Ministers blocking deal, say rail unions

RAIL union leaders have launched a fierce attack on the Government, accusing ministers of driving the bitter dispute over jobs, pay and conditions and blocking deals to resolve the row.

Former transport secretary Grant Shapps was singled out for criticism by officials from three unions when they gave evidence to the Transport Select Committee.

Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), said the long-running conflict was "conceived" by the Department for Transport (DfT).

"This is Shapps's project - the dispute has been bequested to the rest of us to sort out," he told MPs.

Frank Ward, interim general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA), said he had written to Mr Shapps when he was transport secretary asking for a meeting but had no response.

"He was non-existent," he told the committee.

Mick Whelan, general secretary of the Aslef train drivers' union, was asked to say how close, on a scale of one to 10, the situation was to a resolution.