Sajid Javid sends letter to Labour MP about rail strike but it backfires spectacularly

More railway workers are to be balloted for strikes in escalating disputes over pay and jobs, increasing the threat of a summer of travel chaos.

The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) served notice to ballot hundreds of workers at Southeastern, saying it was demanding a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies, no unagreed changes to terms and conditions, and a pay increase which reflects the rising cost of living.

The ballot opens on June 23 and closes on July 11, so action could start from July 25.

In response, Sajid Javid sent a letter to Labour Wes Streeting to complain about the possible strike action.

He wrote: “Vulnerable patients will miss appointments. Doctors and nurses won’t be able to get to work. It’s time @wesstreeting put patients first, stands up for the NHS and condemns the unjustified rail strikes.”

Well, this was an epic response.

Wes replied and wrote: “Thanks for your letter, but it looks like you confused me for @grantshapps – the person who could prevent these strikes. But as you’ve written to me, can you finally answer my previous letter to you about the years you avoided paying tax in Britain?”

Labour said the Health Secretary previously co-owned a company called SA Capital, set up in 2003, with his brother and their respective wives.

Records show he was director for a day in May 2005, before giving up his and his wife’s shares, the party claimed.

During that year, Labour said SA Capital raised nearly £1 million in loans, though only £411,000 was secured from banks, leaving £585,000 unaccounted for.

In a letter to HMRC calling for an investigation, Mr Streeting raised a number of questions about the arrangements.

He said if the purpose of the loans was “to provide a tax-efficient way for money held offshore to enter Britain”, then Mr Javid “potentially avoided paying hundreds of thousands of pounds to HMRC”.

“I urge you to investigate this further to establish the facts of this case, and to ensure that the people of this nation are taxed fairly and equitably,” he wrote.