Rail union leaders ‘walked away from enhanced deal’ that was set to end today’s 24hr strike: Anger as ‘militant RMT top brass intervened after local negotiators reached agreement with bosses’ – meaning workers WILL walk out bringing chaos to millions

• Mick Lynch will seek another six-month strike mandate when current one finishes towards the end of 2022 
• Raises prospect of strikes going into summer 2023, with Mr Lynch also not ruling out week-long walkouts 
• RMT union leader also threatened ‘the biggest resistance mounted by the entire trade union movement’ 
• Warning over proposals put forward by Liz Truss to stop them trying to ‘paralyse’ economy becoming late

Militant RMT union chiefs reportedly rejected Network Rail’s latest bumper offer despite initial plans to accept the deal, it was claimed yesterday, as Britain braces for another 24-hour walkout that will cripple the rail network. 

The union’s negotiators were understood to have had the rug pulled out from under their feet in crunch talks with the Government that could have seen Wednesday’s strikes called off.

RMT bosses reportedly quashed last-minute plans to accept Network Rail’s breakthrough offer, a ‘4+4’ deal that would have seen workers granted a 4% pay rise followed by another 4% bump next year, the Telegraph reported. 

Mick Lynch, the boss of the hard-Left union, said he will seek another six-month mandate for walkouts when the current one expires towards the end of the year. It raises the prospect of strikes spilling into early next summer.

The union firebrand also refused to quell claims that walkouts lasting several days could start being called in a bid to strong-arm rail bosses and ministers.

The RMT has so far called strikes on alternate days, with one 24-hour walkout taking place today and two in August, spelling chaos for commuters and holidaymakers. Workers also walked out on June 21, 23 and 25.

However, last night the RMT announced a new 24-hour strike on the London Underground on August 19. It dovetails with its national walkouts on August 18 and 20.

Asked if week-long walkouts were possible, Mr Lynch added: ‘We will look at our tactics as we go on. We’ll examine what’s most effective and how best to pursue our members’ interests.’

It came after a union source said: ‘We’re not doing two-week walkouts [at the moment] but we are fully prepared to do longer walkouts if we don’t get the deal we need.’

The militant RMT union has threatened to carry on striking until next summer as another 24-hour walkout cripples the rail network today. Pictured: Empty platforms at Victoria station on June 25, 2022

The RMT has so far called strikes on alternate days, with one 24-hour walkout taking place today and two in August. Workers also walked out on June 21, 23 and 25.

RMT union boss Mick Lynch (left, on an Elizabeth line train in London yesterday) and Tory leadership hopeful Liz Truss (right, in Stoke-on-Trent yesterday)

Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), arrives at London Paddington station today

RMT boss Mick Lynch (left, in London today) and Unite chief Sharon Graham (right, file image) have hit out at the proposals

Man, 30, to miss aunt’s funeral as rail strikes leave passengers ‘in limbo’

Kristian Melson, 30, is set to miss a funeral due to the rail strikes

Frustrated travellers have said upcoming rail strikes will leave them ‘in limbo’, with one passenger who is set to miss a funeral saying the disruption ‘isn’t helping me agree with their cause’.

Planned strikes on Wednesday and Saturday promise to halt thousands of services across the UK as many people scramble to find alternative travel arrangements.

Kristian Melson, 30, is an operations manager living in West Lothian, Scotland, and had hoped to attend his aunt’s funeral on Thursday after she died on July 13 at the age of 76. Mr Melson will now miss the service in Cambridge as Wednesday’s strikes disrupt later trains.

‘I am really frustrated that there are more strikes after recent disruption,’ he said. ‘I cannot see my family at such a tragic time. Most people understand the reasons why (staff) want to strike, we have all felt the squeeze in our finances because of inflation… The strikes are highlighting the issues the rail workers are facing but the disruption is angering travellers.

‘The strikes are stopping people going about their daily lives which isn’t helping me agree with their cause.’

Mr Melson is trying to reduce air travel to improve his carbon footprint but said flights were too expensive anyway. ‘I moved to Scotland knowing that I was only ever four hours away by train,’ he said. ‘My family are all based in the South East so they can go together by car between them. They are sad I cannot attend and pay my respects.’

Olly Hawkins, 28, hopes to make two Newcastle United football matches before attending a wedding in London on Sunday, but said Saturday’s strikes are keeping him ‘in limbo’ when it comes to his travel plans.

‘I’m just frustrated,’ the sports writer from Burton said. ‘I don’t know if I am going to be able to make either football match I’ve paid for and don’t know how I’ll get to London, either. (It is) stressful and frustrating – it takes away from the enjoyment of both occasions I’ve been looking forward to for weeks.’

Mr Hawkins aims to catch a train to Newcastle from Burton for the pre-season friendlies on Friday and Saturday at St James’ Park. But if his train to London on Saturday is cancelled, he will have to leave for London earlier and may lose up to £80 on train fares and wasted football tickets.

‘I’ll make sure I won’t (miss the wedding), but to do that might mean not even travelling to Newcastle for either of the games, which would be a real shame,’ he said. ‘Also, the late notice means any alternate train I am forced to book instead will likely be far more expensive. ‘It gives people very little time to make alternate plans.’

One insider told the Telegraph: ‘They have marched us up the hill and down again. The RMT executive seems intent on resurrecting the trade union movement in force.’

The union later denied the claims and said it was Network Rail who instead had got cold feet on the deal. 

It comes after Tory leadership frontrunner Liz Truss vowed to stop militant unions from ‘paralysing’ the economy.

Miss Truss wants to introduce legislation to ensure a minimum number of trains must run during strikes, mimicking measures in other European countries.

She also wants to raise the minimum threshold of support for strike action from 40 per cent of eligible workers to 50 per cent. She has promised to double the notice period for industrial action to four weeks as well as stop members receiving tax-free payments from their unions on strike days.

Mr Lynch said: ‘The proposals by Liz Truss amount to the biggest attack on trade union and civil rights since labour unions were legalised in 1871. Truss is proposing to make effective trade unionism illegal in Britain and to rob working people of a key democratic right. If these proposals become law, there will be the biggest resistance mounted by the entire trade union movement, rivalling the general strike of 1926, the Suffragettes and Chartism.’

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham was also outraged, saying: ‘Liz Truss has declared war on the trade union movement and working people. Let’s be clear, her madcap proposals are an attempt to all but ban strike action and outlaw effective trade unions. 

