news The man killing your Christmas: Mick ‘Grinch’ Lynch REFUSES to back down in strike talks

Militant union boss Mick Lynch has refused to call off a series of rail strikes which are set to cripple Britain next month, threatening a Christmas of chaos as pub, fast-food,

Royal Mail staff and nurses also prepare to walk out over the crucial festive period. The RMT chief said his members are 'once bitten twice shy' after calling off industrial

action a fortnight ago with no deal to show for it - but added that talks with Transport Secretary Mark Harper on Thursday afternoon had been positive. It comes as a winter of

discontent looms with tens of thousands of workers across vital sectors threatening walkouts in the coming weeks, including firefighters, midwives, doctors, postal workers and

more. But Mr Lynch insisted he was 'not the Grinch' today and rejected the notion that he was 'holding the country to ransom', urging the British public to point their anger

towards the government. He added: 'If we call off strikes we won't get a settlement. We've not had a strike for seven weeks and nothing's happened. There's been ample time for

this lot to get their act together... and they've done nothing.'As he spoke he was heckled by a man proclaiming 'Jesus is coming' and accused the union boss of being a 'communist',

'anti-Christ' and 'anti-Government'.Transport Secretary Mr Harper said the talks had been 'productive' Thursday. He said: 'There was a shared agreement in the meeting, we both want

to have a thriving railway that is sustainable for the future, that serves passengers, that serves the country and also provides good, well-paid jobs for the people he

represents.'So, I think there is a lot of shared agreement there, but we need to have the two sides - the trade unions and the employers - sit down, agree on the detail so that we

can bring this dispute to an end.' Mick Lynch insisted he was 'not the Grinch' today and rejected the notion that he was 'holding the country to ransom', urging the British public

to point their anger towards the government The RMT chief said his members are 'once bitten twice shy' after calling off industrial action a fortnight ago with no deal to show for

it - but added that talks with Transport Secretary Mark Harper on Thursday afternoon had been positive (Pictured: An empty Kings Cross Station in London during rail strikes last

month) More than 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union across Network Rail and 14 train operating companies will walk out on December 13, 14, 16 and 17 and on

January 3, 4, 6 and 7. Greene King staff voted for strike action after the brewer offered them a 3 per cent pay rise and a one-off payment of £650, which it described as a