Short goodbye

Some see him as the Trojan Horse sent to infiltrate the enemy before the troops storm in. Or perhaps he is more a Helen, whose defection to the enemy drew her jealous clan in hot pursuit. Either way, life could get tricky for Tom Wilson, assistant general secretary of the Association of University Teachers. Wilson announced this week he was joining rivals Natfhe as head of the universities department - on the day Natfhe and the AUT revealed they wanted to form two separate higher and further education unions, joined in a federation.

Wilson said he wanted to use his ten years' experience at AUT to overcome obstacles to closer working between the unions. So long as he is not one of them.