‘This manifesto is nothing but a charter of discontent. The rights of working people have been put on the chopping block by an ambitious politician, hawking for the votes of a tiny minority.

‘At the time of a cost of living crisis, where profits are driving inflation not wages, this would-be prime minister has instead chosen to return Britain’s workplaces to the 19th century. Unite will not bow to threats and any attempt to place us outside of the law will be met with fierce, prolonged resistance.’ 

Asked if it meant the ‘game was up’ for his union, Mr Lynch said: ‘If you make lawful industrial action illegal, which is what she seems to be trying to do, people will have to find other forms of action in which they can express themselves industrially. But we will resist bringing in those laws.’ 

He also warned his union could take the Government to court, saying: ‘We’ll certainly look at our legal options.’

Yesterday Miss Truss said it was ‘completely wrong’ that the travelling public was ‘being held ransom by militant unions’.

She said: ‘I am on the side of the travelling public who need to get into work to do their jobs. It is completely irresponsible of the trade unions to call these strikes while we are seeking to get the economy going.’

Mr Sunak indicated he also would take a tough line on the unions if he became prime minister, saying: ‘We need to urgently deliver our 2019 manifesto commitment to require minimum service levels during transport strikes.

‘As prime minister, I will stop the unions holding working people to ransom. I will do whatever it takes to make sure that unions cannot dictate how the British people go about their daily life.’

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union will walk out at Network Rail and 14 train operators today. Only a fifth of services will run, on about half of the network, and passengers are being urged to avoid the trains.

Mr Lynch said members were more determined than ever to secure a decent pay rise, job security and good working conditions.

‘Network Rail have not made any improvement on their previous pay offer and the train companies have not offered us anything new,’ he added.

‘In fact Network Rail have upped the ante, threatening to impose compulsory redundancies and unsafe 50 per cent cuts to maintenance work if we did not withdraw our planned strike action.’

Rail passengers heading to and from London faced major chaos today before the strikes had even started – with almost every train in and out of King’s Cross cancelled due to major damage to overhead electric wires.

LNER advised people ‘do not travel’ between London and Peterborough, while Thameslink and Great Northern said they ‘strongly advise that you avoid travelling today’ due to the issue near Biggleswade in Bedfordshire.

People wait for information at London King’s Cross this morning amid the partial shutdown of the East Coast Main Line

Huge queues built up in the waiting area at King’s Cross this morning as passengers who were hoping to travel today and avoid chaos before today’s strike were left stranded and scrambling to find alternative routes north.

The chaos meant there were no direct trains on the East Coast Main Line between London and anywhere north of Stevenage from the start of the morning rush hour – with Lumo, Hull Trains and Grand Central services also axed.

One passenger caught up in the chaos tweeted a message from Trainline saying his train was ‘no longer stopping at London King’s Cross’. He wrote: ‘Given my @GNRailUK was only stopping at Kings Cross this is somewhat of a problem. Currently being detrained in the sticks. Overhead cables have voted unanimously to strike a day early.’

Network Rail fears the strikes will go on for months. A source compared it to the signallers’ strikes of 1994, which ended only when workers could no longer afford to continue their action.

The RMT has turned down an offer from Network Rail of an 8 per cent pay rise for workers over this year and next, with cash bonuses of up to £900 for some staff.

Insiders say the deal would be worth the equivalent of a 13 per cent pay increase for the lowest-paid workers over the two years.

Today’s walkout means vast swathes of rural England will be cut off from the rail network, with just one in five services operating overall for only 11 hours of the day between 7.30am and 6.30pm.

Disruption will continue into tomorrow, hitting fans going to the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Birmingham.

The RMT caused widespread travel disruption when 40,000 workers walked out for three days last month in the biggest rail strikes in a generation.

Network Rail fears that the strikes will go on for months – and could be prolonged by the Tory leadership race.

A source compared it to the signallers’ strikes of 1994, which ended only when workers could no longer afford to continue their action.

Another insider said: ‘I can’t see how Liz or Rishi will earn any votes by going soft on the trade unions.’

Britain is braced for a wider wave of industrial action in the coming months in response to below-inflation pay rises for scores of public sector workers.

Trade union bosses said the awards announced – reaching almost 10 per cent for the lowest paid – amounted to a pay cut given the soaring cost of living.

Yesterday the TSSA union announced that workers for seven train companies would walk out on August 18 and 20. The RMT has already declared strikes at Network Rail and 14 operators on the same dates.

A law change this week means businesses can now use agency workers to fill vital staffing gaps caused by industrial action.

The measure was announced by Boris Johnson in a bid to reduce disruption from walkouts after last month’s rail strikes.

Miss Truss’s proposals go further, but her measures are certain to provoke a further backlash from unions and could struggle to get through Parliament.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said yesterday: ‘The right to strike is an important British freedom. Threatening the right to strike means working people lose the power to bargain for better pay and conditions.

‘Instead of taking potshots at working people and their unions, the candidates should come up with plans to get wages rising again.’

Passengers on a platform at London Paddington railway station during the third day of the General Strike on May 6, 1926

Busy traffic on the Embankment in London during the 1926 General Strike which caused chaos across the country

Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said: ‘Liz Truss is looking to blame anyone and everyone else other than herself for the mess the Conservatives have made of the past 12 years.

‘As we saw with the Government’s plans to break strikes with agency workers, these plans are unworkable, will only erode working people’s rights further and inflame industrial relations.’

But a spokesman for Miss Truss’s campaign said: ‘Liz is determined to stand up for people who work hard and do the right thing.

‘For too long, trade unionists have been able to hold the country to ransom with the threat of industrial action.

‘The steps she has announced today will finally allow the government to take back control from trade union barons and deliver the economic growth we need.’

Britain grinds to a halt AGAIN: Maps reveal full extent of rail misery as militant union prepares to shut country down with UK-wide walkouts TODAY and on Saturday that will leave just 20% of services running

Rail passengers are bracing for further misery this week ahead of a double strike today and on Saturday that will cause travel chaos across Britain – with two more days of industrial action planned for next month.

More than 40,000 workers at Network Rail and 14 train operating companies are set to strike in England today in a dispute led by the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) over pay, jobs and conditions. All passengers should then expect some disruption on the morning of Thursday, with a later start to services.

