Evening Standard/London

David Cameron has condemned the London Underground strikes set to start tomorrow amid claims they will cost the capital £150mn.
With the capital facing chaos, the prime minister called on the unions to call off their five days of planned action and challenged Labour leader Ed Miliband to do the same.
He told the Evening Standard: “Next week’s Tube strike is completely unjustified and unacceptable.
“It will hit millions of hard-working families across the capital and cause chaos for businesses. Ed Miliband must make clear he condemns this strike without reservation.”
Tube workers are due to strike for five days over the next two weeks.
Miliband quickly responded by criticising the strike as “wrong”, but laid the responsibility on both sides, saying the RMT union and the Transport for London management must hold talks to avert it.
His spokesman said: “It is wrong millions of Londoners face the prospect of travel misery next week.
“Both sides must get round the table urgently and sort this out as quickly as possible. Strikes are always a sign of failure.”
Mayor Boris Johnson accused the union of treating passengers with “contempt”.
He told the Standard: “The RMT leadership is demonstrating once again its utter contempt for commuters and business alike. No one will be forced out of a job, no one will lose pay. Less than 3% of journeys start at a ticket office, at a cost of £50mn - by saving that money we can help keep fares down.
“This action is supported by just 30% of the RMT membership. It’s unacceptable, and hard working Londoners will suffer the most.”
Business leaders warned that the strikes would harm the capital, and they backed the controversial modernisation programme that is being opposed by the unions.
Baroness Jo Valentine, chief executive at London First, said: “The news of this latest strike threat baffles those millions of Londoners who rely on the Tube.
“Everyone was led to believe that all of the outstanding issues had been resolved in February - otherwise, why did the unions call off their strike action then? Whatever the pros and cons of the respective sides’ positions, the prospect of more disruption is a depressing one for Londoners.
“Revamping the Tube so that it meets the 21st century needs of the World’s leading city is vital. But surely this shouldn’t yet again be at the expense of Tube users - as ever, the innocent victims, particularly those who don’t get paid if they can’t get to work. Why should they have to endure frustration and huge inconvenience yet again?”
The Conservatives estimated the cost to the capital of lost trade from delays and disruption would be at least £150mn - enough to generate enough tax income to pay for 2,000 nurses, 1,750 teachers or 1,400 police officers.
Their figure was based on a London Chambers of Commerce study estimated that the major Tube strike in 2007 cost £48mn a day in lost productivity, worth around £60mn at today’s prices. The Tories estimated a £30mn per day cost because Transport for London predict that half of services will run this time.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union are due to walk out from 9pm tomorrow for two days, and for another three days from 9pm on Monday May 5. It is part of a long-running protest against ticket office closures and modernisations that the union claims will cost jobs, undermine services and jeopardise safety.
TfL is warning customers that services will be affected from around 9.30pm on the evening of tomorrow. The disruption will be worst on Tuesday and Wednesday when no underground services will run before 7am and a reduced service will operate. Services will end at 11pm but passengers are being warned that the last trains out of central London could depart as early as 9.30pm.
The strike is being timed just before a memorial service to the RMT’s former leader Bob Crow who died suddenly last month.
The RMT’s acting general secretary Mick Cash said: “Instead of attacking tube workers who are fighting to defend jobs and safety, David Cameron should be hauling in his Tory colleague Boris Johnson to explain why he has turned his promise to Londoners not to close ticket offices in its head and is now hell bent on axing every single one of them.
“We will not allow the future of the Tube to be turned into a battleground in the war between Cameron and Johnson for the Tory party leadership.”