BRITAIN: Crisis talks continued late last night with the UK's threatened eight-day firefighters' strike still set to commence at 9 a.m. today.
Ministers, local government employers and the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) all expressed public hopes for some last-gasp compromise which would see the strike called-off.
But as troops again prepared to provide Britain and Northern Ireland with emergency cover, and with police almost certain to be ordered to cross union picket lines, the mood was suddenly more bitter as FBU officials accused the employers or the government of deliberately seeking to "stir up" the strike action, still planned in phases for the weeks running up to Christmas.
Both sides clashed angrily, even over the terms of the deal on offer, with the employers insisting it amounted to 16 per cent, albeit tied to radical reform of firefighters' working practices, while the FBU dismissed it as a "derisory" 4 per cent in response to the union's original demand for a 40 per cent increase.
FBU general secretary Mr Andy Gilchrist said: "The simple truth is that a 4 per cent offer at this stage is entirely unacceptable. We have been engaged in this process for many months and it was our serious hope that we could avoid strike." While he would be keeping his telephone switched on in readiness for any further negotiation, Mr Gilchrist declared the strike was still "most certainly on". One signal that the government was resigned to an escalation of the dispute came with reports that the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr John Prescott, would not be travelling to Glasgow this morning, where he was to deputise for Mr Tony Blair - who is attending the Nato summit - at a meeting of the British Irish Council alongside the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern.
As Mr Prescott made an emergency statement to MPs in the Commons last night, minister Mr Nick Raynsford said it was "extraordinary" that the FBU should reject an immediate inflation-breaking 4 per cent offer, with the certainty of incremental increases, tied to modernisation and reform, increasing the basic firefighter's pay to £25,000 (a 16 per cent overall increase) within the year. Mr Raynsford accused the union of seeking to "impose restrictive practices" and defended the government's refusal to find extra money to fund a pay settlement, standing-by the Bain report's view that the necessary savings could be found through more efficient working practices.
Under pressure from defence chiefs, the Defence Secretary, Mr Geoff Hoon, signalled on Wednesday that troops would not be ordered over picket lines, and that it would fall to the police to commandeer modern red fire engines.