Glorious Twelfth party on the South Bank

The Glorious Twelfth party – featuring four models and two Bentleys – was held at the London Eye on the South Bank to launch a multi-million pound makeover of the Famous Grouse, while workers back in Scotland were trying to thrash out a pay deal.

The party – timed to coincide with the start of the grouse season – was under way on Thursday at the same time as union leaders were locked in negotiations in Glasgow to try to end a bitter pay dispute which could lead to strike action.

One union official told Glasgow's Evening News: "The audacity of the Edrington Group is quite unbelievable. Executives have spent an obscene amount of money while workers were trying to obtain a decent wage increase."

A number of activists had planned to gatecrash the party by staging a noisy demonstration as guests arrived at the London Eye. They abandoned the plan to avoid it jeopardising negotiations between the union and the company.

A spokesman for Famous Grouse claimed that the hire of the models, Bentleys and London Eye only cost around £2,000.