The Tube management is clear about where it all went wrong. Its view is summed up in the Standard's headline:
Tube shutdown by dispute over two sacked men.
Dick Murray reports that both are drivers, that one was sacked for opening the doors on the wrong side of the train at a Victoria Line station (and "lying about carrying out safety checks") and that the other has been charged with theft.
This is my information too, though the RMT disputes TfL's complaint that the issue of these two men was introduced into the talks at the last minute, scuppering what was almost a done deal. "The issue of victimisation and bullying of staff was always part of the negotiation," says an RMT spokesman, adding that the union always considered matter of the two drivers to fall into that category.
As Annie Mole reports, Peter Hendy says the union has given Londoners a "slap in the face" while Bob Crow is still claiming that management had been reluctant to stick to existing agreements over redundancies. He says he's willing to consider calling in Acas, but it looks a little late in the day for that.
