Emergency Cobra meeting called over walkouts

Emergency Cobra meeting called over walkouts - full list of UK December strike dates

Ministers will convene an emergency Cobra meeting today over the wave of strikes set to grip Britain ahead of Christmas.

Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Dowden will gather the Government's emergencies committee for crunch talks today and Wednesday ahead of walkouts by workers, including nurses, paramedics, rail workers and Border Force officials.

The army is being prepped to step in at borders and to drive ambulances as the Tories scramble to minimise the disruption in the run-up to Christmas.

But the Government is still resisting calls to open pay talks - despite health unions saying they would pause strike action if ministers come to the table.

Royal College of Nursing General Secretary Pat Cullen said if ministers began pay talks then they would "press pause" on the first national walkouts in the union's 106-year history - with the first due on Thursday.

Unison, whose members in the ambulance service are due to walk out on December 21, also suggested they would seriously consider genuine plans for improving wages.

Nursing leaders have offered to press pause on strikes if the Government comes to the table (In Pictures via Getty Images)

But the Tories are refusing to budge on the NHS pay offer, which amounts to around 4%, despite inflation spiralling into double figures.

Mr Dowden called on unions to call off the "damaging" strikes and said it would cause "disruption for millions of hardworking people over the coming weeks".

"The Government will do all it can to mitigate the impact of this action, but the only way to stop the disruption completely is for union bosses to get back round the table and call off these damaging strikes," he said.

But Foreign Secretary James Cleverly made it clear on Sunday that Health Secretary Steve Barclay wouldn't enter pay talks.

Unison General Secretary Christina McAnea (Vuk Valcic/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)

He said that wage hikes should be determined by the independent pay review body.

Unison General Secretary Christina McAnea told the Mirror that the Government should work to end disputes instead of "upping the ante with talk of COBRA and the army".

An RCN spokesperson said: “The urgent meeting that the government would really benefit from convening is with us.

"Negotiate now and pause these strikes."

It comes after Rishi Sunak rebuffed an offer from RMT boss Mick Lynch to meet to solve the rail dispute, with more walkouts due this week.

Instead, his aides accused the RMT of “holding Christmas hostage with more damaging strikes.”

Border Force staff at Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham and Cardiff airports will also strike for eight days from December 23 to New Year's Eve.