Agree that these threats if real are unacceptable BUT everyone please be clear there is simply no evidence as to where they came from, so lets keep an open mind on that.
As an outside observer of the events, it is apparent that any number of parties in these disputes could have been responsible either as a deliberate strategy or as a sign of the ongoing pressure of the moment or even stupidity.
Remember the outcome this morning is overwhelming sympathy for the company and general denigration of the tactics of the unions, nothing more and nothing less and with no fact as to the source.
The other point that should be made is that the actions of the Exec so far go way beyond looking like a threat, they were a threat and delivered in a way over many years that has largely been responsible for the situation that now exists between the Rat and its employees.
Some balance and perspective needed by all I would say on these issues.