Firefighters and teachers to strike over pay as public sector walkouts continue
Teachers and firefighters are the latest public sector workers to announce they will go on strike in disputes over pay.
The biggest teachers’ strike in years will go ahead after unions said the education secretary “squandered the opportunity” to avoid action – while firefighters have voted overwhelmingly to walkout after experiencing what their union says is a 12% drop in real-terms earnings.
The latest strikes have been announced as Sky News polling suggests support for trade unions is rising, even though walkouts are bringing public services to a standstill.
The teachers’ strike comes after last-minute talks were held by Education Secretary Gillian Keegan on Monday in a bid to resolve the pay dispute before planned strikes this week.
Members of the National Education Union (NEU) in England and Wales will now walk out on Wednesday, with more industrial action planned in the following weeks.
Wednesday’s strike is expected to include up to half a million workers, with teachers due to be joined by train drivers, civil servants, university lecturers, bus drivers and security guards from seven trade unions in what will be the biggest day of industrial action in more than a decade.
Government ‘squandered’ chance to avoid strike by teachers
The NEU has announced seven days of strikes in England and Wales in February and March, with the walkout on Wednesday expected to affect over 23,000 schools.
Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretaries of the NEU, said: “Gillian Keegan has squandered an opportunity to avoid strike action on Wednesday.
“The government has been unwilling to seriously engage with the causes of strike action.
“Real-terms pay cuts and cuts in pay relativities are leading to a recruitment and retention crisis with which the education secretary so far seems incapable of getting a grip.
“Training targets are routinely missed, year on year. This is having consequences for learning, with disruption every day to children’s education.”
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Meanwhile, a headteachers’ union boss has described the talks with Ms Keegan as “deeply disappointing”.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “Parents will have been looking for the government to avert the planned strike on Wednesday.
“Instead, the government continues to talk around the issues rather than putting anything on the table which allows for any meaningful negotiation.”
Mr Barton added: “We are sorry to report that there is therefore no resolution to the dispute and the strike is set to go ahead.”
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said after talks failed: “It is hugely disappointing the NEU is continuing with strike action. These strikes will have a significant impact on children’s education, especially following the disruption of the past two years, and are creating huge uncertainly for parents.
“With talks ongoing on a range of issues, including around future pay, workload, behaviour and recruitment and retention, it is clear that strikes are not being used as a last resort.
“I have been clear today that unions do not need to strike to meet with me. I also reiterated my call to union leaders to ask their members to let headteachers know if they intend to strike, helping schools to minimise the impact on children.”
Firefighters likely to strike for first time in nearly 20 years
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Firefighters vote for strike action
Firefighters also overwhelmingly backed strike action, with 88% voting yes on a 73% turnout, it was announced today.
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said it has given the government and employers 10 days to to come up with an improved offer which could be put to a vote of members in an effort to avoid strikes.
The last time there was a nationwide walkout by firefighters was in 2003.
Firefighters have experienced a 12% drop in real-terms earnings since 2010, the union says, while around one in five firefighter jobs have been cut in the same period.
It comes after members rejected an offer of a 5% pay increase in November, which unions argued was below-inflation and would be felt as a real-terms cut by workers.
The FBU argued polling has previously shown there is strong public support for strike action by firefighters, with around three in five people backing action.
FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said: “This is an absolute last resort for our members. The responsibility for any disruption to services lies squarely with fire service employers and government ministers.
“Rishi Sunak’s government has refused to make funding available for a decent pay offer to firefighters and control staff.
“Firefighters were among Britain’s COVID heroes who kept frontline services going during the pandemic. The prime minister has badly misjudged the public mood by imposing pay cuts on key workers.”
The strike announcement comes after research by the FBU and the University of Central Lancashire found firefighters are more likely to die of cancer than the general public.
A trove of newly released Epstein files include emails that appear to involve Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, while another suggests Donald Trump travelled on the billionaire’s private jet “many more times than previously has been reported”.
The US Department of Justice released at least 11,000 more files on Tuesday.
It went on to claim that some of them “contain untrue and sensationalist claims” about President Trump.
Here are some of the latest news lines from this release of Epstein files. Being named in these papers does not suggest wrongdoing.
Who is ‘The Invisible Man’?
Among the documents released is an email sent to Ghislaine Maxwell that speaks about “the girls” being “completely shattered” at a Royal Family summer camp at Balmoral.
It is dated 16 August 2001 and sent by a person referred to as “The Invisible Man”, who signed off the message as “A” – and is believed to be Andrew.
Sky News has come to that conclusion from reviewing the email address used, which is assigned to the Duke of York in Epstein’s contacts book and the chain of correspondence.
In the correspondence, “The Invisible Man” asks Maxwell: “How’s LA? Have you found me some new inappropriate friends?”
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has previously denied any allegations against him.
The Peru trip
Another email appears to show Maxwell arranging “two-legged sight seeing” for “The Invisible Man” during a trip to Peru.
She appears to forward to “The Invisible Man” part of a conversation between herself and another person.
The email says: “I just gave Andrew your telephone no. He is interested in seeing the Nazca lines. He can ride but it is not his favorite sport ie pass on the horses.”
“Some sight seeing some 2 legged sight seeing (read intelligent pretty fun and from good families) and he will be very happy. I know I can rely on you to show him a wonderful time and will only introduce him to friends that you can trust,” Maxwell said.
The context of the email is unclear and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing.
Trump on Epstein’s jet?
The latest bunch of files also includes an email from an unidentified prosecutor dated 7 January, 2020, in which President Trump is mentioned.
The email accuses him of travelling on Epstein’s private jet “many more times than previously has been reported”.
It adds that President Trump “is listed as a passenger on at least eight flights between 1993 and 1996, including at least four flights on which Maxwell was also present”.
