INDUSTRIAL: Thousands of civilian staff in London’s Metropolitan Police are to strike this week in a dispute over pay.

The PCS union said 6,500 of its members will walk out on Thursday following a previous strike in November.

They are demanding a £1,250 London allowance that their officer colleagues receive.

Some 130 union members in the London Mayor’s Office for Policing & Crime will strike from Monday to Thursday in a separate pay dispute.

JUSTICE SYSTEM: Sir Keir Starmer has been warned a rebel Labour MP could trigger a by-election unless the government scraps plans to restrict jury trials.

Karl Turner, a former shadow attorney general and criminal barrister, told the Sunday Times he was prepared to quit the Commons to force a by-election to make his “principled point.”

The Hull East MP broke the party whip for the first time since becoming an MP in 2010 to vote against the proposals and said Sir Keir “ought to be ashamed of himself” over the plans.

EDUCATION: Teaching staff represented by the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) at Craigclowan School near Perth will take strike action today and tomorrow following a decision by school bosses to remove teachers from the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme.

The union said the employer aims to bring in new pension arrangements through dismissal and re-engagement.

The EIS said it has attempted to find a solution to the dispute but its efforts had been rejected, with school bosses not prepared to speak to the union directly.