 More challenging times lay ahead as Brunton performed a leading role in the prolonged print union conflict of The Times and Sunday Times during the late 1970s and early 1980s.Roy Thomson had previously purchased the titles from the Astor family in 1967 to form Times Newspapers Limited.After many years of disruption Thomson Management eventually took a particularly hard stance against the more militant elements of the print unions, which resulted in the closure of the loss making Times Newspapers from (1 December 1978 – 12 November 1979) however Times Newspapers continued to pay staff and company overheads during the closure.