The email’s sender and receiver have been redacted. However, at the bottom of the email it says assistant US attorney, Southern District of New York. The name has also been redacted.
President Trump has denied any wrongdoing in relation to his relationship with Epstein, and being on any of Epstein’s flights does not indicate any wrongdoing.
Read more:
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Limousine driver report about Trump
One of the documents in the release shows a report made to the FBI that was recorded on 27 October 2020.
It includes an unverified claim by a limousine driver that he overheard the US president discussing “abusing some girl” in 1995.
The driver also mentions Trump said “Jeffrey” while on the phone during a journey to Dallas Fort Worth Airport in Texas.
A significant part of the statement, along with the driver’s identity, has been redacted.
The US justice department has said that some of the documents in the latest Epstein files release “contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election”.
“To be clear: the claims are unfounded and false, and if they had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already,” it said.
Postcard mentions ‘our president’
Also among the documents is a postcard that claims to have been sent by Jeffrey Epstein, but has been refuted by the justice department.
In it, the sender tells the recipient: “Our president also shares our love of young, nubile girls.”
It’s not clear who “our president” refers to and the context of the postcard is also unclear.
The US justice department initially said it was “looking into the validity” of the postcard but later said on X that the “FBI has confirmed” the postcard is “FAKE”.
It cited reasons including a claim that the writing does not appear to match Epstein’s and another that the letter was postmarked three days after his death.
Row over unreleased documents
It is believed that many files relating to Epstein are yet to be made public.
There has been anger at the justice department’s slow release of the files, with politicians threatening to launch legal action against Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The deadline for the release of all the documents has passed.
“The DOJ needs to quit protecting the rich, powerful, and politically connected,” Republican congressman Thomas Massie said.
The prime minister has acknowledged Britons’ cost-of-living struggles in his Christmas message – and vowed that helping with the issue is his “priority”.
Sir Keir Starmer also urged members of the public to “each do our bit” and “reach out” to friends, relatives and neighbours during the festive period.
His message comes at the end of a difficult year for his government, with economic growth stuttering and Chancellor Rachel Reeves facing criticism over tax rises in the budget.
In a message recorded inside 10 Downing Street, Sir Keir said: “I know many across Britain are still struggling with the cost of living. Helping with that is my priority.
“But at this time of the year, which celebrates love and abundance, loss or hardship can feel even more acute.
“So call around to a neighbour. Check in on a friend or a relative who you haven’t heard from for a while. Reach out. It can make a huge difference.
“That is what Christmas is about.”
Sir Keir Starmer delivers his Christmas message from inside Downing Street. Pic: Downing Street
The prime minister thanked NHS workers along with members of the military and the emergency services who will be on duty on Christmas Day.
“Just as so many put their feet up, some truly special people will be pulling on their uniforms and heading out to work,” he said.
“Our NHS staff emergency services and the brave men and women of our armed forces, all playing their part, doing their bit to care for the nation and to keep us safe.
“Many volunteers will be out there as well. Serving food. Reaching out to help those lonely or in need.
“So on behalf of the whole country, I want to say a big thank you.
“As a nation, we should raise a glass to you this Christmas. But more than that, we should each do our bit as well.”
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch used her Christmas message to talk about “Christian values” and thanked “everyone who has supported me during my first year as leader of the opposition”.
“It’s been the biggest challenge of my life,” she said. “But it’s also been a wonderful year. I can’t wait to get back to work next year to create a better United Kingdom.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey spoke about the Christmas tree in London’s Trafalgar Square – an annual gift from Norway to thank the UK for its support during the Second World War – in his message.
While saying the tree may “look a little underwhelming” on first glance, the Liberal Democrat leader said it was a reminder of “friendship and loyalty”.
He added: “It makes me think about people standing together in tough times – whether against the Nazis in the 1940s, or right now in Ukraine.
“And yeah, it might not be perfect, but this tree in Trafalgar Square makes me think about families and friends looking out for one another right here at home.
“I can’t think of a better symbol of the Christmas spirit of generosity, love and hope. Of light in the darkness.”
UK
Details of King Charles’s Christmas message revealed – as he chooses to deliver it away from palace
A photograph has been released by Buckingham Palace showing the King delivering his Christmas message again outside of traditional palace walls.
This year the annual address was filmed in the Lady Chapel inside Westminster Abbey, the second time the monarch has recorded it away from a royal residence.
The palace has revealed the abbey was chosen for the setting this year to reflect a major theme of the message, pilgrimage.
The Lady Chapel in Westminster Abbey, central London. Pic: PA
The full details of what he says are always kept secret until it is broadcast at 3pm on Christmas Day. The message is always seen as a deeply personal one from the monarch, as a rare speech delivered by the King without advice from, or consultation with, the government.
Westminster Abbey was seen as a perfect location to reflect the theme of pilgrimage with pilgrims visiting every year to remember the legacy of Edward the Confessor, whose shrine lies at the heart of the abbey. Around the walls of the Lady Chapel are 95 statues of saints dating from the building of the chapel in the 16th century.
Pic: PA
The abbey, as the site of the King’s own coronation and that of every monarch since 1066, also has royal significance. The Henry VII Lady Chapel is the burial place of 15 Kings and Queens including Elizabeth I, Mary I and Mary Queen of Scots. Below the central aisle is the Hanoverian vault where George II and members of his family are buried. The Stuart vault is in the south aisle where Charles II, William III and Mary II, and Queen Anne lie buried.
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It is understood the King takes a particular interest in where the message is filmed each year, favouring different locations outside of royal palaces over the past two years.
In the photograph, taken during filming, you can also see brightly lit Christmas trees used for another royal event in December. They were still inside the abbey following the filming of the Princess of Wales’s Together at Christmas carol service, which will be broadcast on Christmas Eve.
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