Fresh Tube Strike Begins In London Tonight

Londoners are being urged to leave work early this evening – before a fresh Tube strike brings the city's transport network to a halt.

Members from four unions begin their walkout at 6.30pm, and services on the Underground are not expected to return to normal until Friday morning, with no services running at all tomorrow.

Although 250 extra buses will be laid on, and Overground trains will be running as usual, TfL bosses have warned that all remaining transport links in the capital are likely to be extremely busy.

Additional river services between central London, Canary Wharf and Putney are being planned to ease the strain on commuters, while extra bike hire hubs in seven key locations are planned during peak times.

The walkout is because of a dispute over the pay and conditions being offered to workers for the new "Night Tube" service, which will see a 24-hour operation across some lines on weekends.

Barely a month ago, commuters faced "absolute carnage" during the biggest Underground strike in over a decade.

Unions have claimed the new timetable was "botched from the off" – and are calling for the planned launch on 12 September to be delayed so negotiations can continue.

RMT leader Mick Cash said: "Staff are striking because they will not accept that their work/life balance should be wrecked to plug the gaping holes in staffing security that should have been dealt with from day one."

However, a spokesperson for Mayor Boris Johnson has insisted there is a "fair, sensible and generous offer on the table" for Tube staff, which would ensure no one is forced to work longer hours than they do at present.

London Underground's chief operating officer, Steve Griffiths, added: "Everyone will still get two days off in seven, and staff will still be able to swap shifts to get the work/life balance they want."

The TUC has warned that Tube bosses "must not ride roughshod over the wellbeing of their employees" – and said staff had the right to expect that any significant changes to working hours would be agreed and not imposed.

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Blindness Warning After Illegal Booze Bust

People are being told to keep away from cheap booze after police uncovered an illegal alcohol factory which may have sold counterfeit and potentially "toxic" vodka.

Trading Standards urged drinkers to avoid any unusually cheap alcohol, warning it can pose serious heath risks, including blindness.

Authorities seized some 130,000 litres of the suspected illegal alcohol from an industrial unit in Widnes, Cheshire, on Friday following an investigation coordinated by Cheshire Police, HM Revenue and Customs and Trading Standards.

The haul was worth £1.7m in unpaid duty, HMRC said.

Suspected counterfeit vodka labels and bottle tops were also discovered during the raid.

It is unclear how many fake bottles may have been sold to the public.

Deana Perchard, principal trading standards officer at Halton Council and Trading Standards North West said: "Fake vodka can contain high levels of methanol which can cause blindness and drinking it is a serious health risk.

"If you are offered extremely cheap vodka it will probably be illegal."

Warning signals include spelling mistakes on labels, a strange smell of varnish and bottles not filled to the same levels.

Trading Standards is asking anyone with information to contact  03454 040506.

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Police Chiefs Back Calls For Force Mergers

Police chiefs have backed the idea of legislation allowing some of Britain's 43 forces to amalgamate after it emerged budget cuts might leave them with no alternative.

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) told Sky News police must make "fundamental changes" to save cash.

"Most would agree that fewer forces is the best option, but if the desire is to maintain 43 then forces will need to collaborate more," the NPCC's Chair Sara Thornton said in a statement.

That collaboration process would be "helped by there being a new statutory provision that allows forces that want to work together to amalgamate," she said. 

The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners estimates that up to £300m could be saved within a few years if forces collaborate in the purchase of equipment.

Nottinghamshire Constabulary is one force leading the way in co-operation with some of its neighbours in the East Midlands.

The force, which has a strength of just over 2,000 officers, has begun sharing some specialist services with Northamptonshire and Derbyshire police.

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Gusts Of Wind Blow Ferry Back Onto Moorings

Gale force winds have prevented a passenger ferry from leaving Holyhead, on the Isle of Anglesey.

The gusts of wind were so strong that the vessel Jonathan Swift was blown back onto its berth as it tried to leave for Dublin from Holyhead and the 650 passengers had to disembark as a precaution.

A spokesman for Irish Ferries said replacement services would take the passengers on to their destination throughout the day.

"Just as she was leaving the berth at Holyhead she was caught by a gust of wind and blown back in. She was only yards off the berth and the ropes had been loosened," the spokesman said.

A statement on Irish Ferries' website said: "Irish Ferries would like to advise that due to technical problems our HSC fast ferry Jonathan Swift at 14.30 and 17.15 hrs has been cancelled.

"All passengers could be accommodated on our MV Ulysses at 20.55 hrs. Irish Ferries would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused."

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Police Chiefs Back Calls For Force Mergers

Police chiefs have backed the idea of legislation allowing some of Britain's 43 forces to amalgamate after it emerged budget cuts might leave them with no alternative.

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) told Sky News police must make "fundamental changes" to save cash.

"Most would agree that fewer forces is the best option, but if the desire is to maintain 43 then forces will need to collaborate more," the NPCC's Chair Sara Thornton said in a statement.

That collaboration process would be "helped by there being a new statutory provision that allows forces that want to work together to amalgamate," she said. 

The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners estimates that up to £300m could be saved within a few years if forces collaborate in the purchase of equipment.

Nottinghamshire Constabulary is one force leading the way in co-operation with some of its neighbours in the East Midlands.

The force, which has a strength of just over 2,000 officers, has begun sharing some specialist services with Northamptonshire and Derbyshire police.

Ronnie Adams, commercial director of the East Midlands Strategic Commercial Unit (EMSCU), said the culture of different equipment for different forces needed to be addressed if chief constables were serious about driving through more efficient practices.

"When I came to join the police, one of the things I couldn't understand was that there were 43 police forces in England and Wales and those 43 police forces have got 43 different uniforms," he said.

"It's crazy. I can understand why it's happened. It's happened over a period of time.

"But it's been driven because forces have been looking after their uniforms locally. Therefore, there's no need to do something nationally. It needs to get sorted out. Really, we just need to have a single specification of police uniform."

Police forces in England and Wales currently spend around £1.7bn on equipment annually - 13% of their total budget.

But the price for similar pieces of equipment can vary considerably. For standard issue handcuffs, the cost can range from £14 to £43.

The disparity is even wider when you look at police issue boots - from £25 to £114. And high-visibility jackets also vary widely, from £20 to £100.

Nottinghamshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Paddy Tipping is part of a nationwide steering group which has examined ways in which forces can co-operate more closely.

It concluded that potential savings of £300m could be achieved through greater co-ordination on procurement.

"Forces know they have got to do it. Chief Constables who like to be, dare I say it, barons in their own kingdom, know that they want to protect the local policing and the penny has dropped."

While backing the proposed collaboration measures, the NPCC, which was formerly known as the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), warned they may not be enough to help forces deal with the budget cuts.

The NPCC's Chair Sara Thornton said: "We've dealt with cuts of 25% in Government grant in the last five years and are set for similar following the Comprehensive Spending Review in the Autumn.

"We're likely to have lost around 70,000 police posts by 2020.  This means we have to make fundamental changes to the way we police otherwise we will fail in our service to the public and unacceptably stress our staff. 

"Improving the way we procure equipment and services will save us some money, as will sharing more within and outside policing.

"But they won't solve the problem alone."

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