The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) has also announced a strike by Avanti West Coast workers on the same day. National Rail said all train operators may be affected by today’s strike, whether they have an individual dispute with the RMT or not, because signallers control train movements across the entire country.

The companies affected by the RMT strike today are: Network Rail, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry Trains, Greater Anglia, LNER, East Midlands Railway, c2c, Great Western Railway, Northern Trains, Southeastern, South Western Railway, TransPennine Express, Avanti West Coast, West Midlands Trains and Govia Thameslink Railway (which includes Southern, Great Northern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express).

Network Rail has confirmed that operators will run just 20 per cent of normal services across only half of the UK network during the strike – with the trains that do travel only running for 11 hours from 7.30am until 6.30pm. 

The action does not involve Transport for London staff, but disruption is expected on the District and Bakerloo Underground lines, Overground and the Elizabeth line, which share some sections of track with Network Rail. 

Then on Saturday, there will also be a strike by members of drivers’ union Aslef at seven train operators – Arriva Rail London, Greater Anglia, Great Western, Hull Trains, LNER, Southeastern and West Midlands Trains. An Aslef strike on Chiltern Railways has been called off. Further RMT and TSSA strikes are planned for August 18 and 20.

The first train to be cancelled by this week’s strikes is the 5.30pm Grand Central from Sunderland to London King’s Cross tonight. Here, MailOnline looks at what services will be running today and on Saturday:

Avanti West Coast

Avanti West Coast – which runs services on the West Coast Main Line between London Euston, Birmingham Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow – has confirmed a limited timetable for Wednesday.

The operator plans to run one train per hour from Euston to each of Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Preston, with a limited service onwards to Glasgow. These trains will operate during limited hours, with the first of the day departing Euston just before 8am and the last of the day from Euston departing mid-afternoon.

The day after strike action is also expected to be affected – particularly in the morning, as services will start later. 

Wednesday’s timetable means North Wales, Shrewsbury, Blackpool and Edinburgh will have no Avanti West Coast services. Trains will not call at Stockport, Macclesfield, Stoke-on-Trent or Runcorn, so these stations will be closed.

Passengers travelling to the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham are likely to be among those impacted by the chaos, which is likely to affect travel into Thursday when the event takes place. 

Avanti West Coast drivers are not taking part in the Aslef strike on Saturday, but the operator said ‘services are expected to be very busy as a result of the impact these strikes will have on the rest of the network’. 

AVANTI WEST COAST: The operator has confirmed a limited timetable for Wednesday. Its normal route map is shown above

c2c 

On the c2c route, where trains run between London and Essex, the operator will be running a reduced service from 7.30am to 6.30pm on Wednesday, equating to less than a third of normal service levels. This will consist of:

• Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness via Laindon: Two trains per hour 
• Fenchurch Street to Pitsea via Rainham: Two trains per hour
• Ockendon or Chafford Hundred: No trains

The first and last trains are detailed here, although c2c warned that these trains are likely to be very busy.

First trains:

• 07:30 Shoeburyness to Fenchurch Street
• 07:32 Basildon to Fenchurch Street
• 07:36 Grays to Fenchurch Street
• 07:44 Pitsea to Fenchurch Street via Rainham

Last trains:

• 17:00 Fenchurch Street to Pitsea via Rainham
• 17:05 Fenchurch St to Shoeburyness via Laindon
• 17:28 Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness
• 17:37 Fenchurch Street to Grays via Rainham

c2c has no service alterations planned for Saturday because it is not expected to be affected by the Aslef strike. 

c2c: This Wednesday, the rail operator will run two trains per hour from Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness via Laindon; two trains per hour from Fenchurch Street to Pitsea via Rainham; and no trains via Ockendon or Chafford Hundred

Caledonian Sleeper

Workers on the overnight Caledonian Sleeper services – which connect London with Scotland – are not involved in the RMT strike, but all trains scheduled for Tuesday night and Wednesday night have now been cancelled. 

The operator has not advertised any disruption for Saturday, saying it does not expect the Aslef industrial action to have any impact on services, but passengers should ‘check any onward travel plans which may be impacted’. 

CALEDONIAN SLEEPER: All services on the overnight Caledonian Sleeper have been cancelled for Tuesday and Wednesday

Chiltern Railways

Chiltern Railways will run a ‘very significantly reduced timetable’ this Wednesday, and has said it will ‘not be able to operate services on most routes’, with no replacement buses or alternative travel provided. 

Passengers have been told to ‘seriously consider the necessity of their journey’ on Wednesday and ‘please check your entire journey’. Here is a summary of services set to be available on Wednesday:

• 1 train per hour Marylebone – stations to Oxford Parkway (and vice-versa).
• 1 train per hour Marylebone – stations to Banbury (and vice versa).
• 1 train per hour Marylebone – stations to Aylesbury (via High Wycombe, and vice-versa).
• 1 train per hour Aylesbury Vale Parkway – stations to Amersham (and vice-versa).

There will be no Chiltern Railways service north of Banbury, nor to and from Oxford. The start of services will generally be between 8am and 9am, with the end of services between 4pm and 5pm. 

First trains to London Marylebone:

• 07.58 Aylesbury – Amersham
• 08.08 Aylesbury – Marylebone (starts from Aylesbury Vale Parkway 08.01; via High Wycombe)
• 08.23 Bicester North – Marylebone
• 08.42 Bicester Village – Marylebone
• 08.46 Aylesbury Vale Parkway – Amersham
• 09.08 Banbury – Marylebone
• 09.30 Oxford Parkway – Marylebone

Last trains from London Marylebone: 

• 15.15 Marylebone – Banbury
• 16.00 Marylebone – Oxford Parkway
• 16.15 Marylebone – Bicester North
• 16.35 Marylebone – Aylesbury (via High Wycombe; continues to Aylesbury Vale Parkway).
• 16.38 Amersham – Aylesbury Vale Parkway
• 17.42 Amersham – Aylesbury

Chiltern was due to be one of the eight train operators involved in the Aslef strike on Saturday, but this has now been called off. The strike will still take place among workers on the seven other operators.

