Lyons was the first General Secretary of a major trade union to be removed from office by the Trades Union Certification Officer: Under the agreement to form Amicus, Lyons became Joint General Secretary of Amicus's MSF section.
Amicus's other Joint General Secretary was Derek Simpson, who was responsible for the AEEU section.
He and his supporters maintained that the requirement for an election was waived because he was within 5 years of retirement, but a legal challenge resulted in a ruling in May 2004[1] that he should "cease forthwith to hold office as Joint General Secretary of Amicus".
After the North Sea Piper Alpha disaster in which 167 men died, Lyons gave evidence to the Cullen Inquiry,[2] which led to new safety legislation to protect off-shore workers.
Lyons was a founder member of the Anti-Apartheid Movement and nominated Nelson Mandela for his first international honour as honorary president of University College London Union (UCLU).