FORMER trade union chief Alan Ritchie is being accused of falsely claiming up to £100,000 in expenses.

During his tenure as general-secretary of UCATT, Mr Ritchie is alleged to have misused his credit union card while making unentitled claims.

When elected, he continued to be based in Glasgow while UCATT rules say the general-secretary must be based in London.

Mr Ritchie claims the union offered him an accommodation allowance and agreed to cover travel costs.

In addition to claiming for travel to and from Glasgow, he is also accused of claiming on stays in Europe.

He denies any wrongdoing and described the accusations as "frankly amazing".

He added that his visits to Europe were 'always on union business'.

Mr Ritchie resigned last year, just before a union hearing to investigate the matter was due to start.