CHILTERN RAILWAYS: The operator runs trains between London and the West Midlands (normal service above) but there will be a ‘very significantly reduced timetable’ this Wednesday, and it will ‘not be able to operate services on most routes’

CrossCountry

CrossCountry will run a ‘significantly reduced service’ on Wednesday and there could be further disruption on Saturday, although it hopes to run a normal service that day. Here are the route details for Wednesday:

• Plymouth to Bristol Parkway: Limited service
• Southampton Central to Manchester Piccadilly: Limited service
• Birmingham New Street to Leicester: Limited service
• Birmingham New Street to Edinburgh: Limited service
• Birmingham New Street to Bristol or Cardiff Central: No service 
• Plymouth to Penzance: No service
• Southampton Central to Bournemouth: No service
• Leicester to Stansted Airport: No service
• Nottingham to Derby: No service
• Stockport to Stoke-on-Trent: No service 
• Edinburgh to Glasgow Central or Aberdeen: No service 

CROSSCOUNTRY: The operator will be running a ‘significantly reduced service’ this Wednesday as shown in the map above

East Midlands Railway

The planned timetable for East Midlands Railway on Wednesday is follows – with the limited services only running from 7.30am to 6.30pm:

• Nottingham and London: One train per hour
• Sheffield and London: One train per hour
• Corby and London: One train per hour
• Derby and Matlock: One train per hour
• Derby and Nottingham: One train per hour
• Leicester and Nottingham: One train per hour, stopping service
• Nottingham and Sheffield: One train per hour

All other lines of the route will be closed and bus replacement services will not be provided. The last services from London St Pancras to the following stations will be at: 

• Kettering 17:11
• Leicester 17:11
• Derby 16:31
• Nottingham 16:09
• Sheffield 15:31

Services will start on Thursday after 7am with some reductions throughout the day. 

East Midlands Railway services are not directly affected by Aslef strike action on Saturday, but the operator said neighbouring train operators who are affected by that walkout will be running a ‘significantly reduced service’.

EAST MIDLANDS RAILWAY: The operator will run one train per hour between Nottingham and London, Sheffield and London, Corby and London, Derby and Matlock, Derby and Nottingham, Leicester and Nottingham and Nottingham and Sheffield

Eurostar 

Although the RMT strike on Wednesday does not involve Eurostar staff, it will have an impact on the timetable because running hours have been reduced on UK rail lines, including the high-speed line the operator uses.

Eurostar has cancelled three services from London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord, five from Paris to London, one from London to Amsterdam Centraal (via Brussels Midi) and two from Amsterdam to London (via Brussels). 

The operator has also warned passengers of changes to the departure times of some other trains that are still running, but there are not expected to be any amendments to its services on Saturday as it stands.

EUROSTAR: Services on Eurostar to France, Belgium and the Netherlands will all be affected by strike action on Wednesday

Gatwick Express

Gatwick Express services will not run on Wednesday. However, there will be a reduced service running to and from London Victoria (on Southern) and London Bridge (on Thameslink) for those who need to get to the airport.

Services on Saturday are not expected to be impacted by the Aslef strike. 

Grand Central 

Grand Central plan to run a reduced service on its routes from London to and from Sunderland and Bradford on Wednesday. Trains will run on the North East route to and from Northallerton only, and on the West Yorkshire route to and from Wakefield only. 

The first train from Northallerton to London King’s Cross will be the 07:55, while the last back from London will be at 15:40. The first train from Wakefield to London will be the 07:59, and the last back from London the 15:40. 

In addition, the 17:30 service from Sunderland to London on Tuesday will not run. Services on Thursday morning will also be impacted, but travel on Saturday is not expected to be affected as it stands.

GRAND CENTRAL: Trains will run to and from Northallerton only, and to and from Wakefield only, with an amended timetable

Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway says it expects to operate a significantly limited service on Wednesday, with no trains on the following routes:

• All lines in Cornwall, including all branch lines
• All branch lines in Devon (Barnstaple, Exmouth, Paignton, Okehampton)
• South Wales main line (Carmarthen/Swansea–Cardiff Central)
• Berks & Hants line (Reading–Taunton via Castle Cary)
• Wessex main line (Bath Spa–Portsmouth Harbour)
• Heart of Wessex line (Westbury–Weymouth)
• TransWilts line (Swindon–Westbury via Melksham)
• Severn Beach line (Bristol Temple Meads–Severn Beach)
• North Cotswolds line (Hereford/Worcester–Oxford)
• South Cotswolds line (Cheltenham Spa–Swindon)
• Worcester/Gloucester–Bristol
• Greenford branch line
• North Downs line (Reading–Gatwick Airport)
• South Coast (Westbury–Southampton/Portsmouth Harbour)

Trains will then continue to be disrupted on Thursday, before a normal timetable will operate on Friday.

However, operator said the Aslef strike among GWR train drivers on Saturday ‘will have an even greater impact, and most parts of the GWR network will have no train service’. An ‘extremely limited service’ will only operate on:

• Bristol Temple Meads – London Paddington
• Bristol Temple Meads – Cardiff Central
• Reading – Oxford
• Reading – Basingstoke

No other GWR services will run on Saturday. In addition, the Night Riviera Sleeper service will not operate on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. It will however operate on Thursday.

GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY: GWR has not released a strikes map for this week’s affected days, but here is its normal route map

Greater Anglia 

Greater Anglia said no regional or branch line trains will run on Wednesday and a very limited service will operate elsewhere – but only between 7.30am and 6.30pm – when all trains must have arrived at their final destination. 

Trains on Wednesday will run as follows:

• Norwich to London Liverpool Street intercity service: One train an hour, with first and last trains from Norwich to Liverpool Street at 8am and 4pm, and first and last trains from Liverpool Street to Norwich at 8.30am and 4.30pm. 
• Colchester to London Liverpool Street stopping service: One stopping train an hour plus one intercity service an hour, with the first and last stopping services from Colchester to London Liverpool Street at 7.30am and 4.25pm and from London Liverpool Street to Colchester at 8am and 5pm.
• Southend Victoria to London Liverpool Street: Two trains an hour with first and last trains from Southend Victoria to London Liverpool Street at 7.30am and 5.13pm, and from London Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria at 7.47am and 5.30pm.
• Stansted Express – Stansted Airport to London Liverpool Street: Two trains an hour, with first and last trains from Stansted Airport to London Liverpool Street at 7.42am and 5.12pm and from London Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport at 8.10am and 5.40pm
• Cambridge to London Liverpool Street: One train an hour, with the first and last train from Cambridge to London Liverpool Street at 9.13amand 5.13pm. First and last trains from Liverpool Street to Cambridge will be at 8.25am and 3.25pm.

