Um... regarding the ongoing debate on BASSA's accounts, this isn't the first time that the certification officer has been called in. The last occasion was in 1996,when it ran a 12 month investigation on claims of financial irregularity. The conclusion drawn then was that there was no evidence of a significant issue of financial corruption, but that there was extremely bad administration, weak financial controls and nonimplementation of the union's rules regarding control of branch finances. The incumbent branch secretary was reported to collect over £100k pa of which half came from commission on membership dues.
Now given that was over 10 years ago, you'd think the members might have been a bit more savvy. You might also expect the union to have done more to ensure that BASSA were toeing the line. History does seem to be repeating itself.