Two Day London Tube Strike Begin

England fans will get to see their team play Andorra despite planned strikes on the London Underground, the Football Association has said.

Fears over the safety of moving 70,000 fans to and away from the stadium had raised the possibility the England squad would be forced to play behind closed doors.

But after a crisis meeting with the Metropolitan Police, Transport for London and Brent Council it has been decided fans will be permitted to attend tomorrow's match.

Speaking to Sky Sports, chief executive of the Football Association Ian Watmore said the turnstiles will now be opening at 5.45pm and advised supporters to travel to the game as early as possible.

A 48-hour strike by thousands of London Underground workers has begun after last-minute talks to try to resolve the row broke down.

Members of the Rail Maritime and Transport union walked out at the start of a stoppage which is expected to cause travel chaos across the capital.

The union believes the entire network to come to a halt, causing huge problems for millions of commuters and visitors and costing businesses tens of millions of pounds.

Leaders of the union met London Underground (LU) managers at the offices of the conciliation service Acas all day.

But they failed to find a breakthrough in time to stop the strike going ahead.

The dispute is over pay, jobs and disciplinary issues, including the sacking of two drivers.

The union said the talks broke down just a few minutes before the strike started and accused LU of "pulling the rug" from a proposed deal aimed at settling the dispute.

RMT leader Bob Crow said: "The strike goes ahead and we expect it to be solidly supported."

Transport for London urged people to check before they travel, to stagger their journeys and to consider alternative ways of getting to work such as walking and cycling.

Contingency plans have been put in place, including extra buses, taxi-sharing at
major rail stations and free river shuttle services.

Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy said: "We regret the disruption the strike will cause to passengers as the impact on Tube services is likely to be significant.

"However, the mayor and TfL have prepared plans to keep London moving and thousands of TfL staff will be on hand across the city to help our passengers.

"A massive effort is being made, including boosting bus and river services, providing escorted commuter cycle rides and more central London cycle parking and distribution of thousands of walking maps at rail and Tube stations.

"We urge everyone travelling in and around London during the strike to check before you travel and to consider the wide range of alternative travel options."

The CBI said the strike was damaging for business, would cause widespread inconvenience and hurt London's reputation.

Deputy director general John Cridland said: "It is regrettable that a small minority of people are prepared to inflict this kind of disruption on others at such a difficult time."

No extra transport is being put on and overground trains will not stop at Wembley.

There will be no park-and-ride facilities and Mr Watmore has warned car parking at the ground is severely restricted.

He also said supporters should make their own arrangements to get home rather than relying on public transport for the journey home.

Millions of commuters and visitors to London are also facing travel chaos since talks aimed at averting a 48-hour strike by Tube workers broke down.

Thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union will now walk out from 7pm today until 7pm on Thursday, bringing the network to a standstill.

The announcement was made by the union after marathon, 10-hour talks failed to produce a breakthrough to a bitter dispute over jobs and pay.

London mayor Boris Johnson has put in place a series of contingency plans aimed at helping commuters get to work, including extra buses, taxi-sharing and schemes to lead cyclists across the capital.



But the union predicted travel chaos as a result of the industrial action.

General secretary Bob Crow said the union had made every effort during the talks to reach a deal with London Underground over job losses and a pay deal.

He said: "Not only could the management side not reach an agreement on the kind of deal needed to end this dispute, they also found it difficult to stick to existing agreements on redundancies.

"The strike will now go ahead and we expect it to be solidly supported."

The union balloted up to 10,000 of its members, including drivers, station staff and maintenance workers.

London Underground tabled an improved pay offer during talks last Friday and had urged the union to call off the strike, which will cause huge disruption across the capital.