Thursday morning services will start later than usual and some morning trains will be cancelled. The timetable for Saturday has not yet been released, but services this day are likely to be affected – as well as on Sunday morning.

GREATER ANGLIA: The normal route map for Greater Anglia is pictured. The network will be running a much-reduced service

Heathrow Express 

Heathrow Express services will be significantly affected on Wednesday. There will be no services at all on Saturday due to the Aslef strike. Here is the current timetable for this Wednesday: 

• From London Paddington: Services are departing at 10 and 40 minutes past the hour, first service will depart at 7.40am, last service will depart at 6.10pm
• From Heathrow Terminal 5: Services are departing at 27 and 57 minutes past the hour, first service will depart at 7.30am, last service will depart at 5.57pm
• From Heathrow Central: Services are departing at 32 and 02 minutes past the hour, first service will depart at 7.35am, last service will depart at 6.02pm

Hull Trains

Hull Trains will be operating a reduced timetable on Wednesday, when they will only be running between Doncaster and London King’s Cross and only between 7.30am and 6.30pm.

Trains either side of the strike day will also be affected, with the 8.30pm from London King’s Cross on Tuesday terminating at Doncaster, and the 6.05am train from Beverley on Thursday starting at Doncaster. 

The timetable for Saturday has not yet been confirmed, but services will be impacted by the Aslef strike action.

HULL TRAINS: The operator will only be running services between Doncaster and London King’s Cross on Wednesday

LNER

LNER says it will run limited services between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh Waverley on Wednesday. 

There will be no LNER services to Aberdeen, Inverness and Glasgow Central. There will also be no services to branch lines of Bradford, Skipton, Harrogate or Lincoln, Hull, Middlesbrough and Sunderland. 

Here are a selection of last trains for Wednesday: 

• The last train from London King’s Cross to Edinburgh is at 2pm
• The last train from London King’s Cross to Leeds is at 5.46pm
• The last train from Edinburgh to London is 12.30pm
• The last train from Leeds to London is 3.45pm

The timetable will be even more limited on Saturday due to the Aslef strike, when there will be one train every two hours between Edinburgh and London in both directions, and just one return Leeds to London service all day. 

LNER: The operator says it will be running a reduced service on Wednesday, with the last from London to Edinburgh at 2pm

London Northwestern Railway

London Northwestern Railway expects to run a limited service will be in operation on the below routes between 7.30am and 6.30pm on Wednesday. There will be no London Northwestern Railway service on its other routes.

Trains will be running as follows on Wednesday: 

Crewe – Wolverhampton – Birmingham New Street (via local stations)

• 1 Wolverhampton – Birmingham New Street service per hour in each direction (calling at all local stations).
• 1 Crewe – Birmingham New Street service per hour in each direction (calling at Stafford, Penkridge, Wolverhampton, Smethwick Galton Bridge and Birmingham New Street).
• An additional Wolverhampton – Birmingham New Street service will depart Wolverhampton at 07.32, calling at Smethwick Galton Bridge only.

Birmingham New Street – Northampton – London Euston

• 1 Birmingham New Street – Birmingham International service per hour in each direction (calling at all local stations).
• 1 Birmingham New Street – Northampton service per hour in each direction (calling at Marston Green, Birmingham International and all stations to Northampton).
• 2 services per hour in each direction between Northampton – London Euston (calling at all stations except for Harrow & Wealdstone and Bushey).

Due to the knock-on effect of industrial action on Wednesday, morning services will start up later on most routes on Thursday.  On Saturday, the Aslef strike means no London Northwestern Railway services will operate.

LONDON NORTHWESTERN RAILWAY: The strike will have a significant impact on travel. Normal services are shown above

Lumo

Lumo – which also runs trains between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh – has announced a reduced timetable for Wednesday with some service amendments on the days either side of this. On Wednesday:

• London King’s Cross to Edinburgh: First train leaves at 10.45am, last train at 1.42pm
• Edinburgh to London King’s Cross:  First train leaves at 8.11am, last train at 11.15am

Merseyrail

Merseyrail will run an hourly service on Wednesday calling at selected stations only, between 7.30am and 6.30pm as follows:

• Chester & Ellesmere Port line – There will be no trains from Chester or Ellesmere Port. Trains will start at Rock Ferry, only calling at Rock Ferry, Birkenhead Central, Hamilton Square, Moorfields and Liverpool Central.
• New Brighton line – Trains will start at New Brighton and call at Wallasey Grove Road, Birkenhead North, Birkenhead Park, Hamilton Square, Moorfields and Liverpool Central.
• West Kirby line – Trains will start at West Kirby and call at Meols, Moreton, Leasowe, Birkenhead North, Birkenhead Park, Hamilton Square, Moorfields and Liverpool Central.
• Southport line – Trains will start at Southport and call at Formby, Blundellsands & Crosby, Waterloo, Moorfields and Liverpool Cental.
• Ormskirk line – Trains will start at Ormskirk and call at Maghull, Aintree, Kirkdale, Moorfields and Liverpool Central.
• Kirkby line – Trains will start at Kirkby and will call at Fazakerley, Rice Lane, Kirkdale, Moorfields and Liverpool Central.
• Hunts Cross line – no services will run.

On Thursday, trains will be reintroduced from 7am, and there will no rail replacement bus services for the early morning disruption. On Saturday, there is not expected to be any disruption to services as it stands.

MERSEYRAIL: There will be a limited Merseyrail service this Wednesday during the RMT strike. The normal route map is shown

Northern 

Northern says there will be ‘significant disruption’ to services on Wednesday and that ‘most Northern routes and trains will not run on this day’. Services on Thursday could also be affected. 

Northern say these services will still run on Wednesday, on the three strike days (all other Northern services will not run):

• Darlington to Saltburn 
• Liverpool Lime Street to Alderley Edge  
• York to Leeds
• Ilkley to Bradford Foster Square and Leeds
• Skipton to Bradford Foster Square and Leeds
• Leeds to Sheffield
• Leeds to Bradford Foster Square

Northern said it has not ‘received any notification from Aslef on any official industrial action, including strikes on July 30 (Saturday)’ – with a full service therefore likely to run on that day.

