Labour ‘will not support any illegal strikers’

LABOUR MPS will not back trade unions which stage illegal strikes, deputy party leader Tom Watson has said.

Mr Watson said that while Labour was committed to changing existing trade union legislation, it did not want people to break the law.

His comments came after party leader Jeremy Corbyn repeatedly sidestepped questions as to whether he would support illegal strike action.

Mr Watson said the Unite trade union boss Len McCluskey – who has said he is ready to defy a legal requirement that strikes must be backed by a ballot with a turnout of more than 50 per cent – now accepted Labour MPs could not support illegal industrial action.

“I have actually received a letter from Len McCluskey this week where he says he accepts Labour MPs aren’t going to support calls for illegal strike action,” he told Sky News’s

“We don’t support people breaking the law. We don’t want people to break the law, we are democrats.

“We are going to change the law so that trade unionists can have greater rights because we think our current framework of laws is very unfair.”

Earlier, while appearing on BBC One’s

Mr Corbyn attempted to avoid questions about whether he backed unions calling illegal strikes.

Repeatedly pressed on whether he would back unions which defy the law, Mr Corbyn said: “I will be with those workers demanding a decent pay rise.”