant trade unionism, running what seemed like a one-man campaign to force the labour movement to adapt to the changing global economy.