THERE can be no “back-pedalling” on the New Deal for Workers, POA general secretary Steve Gillan warned Labour today at the union’s annual conference in Eastbourne.

Mr Gillan told shadow prison minister Ruth Cadbury that the prison officers’ union does not “forget easily,” referencing previous Labour prime minister Tony Blair’s breaking of a pledge to repeal anti-strike legislation.

Ms Cadbury told delegates that the government had failed to provide “serious answers” to problems of violence faced by prison officers, adding that the government had “more pilots than EasyJet,” rather than actions.