NORTHERN RAIL: Only a fraction of the Northern Rail network will run on strike days. The full normal route map is pictured

ScotRail 

Just five ScotRail routes will operate in Scotland on Wednesday, with a very limited number of trains running in the central belt between 7.30am and 6.30pm. They are as follows:

• Edinburgh to Glasgow via Falkirk High: Two trains per hour
• Edinburgh to Bathgate: Two trains per hour
• Glasgow to Hamilton/Larkhall: Two trains per hour
• Glasgow to Lanark: Two trains per hour
• Edinburgh to Glasgow via Shotts: One train per hour

There will also be disruption on Tuesday evening and Thursday morning ’caused by the closing and reopening of signal boxes at different times across the country’.

ScotRail has not listed any disruption expected from the Aslef strike on Saturday.

SCOTRAIL: This map shows the normal ScotRail network. Only five lines will be able to run on the strike day this Wednesday

Southern

Southern will be operating the following limited timetable between 7.30am and 6.30pm on Wednesday: 

Services between London Bridge / London Victoria and the south coast

• London Victoria and Brighton: Two trains per hour will run between London Victoria and Brighton, calling at London Victoria, Clapham Junction, East Croydon, Gatwick Airport and Brighton only.
• London Bridge and Brighton: Two trains per hour will run between London Bridge and Brighton, calling at London Bridge, East Croydon, Gatwick Airport, Three Bridges, Balcombe, Hayward’s Heath, Wivelsfield, Burgess Hill, Hassocks, Preston Park and Brighton only.
• London Bridge and Gatwick Airport: Two trains per hour will run between London Bridge and Gatwick Airport, calling at London Bridge, Norwood Junction, East Croydon, Redhill, Earlswood, Salfords, Horley and Gatwick Airport only.
• London Bridge and Three Bridges: Two trains per hour will run between London Bridge and Three Bridges, calling at London Bridge, Norwood Junction, East Croydon, Coulsdon South, Merstham, Redhill, Horley, Gatwick Airport and Three Bridges only.
• Brighton and Hove: Two trains per hour will run between Brighton and Hove only.

Services between London Bridge / London Victoria and South London

• London Victoria and Sutton: Two trains per hour will run between London Victoria and Sutton, calling at London Victoria, Clapham Junction, Balham, Mitcham Eastfields, Mitcham Junction, Hackbridge, Carshalton, and Sutton only.
• London Victoria and Epsom Downs via Selhurst: Two trains per hour will run between London Victoria and Epsom Downs, calling at London Victoria, Battersea Park, Clapham Junction, Wandsworth Common, Balham, Streatham Common, Norbury, Thornton Heath, Selhurst, West Croydon, Waddon, Wallington, Carshalton Beeches, Sutton, Belmont, Banstead and Epsom Downs only.
• London Victoria and West Croydon via Crystal Palace: Two trains per hour will run between London Victoria and West Croydon, calling at London Victoria, Battersea Park, Clapham Junction, Balham, Streatham Hill, West Norwood, Gipsy Hill, Crystal Palace, Norwood Junction and West Croydon only.
• London Bridge and Tattenham Corner: Two trains per hour will run between London Bridge and Tattenham Corner, calling at London Bridge, East Croydon, South Croydon, Purley Oaks, Reedham, Coulsdon Town, Woodmansterne, Chipstead, Kingswood, Tadworth and Tattenham Corner only.

Services will be starting from 7am on Thursday and there will be a Sunday service running for that day.

There is no disruption expected on Saturday due to the Aslef strike action as it stands. 

SOUTHERN: This map from Govia Thameslink Railway shows the trains expected to operate on its network this Wednesday

South Western Railway  

More than 2,100 South Western Railway staff are staking part in strike action along with Network Rail signallers, meaning it will run a dramatically reduced timetable on Wednesday with significant parts of the network closed.

A severely limited service will run between 7.15am and 6.30pm on the following routes on Wednesday:

• London Waterloo to Southampton: Two fast trains per hour each way. First train from Waterloo: 7.30am. Last train from Waterloo: 5pm. First train from Southampton: 7.30am. Last train from Southampton: 4.59pm
• London Waterloo to Woking: Four trains per hour each way. First train from Waterloo: 7.20am. Last train from Waterloo: 5.50pm. First train from Woking: 7.18am. Last train from Woking: 5.48pm
• London Waterloo to Basingstoke: Two trains per hour each way. First train from Waterloo: 7.15am. Last train from Waterloo: 5.15pm. First train from Basingstoke: 7.24am. Last train from Basingstoke: 4.54pm.
• London Waterloo to Windsor: Four trains per hour each way. First train from Waterloo: 7.15am. Last train from Waterloo: 5.22pm. First train from Windsor: 7.30am. Last train from Windsor: 5.30pm

There will then be a late-starting service on Thursday. No disruption is expected on Saturday due to the Aslef strike. 

SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY: There will be no trains beyond Southampton to Weymouth; or beyond Basingstoke to Exeter

Southeastern

Southeastern is warning customers to expect significant disruption across its network on Wednesday. Only 44 out of its 180 stations will be open, and no rail replacement buses will serve stations which are closed.

Passengers have been warned they may be unable to board trains at stations where a limited service is running, especially at locations such as Ashford and Ebbsfleet‘. Southeastern also said the last trains back from London will be ‘much earlier than usual’.

Southeastern will continue to run its three Dartford lines, with a disrupted service, between Dartford and London Bridge. That includes the route via Bexleyheath, the line via Sidcup and the line via Woolwich. Southeastern will also run its High Speed from Ashford to London St Pancras, as well as trains from Sevenoaks to London Bridge.

No services will run before 7am on Thursday. On Saturday, there will be no Southeastern services across the whole network due to the Aslef strike. The operator has said: ‘Please do not attempt to travel by train on this day.’

In addition to the strike action, until this Sunday there is a nine-day closure of the line between Victoria and Beckenham Junction/Shortlands while Network Rail engineers replace the track in Penge tunnel. 

SOUTHEASTERN – Limited services are set to run between London and Kent on Wednesday due to the RMT strike action

Stansted Express 

Stansted Express is operating a reduced service on Wednesday due to the RMT strike as follows:

• The first and last trains from Stansted Airport to London Liverpool Street are 7.42am and 5.12pm
• The first and last trains from London Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport are 8.10am and 5.40pm

There will also be disruption on Saturday due to the Aslef strike, but timetables have not yet been announced for that day.

