TORY heavyweight Eric Pickles claimed to have rung in a new era of town hall “transparency” yesterday but instead launched a barefaced attack on trade unions.

The Communities Secretary boasted that he had “empowered an army of armchair auditors” to snipe at council spending as new rules forcing the publication of costs went live.

Freedom of information campaigners said the “transparency code” contained some “helpful” measures such as listing headline summaries of outsourcing deals costing £5,000 or more.