TUC deals blow to Blair with support for firefighters' strike

Union leaders delivered a blow to Tony Blair's hopes of avoiding a national firefighters' strike last night when they backed their colleagues and attacked the Government's handling of the dispute.

The Prime Minister had hoped that the TUC would invoke a 23-year-old code of practice that, in effect, bans action for staff of essential services that would put the public at risk. But the TUC's ruling council reaffirmed its support for the Fire Brigades Union's campaign and declared its "respect" for the nine-to-one vote for national strikes.

The decision was a blow to Downing Street and came as the Government began to dig in for the prospect of the first national fire strike since 1977. Alistair Darling, the Secretary of State for Transport, underlined the dangers when he warned motorists to reduce their speeds to avoid accidents. Firefighters would not be available to help, he said.

John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, pleaded with the FBU to "think again". In an emergency statement to the House of Commons, Mr Prescott said the threatened action was "completely unnecessary and completely unjustified" and the union's position was indefensible. The public and businesses were urged to take "sensible precautions" on fire safety. Mr Prescott said contingency arrangements were in place and warned that the "risk of loss of life and property will be higher" than usual.

The FBU accused Mr Prescott of trying to "morally blackmail" the union by raising the prospect of it not attending major disasters, while the TUC statement criticised ministers for describing the proposed strikes as "criminal" and for talking of "crushing" the FBU.

John Edmonds, the general secretary of the GMB general union, said the TUC statement showed the union movement was standing "shoulder to shoulder" with the firefighters. The statement fell short of a whole-hearted endorsement of the 36 days of national strikes in support of a 40 per cent pay claim but encouraged unions to ask employers to carry out "risk assessments" that could lead to walkouts on safety grounds.

London Underground indicated staff refusing to work during the 48-hour strike starting 9am next Tuesday could be sacked. The RMT rail union and Aslef, the train drivers' union, meet today to plan a response.

In an indication that Downing Street is determined not to give in, government sources said secondary action by rail and Tube unions would not be tolerated. With the Health and Safety Executive likely to declare that the railways and Underground can operate without fire officer cover, action by Aslef or the RMT would result in a court injunction.

Andy Gilchrist, the general secretary of the FBU, said the Government had six days to settle the dispute before any lives were put at risk.