Thameslink and Great Northern

Many stations and routes will be closed across the Thameslink and Great Northern network on Wednesday, with services only planned as follows:

Services between St Pancras International and Bedford

• St Pancras International and Bedford: Two trains per hour will run between St Pancras International and Bedford, calling at St Pancras International, West Hampstead Thameslink, St Albans City, Harpenden, Luton Airport Parkway, Luton, Leagrave, Harlington, Flitwick and Bedford only.
• St Pancras International and Luton: Two trains per hour will run between St Pancras International and Luton, calling at St Pancras International, Kentish Town, West Hampstead Thameslink, Cricklewood, Hendon, Mill Hill Broadway, Elstree & Borehamwood, Radlett, St Albans City, Harpenden, Luton Airport Parkway, Luton.

Services between King’s Cross and Peterborough / Cambridge / Ely

• King’s Cross and Ely: One train per hour will run between King’s Cross and Ely, calling at King’s Cross, Finsbury Park, Potters Bar, Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City, Welwyn North, Knebworth, Stevenage, Hitchin, Letchworth Garden City, Baldock, Ashwell & Morden, Royston, Meldreth, Shepreth, Foxton, Cambridge, Cambridge North, Waterbeach, Ely only.
• Cambridge and Ely: In addition to the above, one train per hour will run between Cambridge and Ely, calling at Cambridge, Cambridge North, Waterbeach and Ely only.
• King’s Cross and Cambridge: One train per hour will run between King’s Cross and Cambridge, calling at King’s Cross, Finsbury Park, Stevenage, Hitchin, Letchworth Garden City, Baldock, Ashwell & Morden, Royston and Cambridge only.
• King’s Cross and Peterborough: Two trains per hour will run between King’s Cross and Peterborough, calling at King’s Cross, Finsbury Park, Stevenage, Hitchin, Arlesey, Biggleswade, Sandy, St Neots, Huntingdon and Peterborough only.
• King’s Cross and Welwyn Garden City: Two trains per hour will run between King’s Cross and Welwyn Garden City, calling at King’s Cross, Finsbury Park, Harringay, Hornsey, Alexandra Palace, New Southgate, Oakleigh Park, New Barnet, Hadley Wood, Potters Bar, Brookmans Park, Welham Green, Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City only.
• King’s Cross and Stevenage via Hertford North: Two trains per hour will run between King’s Cross and Stevenage, calling at King’s Cross, Finsbury Park, Harringay, Hornsey, Alexandra Palace, Bowes Park, Palmers Green, Winchmore Hill, Grange Park, Enfield Chase, Gordon Hill, Crews Hill, Cuffley, Bayford, Hertford North, Watton-at-Stone and Stevenage only.

Services will start later on Thursday, but there is not expected to be any impact on Saturday from the Aslef strike.

THAMESLINK AND GREAT NORTHERN: This map from Govia Thameslink Railway shows the trains expected this Wednesday

Transport for London

There is no London Underground strike this time – unlike last month’s RMT strike – but some Tube services will be impacted by the action on Wednesday. The strike will also affect the Elizabeth line and London Overground. 

Most services will run as normal on Tuesday and Friday. But here is the service plan for Wednesday:

London Underground 

• Bakerloo line: No service between Queen’s Park and Harrow & Wealdstone
• District line: Disruption expected between Parsons Green and Wimbledon; and Turnham Green and Richmond. Those travelling on these sections of the District line are advised to complete their journey by 6pm.

London Overground

• Reduced service across the London Overground network. All services between 7.30am and 6.30pm only
• No service between Romford and Upminster
• No service between Barking and Barking Riverside
• No service between Surrey Quays and New Cross
• No service between Kilburn High Road and Euston
• No service between Camden Road and Stratford until 12pm
• No service between Sydenham and Crystal Palace until 10am

Elizabeth line

• Paddington-Reading: 2 trains per hour. Services running 7.30am to 5pm
• Paddington-Heathrow: 2 trains per hour. Services running 7.30am to 5pm
• Abbey Wood-Paddington: 12 trains per hour before 5pm. 6 trains per hour after 5pm. Normal finish time
• Liverpool Street-Shenfield: 2 trains per hour between 7.30am and 5.30pm. Trains will not stop at Goodmayes, Forest Gate, Manor Park and Maryland

On Thursday, services affected by the strike on Wednesday will operate a minimal service before 8am and restore a normal service by midday. These include the Overground, Elizabeth line and District line’s Wimbledon and Richmond branches. 

Then on Saturday, the Aslef strike will have the following impact:

London Underground

• Normal service 

London Overground

• No service expected. No Night Overground on Saturday or the early hours of Sunday. Overground services will return to a good service by 9am on Sunday

Elizabeth line

• No service between Paddington and Abbey Wood due to planned engineering works

LONDON — This Transport for London map shows the lines that will be affected by disruption on Wednesday in colour

TransPenine Express 

TransPennine Express (TPE) will be operating a very limited service on these routes this Wednesday: 

• Manchester Piccadilly to York
• Manchester Airport to Preston
• Newcastle to Edinburgh
• Sheffield to Cleethorpes

For journeys on Wednesday 27 July, ticket acceptance arrangements are in place in the event of TransPennine Express service cancellations with these operators between the following locations:

• Northern: Across the network
• East Midlands Railway: Between Liverpool Lime Street and Sheffield
• ScotRail: Between Motherwell and Glasgow Central
• Transport for Wales: Between Manchester Airport/Stockport and Newton-le-Willows

Services are not expected to be impacted on Saturday when the Aslef strike takes place.

TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS: The network will be operating a very limited service on the above routes on the strike day

Transport for Greater Manchester

All tram lines will run to their usual frequency and times, except the Altrincham to Timperley route which will only be from 7am to 7pm on Wednesday and at a 12-minute frequency. Services will operate as follows: 

• 6am to 7am – Piccadilly to Timperley only 
• 7am to 7pm – Altrincham to Bury (every 12 minutes) and Piccadilly to Timperley (every 12 minutes) 
• 7pm to midnight – Piccadilly to Timperley only

Transport for Greater Manchester said the Aslef strike on Saturday is ‘unlikely to affect journeys operating from Manchester, but the network is likely to be busier as a result’. The Metrolink will operate as normal that day.

TRANSPORT FOR GREATER MANCHESTER: Tram lines will run as usual on Wednesday, except from Altrincham to Timperley

Transport for Wales

Transport for Wales is advising customers not to travel by train on Wednesday, with the only services as follows:

Wales and cross border services

• The only services operating will be a Cardiff to Newport shuttle, with one train operating hourly in each direction, between 7.30am and 6.30pm. No other services will be able to operate.

