Controversial union chief Bob Crow is set to be re-appointed to a top London job.

The leftwing RMT general secretary will be given a seat on the poweful Transport for London board next week, according to reports.

However re-elected mayor Ken Livingstone, who was forced to defend the choice when he selected Crow in his first term, may move the announcement from next Tuesday when it is due to clash with an RMT strike.

The transport union chief is one of the government's most vociferous critics but Livingstone, now back in the Labour Party, has stuck by him in a bid to win workers' support.

But Crow has still called his members out on a 24 hour industrial action in protest against London Underground's failure to reach an agreement on pay and conditions for tube staff.

The move, which employers are taking legal advice on preventing, will cause massive disruption to commuters.

Livingstone was due to announce the make-up of the new TfL board at his weekly City Hall press conference on Tuesday, according to the Evening Standard.

But he would be highly embarrased by naming Crow as a member on the same day as the strike begins.

"I am not revealing it in dribs and drabs, the whole membership of the board will be revealed soon," the mayor told Wednesday's paper.

Conservative chairman of the London Assembly Brian Coleman said reappointing Crow would be a "slap in the face of Londoners".

"If the RMT is holding London to ransom, how on earth can Livingstone reappoint it to the TfL board?" he asked.