TRANSPORT Secretary Grant Shapps was accused today of blocking negotiations that could have averted Wednesday’s strike by railway workers.

The TUC said that it had received expert legal opinion that Mr Shapps has the power to resolve the dispute, but is instead choosing to prolong the bitter dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.

In the run-up to the latest strike, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer again ordered members of his front-bench team not to join union picket lines.