Border Force workers, ambulance crews and DWP staff among those joining Christmas strikes this week
Strikes will continue across a number of industries this week in an escalating campaign of industrial action, with Border Force workers among those expected to walk out.
The strike by more than 1,000 Border Force employees will affect passport control desks at Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow airports from Friday until Boxing Day, and then from 28 December until New Year’s Eve.
More than 10,000 flights are scheduled to land at those airports during those times and it is feared that the strikes could see people waiting more than two hours in passport queues during the peak Christmas holiday period.
According to a report in The Times, contingency plans are being drawn up that would see passengers held on arriving flights to prevent overcrowding in arrival halls.
The newspaper quoted a source involved in discussions as saying: “Border Force are talking about moving staff around the country but it is a very busy period.
“Delays of two hours at the border are being routinely discussed in meetings.
“If everything backs up, or anything fails (such as e-gates), then airports will have to instruct that passengers are held on planes to prevent overcrowding.”
Some airlines have already taken action to limit the fall-out.
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On Friday, it was revealed that British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are limiting ticket sales for flights to Heathrow during the Border Force strike days.
Both airlines are letting customers move their travel to a non-strike day, and they are also keeping schedules and ticket restrictions under review.
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Troops training at Heathrow and Gatwick airports ahead of Border Force strikes
Ambulance workers will also begin their industrial action this week, with 10,000 staff in England and Wales expected to walk off the job on Wednesday.
All three main ambulance unions – Unison, GMB, and Unite – will be involved, while GMB members will strike again on 28 December.
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Govt concerns for NHS care
The government has announced plans to deploy 1,200 soldiers to staff ambulances and passport control, but union bosses have said the military are not “sufficiently trained” for these roles.
And head of the armed forces, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, told The Sunday Telegraph that the armed forces are busy and need to “focus on our primary role”.
Meanwhile, Royal College of Nursing members will strike for a second time on Tuesday in parts of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with the union saying the government has 48 hours from the end of the strike to agree to pay discussions – or face more extensive industrial action next year.
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Nurses strikes a ‘shame’ for Sunak
Health Secretary Steve Barclay has continued to resist calls to negotiate on pay, instead suggesting discussion about other issues that “matter to staff”.
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He has said the nurses’ pay demands are “not affordable” and that the government is accepting recommendations from an independent pay review body “in full”.
Other strikes this week include rail workers, driving examiners, highways workers, postal workers, and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) staff.
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Strikes: Can a resolution be found?
Members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) in Liverpool and Doncaster who are employed by the DWP will take action from today until Christmas Eve and again from 29-31 December.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “The first week of our strikes has already caused disruption to farmers awaiting payments, learner drivers waiting to pass their tests and those using our roads – and it’s only going to get worse unless the government puts some money on the table.
“Our members carry our important jobs, keeping the country running, and deserve much more than the 2% pay rise they’ve been offered.”
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A DWP spokesperson said: “We greatly value the work of our staff but the PCS union’s demands would cost the country an unaffordable £2.4bn when the focus must be on bringing down inflation to ease the burden on households, protect the vulnerable and rebuild our economy.
“Benefits, the state pension and child maintenance payments are paid automatically and people who rely on that support will continue to receive it.”
The Cabinet Office is expected to publish a new “resilience framework” today, bringing together all levels of government and including the private sector, charities and the public to “bolster” the UK’s preparedness for industrial action.
Sir Keir Starmer has joined other European leaders in Kyiv to press Russia to agree an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
The prime minister is attending the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It is the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled to Ukraine at the same time – arriving in the capital by train – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kyiv. Pic: Reuters
Leaders arrive in Kyiv by train. Pic: PA
It comes after Donald Trump called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting is not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington the European leaders are “rowing in behind” the US president, who referred to his “European allies” for the first time in this context in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“So this meeting is all about heaping pressure on the Russians to go along with the American proposal,” he said.
“It’s the closest the Europeans and the US have been for about three months on this issue.”
Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron among world leaders in Kyiv. Pic: AP
Trump calls for ceasefire. Pic: Truth Social
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” for at least 30 days starting on Monday.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement.
European leaders show solidarity – but await Trump’s backing
The hope is Russia’s unilateral ceasefire, such as it’s worth, can be extended for a month to give peace a chance.
But ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian sources told Sky News they are still waiting for President Donald Trump to put his full weight behind the idea.
The US leader has said a 30-day ceasefire would be ideal, but has shown no willingness yet for putting pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to agree.
The Russians say a ceasefire can only come after a peace deal can be reached.
European allies are still putting their hopes in a negotiated end to the war despite Moscow’s intransigence and President Trump’s apparent one-sided approach favouring Russia.
Ukrainians would prefer to be given enough economic and military support to secure victory.
But in over three years, despite its massive economic superiority to Russia and its access to more advanced military technology, Europe has not found the political will to give Kyiv the means to win.
Until they do, Vladimir Putin may decide it is still worth pursuing this war despite its massive cost in men and materiel on both sides.
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
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Putin’s Victory Day parade explained
The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for a coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
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This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
A special constable has been jailed after taking pictures on his phone from bodycam footage showing a dying man.
Former police volunteer William Heggs, 23, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment at Leicester Crown Court on Friday after showing the photos of victim William Harty, 28, to a female colleague and storing them on his Snapchat account.
Mr Harty was found seriously injured in a residential street in Leicester on 25 October 2021 and Heggs had attended the scene, helping with CPR before paramedics arrived.
Mr Harty died in hospital a day later and the man responsible for his injuries, his brother-in-law Martin Casey, was subsequently convicted of his manslaughter.
Heggs showed the pictures he had taken of bodycam footage of Mr Harty’s body to a Leicestershire Police constable, who reported Heggs and said she did not like seeing blood.
His phone was seized and officers discovered other photographs and video clips of bodyworn footage of incidents Heggs had attended on duty, including of a knife seizure, use of baton and pepper spray, and a man with an injured hand receiving first aid.
He also took pictures of a police computer screen, showing details of crimes and suspects, without consent.
Heggs stored the materials in a Snapchat folder and disclosed graphic details – most of which were not in the public domain – about the injuries to a woman who was killed in a road traffic collision he had attended, to a friend on the social media platform.
Heggs was suspended from the force in November 2021 and resigned in October 2024 before pleading guilty to 11 computer misuse and data protection offences this March.
William Harty’s widow Mandy Casey. Pic: PA
‘He has traumatised me’
Mr Harty’s widow, Mandy Casey, said in a victim impact statement read to the court that Heggs “took (her) husband’s dignity when he was most vulnerable”.
“You don’t take someone’s dignity and pride from them on their deathbed.”
She continued: “When I found out special constable Heggs had done this, I just wanted to ask why. He has traumatised me. I feel I will never know if he showed them to others.”
Ms Casey said she was still scared that photos of her husband’s body might appear on social media.
She added that she had lost trust in the police.
Public trust in police ‘significantly undermined’
Judge Timothy Spencer told Heggs, who has autism and ADHD, that he was “probably too immature to be working as a police officer” as he handed down the sentence.
He said Heggs had received “extensive training”, including on the importance of data protection, and knew he should only share materials for “a genuine policing purpose”.
Heggs’s actions had “significantly undermined” public trust and confidence in police, according to the judge.
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Malcolm McHaffie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, added: “William Heggs abused the public’s trust in the office he held as a special police constable.
“He violated the dignity of the deceased victims for no apparent reason other than what could be considered personal fascination and to gain credibility among his peers.”
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