Core Valley Lines

• Train services will operate between Cardiff Central and Rhymney, Treherbert, Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil in an hourly service in each direction between 07:30 and 18:30.

• Trains will be able to operate between Radyr and Treherbert, Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil before 7.30am and after 6.30pm (and then up to 8.30pm due to engineering work). Road transport will enable customers to travel between Cardiff Central and Radyr in each direction outside of these hours.

There is also expected to be disruption on the days prior and after the industrial action.

As for Saturday, Transport for Wales said:  

• TfW will be running a full timetable but ‘services are likely be impacted by strike action at other train operating companies’. It added: ‘This could result in short-notice cancellations and changes’.
• Services from Swansea – Newport are expected to be very busy due to the reduced Great Western Railway timetable. Passengers are ‘advised not to travel unless necessary’.
• TfW services Shrewsbury – Birmingham are expected to be very busy with the Commonwealth Games taking place and no services being operated by West Midlands Trains. Passengers are advised ‘not to travel unless necessary’.

TRANSPORT FOR WALES: Almost the entire Transport for Wales network (shown above) will be closed during the strike day

West Midlands Railway 

West Midlands Railway has said there will be a limited service in operation between 7.30am and 6.30pm on Wednesday on the following routes (with no service expected on its other routes): 

Cross City line (between Lichfield Trent Valley – Redditch / Bromsgrove via Birmingham New Street)

• 1 Lichfield Trent Valley – Bromsgrove and 1 Lichfield Trent Valley – Redditch service per hour in each direction, (calling at all stations).
• From 17.00, departures from Lichfield Trent Valley will run as far as Birmingham New Street only. From 16.30, departures from Redditch / Bromsgrove will run as far as Birmingham New Street only.
• Additional morning services will run between Birmingham New Street – Redditch departing at 07.53 and 08.53 (calling at all stations). An additional Four Oaks – Bromsgrove service will depart Four Oaks at 07.56 (calling at all stations).
• Additional morning services will run between Birmingham New Street – Lichfield Trent Valley departing at 07.36, 08.06 and 08.36 (calling at all stations).

Crewe – Wolverhampton – Birmingham New Street (via local stations)

• 1 Wolverhampton – Birmingham New Street service per hour in each direction (calling at all local stations).
• 1 Crewe – Birmingham New Street service per hour in each direction (calling at Stafford, Penkridge, Wolverhampton, Smethwick Galton Bridge and Birmingham New Street).
• An additional Wolverhampton – Birmingham New Street service will depart Wolverhampton at 07.32, calling at Smethwick Galton Bridge only.

Birmingham New Street – Northampton

• 1 Birmingham New Street – Birmingham International service per hour in each direction (calling at all local stations).
• 1 Birmingham New Street – Northampton service per hour in each direction (calling at Marston Green, Birmingham International and all stations to Northampton).

Morning services will start later on most routes on Thursday.On Saturday, West Midlands Railway services will not operate due to the Aslef strike.

WEST MIDLANDS RAILWAY: The operator says the strike will have ‘considerable impact’. Its normal route map is shown above

I’m not a hypocrite: £100,000-a-year rail union boss who posed for pictures with pro-Russian warlord defends living in a council flat despite his huge pay package

• RMT deputy leader Eddie Dempsey lives in taxpayer-subsidised council house
• Challenged by the Daily Mail, he claimed social housing ‘should be option for all’
• Mick Lynch said: ‘When did council housing become for people that are poor?’ 
• Tory MP: ‘RMT are a bunch of hypocrites and they’re also Mr Putin’s useful idiots’

By David Churchill And Lewis Pennock For The Daily Mail

A rail union baron has defended living in a council flat despite being on a six-figure pay package.

Eddie Dempsey, deputy leader of the RMT, lives with his family in taxpayer-subsidised social housing even though thousands of much more needy locals are stuck on a waiting list.

Challenged by the Daily Mail about his failure to buy his own home, he claimed council properties were not just for lower-paid people and ‘should be an option for all’.

Islington Council in London has England’s 13th longest social housing waiting list, with 14,000 households in need of accommodation.

But Mr Dempsey’s boss, Mick Lynch, defended him, saying: ‘When did council housing become for people that are poor? You don’t have to be poor.

Rail union baron Eddie Dempsey poses with pro-Putin warlord Alexander Mozgovoy in Russia

‘How is he blocking houses [for the less well off]? Council properties should be available for the whole population so that we have a mixed group of people living in those council houses.’

Mr Lynch said the reason behind the shortage of social housing was not due to people like his deputy, but because the Government was not building enough council properties across the country.

But critics, including Mr Dempsey’s own neighbours, branded him a ‘hypocrite’ for blocking more needy people from having a home of their own.

David Wheeler, 85, who also lives in the smart new-build block of flats in central London, said: ‘It’s enormous hypocrisy. If I was earning money like him, I’d want my own house.’

He likened the situation to that of Bob Crow, the former RMT chief, who refused to leave his council house in 2013 despite earning £145,000.

He added: ‘He [Bob Crow] lived in a council house and he said he was a true blue socialist. To me he wasn’t – he was a hypocrite.’

The militant RMT pays Mr Dempsey, 40, a package worth £108,549, including a £78,282 gross salary, £20,289 in pension contributions and £9,978 in employers’ national insurance contributions.

A neighbour said their rent was £1,000 a month for a two-bedroom property with a balcony similar to Mr Dempsey’s flat. They said the rent includes the cost of heating.

By comparison, a private two-bedroom flat nearby was listed for £3,000 a month yesterday. When asked why Mr Dempsey hadn’t considered moving out, an RMT spokesman said: ‘He wants to live in London, which has been his home since he first started working on the railways… Eddie thinks publicly owned accommodation, should be an option for all.’

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘He can afford to buy his own property, but he chooses to block someone from having access to council housing who needs it. The RMT are a bunch of hypocrites and they’re also Mr Putin’s useful idiots.’

In 2015, after Vladimir Putin’s first invasion of Ukraine, Mr Dempsey visited the Donbas region.

He posed for pictures with warlord Aleksey Mozgovoy, a commander in the ‘Ghost Brigade’ of pro-Russian separatists branded a ‘terrorist organisation’ by Ukraine’s Supreme Court.

Source: Read Full Article