Further walkouts in postal dispute

Several thousand workers in London and Liverpool were said to be taking unofficial industrial action for a second day in protest at new shift patterns.

The Royal Mail said 30 sites out of 1,500 were affected, adding that more than 97% of its staff were back at work following an official 48-hour stoppage by the Communication Workers Union (CWU). That strike ended at 3am on Wednesday, but workers walked out again after being told their shift times had been changed.

The two sides resumed talks in a bid to resolve the long-running row and head off another wave of strikes from next Monday.

In Liverpool, the wildcat strike escalated from Wednesday's 10 sorting offices to 17 across Merseyside, with feelings said to be running high among workers.

CWU official Mark Walsh said: "The staff came into work and were told that their starting hours had been changed and they would not be paid for some time and they would be expected to stay later at the end of the day. These changes had been imposed on the staff without their agreement and they decided of their own accord not to go to work."

In the Commons, Shadow Business Secretary Alan Duncan accused ministers of "lacking the will or direction" to put an end to the postal strike. "Ministers are completely lacking any sense of will or direction in ending this devastating strike that is hurting hundreds of thousands of businesses and consumers alike," he said.

"Put simply there is no urgency in trying to bring the postal strike to an end. Where is the leadership from this Government and where is the desire to make Britain work better? Business needs ministers who will take a lead, not ministers who baulk at making the big decisions."

Business Secretary John Hutton said in the Commons that the offer made to Royal Mail staff was a "decent and fair one" and he hoped the dispute would end as "quickly as possible".

Meanwhile Labour MP John McDonnell tabled an Early Day Motion in Parliament, calling on the Prime Minister to intervene personally in the dispute. "As the sole shareholder and owner of Royal Mail the Government cannot just stand by and do nothing," he said.