Strike on after all-night talks fail

An eight-day strike by firefighters will go ahead today after last-ditch talks ended in failure, the Fire Brigades Union said.

Negotiations continued through the night with hopes of some sort of deal being struck rising and fading several times.

But employers’ representatives and union officials were unable to reach agreement and news that the first eight-day-long strike in the dispute would go ahead came at 7.30am – an hour and a half before it was due to start.