SNP First Minister John Swinney was accused today of “behaving like a Tory” after ScotRail timetables were torn up as the pay dispute on Scotland’s railways deepens.

All rail trade unions — Aslef, RMT, TSSA and Unite — have rejected the Scottish government-owned employer’s sub-inflation wage offer of 2 per cent backdated to April, followed by 1 per cent from January and in the subsequent two years, in line with Scottish government public-sector pay policy.

Amid an ongoing overtime ban by Aslef train drivers, ScotRail’s Mark Ilderton announced a temporary timetable on Tuesday cutting hundreds of services.