Prescott warns fire bosses

Firefighters have been angered by Mr Prescott's words

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has issued a stark warning to fire service employers ahead of talks with the firefighters' union.

He sent a letter to Sir Jeremy Beecham, chairman of the Local Government Association, stressing that the government would not write a blank cheque to resolve the dispute.

That message was later underlined by Prime Minister Tony Blair, who said he was prepared to endure protests from Labour's natural supporters rather than see the country pay the price.

It is better to do the right thing, even if it's the unpopular thing

Tony Blair

Meanwhile trade unions are preparing to show their support for the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) with a national demonstration on Saturday, 7 December.

Union chiefs and local employers met separately ahead of the resumption of talks on Friday, and employers said they were working with ministers on a new proposal to put to the FBU.

"We will be inviting the FBU to suspend their next strike to allow technical work to continue unimpeded by the dispute," employers said in a statement.

In Mr Prescott's letter, he told the employers they could not commit the government to any deal which needed extra government cash.

John Prescott's letter
Click here for full text

The prime ministers' official spokesman said the letter was to ensure that all sides understood the ground rules.

It was aimed at avoiding a repetition of last Friday when an employers' spokesman said a deal had been done and the government was required to fund it.

In a speech to a Labour Party audience in Cardiff, Mr Blair defended his government's stance, saying Labour had learned hard lessons from its long years out of power.

Prescott praised the efficiency of the system

"What we are never going to do as a government is to go back to the days that we left behind us, that scarred us, that left us in the 18 years of opposition," he said.

"In the end, it is better to do the right thing, even if it's the unpopular thing than to do the wrong thing and have the country pay the consequences of it."

A number of trade unionists due to be at the fundraising dinner boycotted the event in protest at the handling of the fire strike.

Earlier, ministers sent a clear message of intent on modernisation by telling firefighters to learn from the military how best to operate joint control rooms - a key point of conflict between the two sides.

Mr Prescott visited a joint military, police and ambulance control room in London.

He said: "They are doing a remarkable job getting a joint control room up and running - something we can't get from the FBU at the moment."

Mr Prescott's comments will anger firefighters, who believe the modernisation demanded by the government will mean job cuts and deaths.

They believe control rooms would become call centres, trying to merge three incompatible services.

	:	Opposed to change?
Picketing firefighters have their say

FBU general secretary Andy Gilchrist told BBC News control rooms should remain separate.

He said: "The simple fact is there are three very distinct roles and it's not a simple case of sticking three different people in a building to do effectively three different jobs."

The picket lines are holding firm

Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith has called on striking firefighters to go back to work and negotiate.

He accused the government of incompetence and blamed Mr Prescott for not averting the latest strike.

More strikes

Meanwhile, a 30-year-old woman has been charged with murder, following a fatal fire near Maidstone, Kent last weekend, which was attended by the Army and striking firefighters.

Matthew Thatcher, 27, collapsed with smoke inhalation while the fire ripped through his home.

He was one of seven people who have died in house fires since the start of the eight-day strike last Friday, when negotiations broke down after the government refused to approve a deal.

The strike is set to end at 0900 GMT on Saturday and will be followed by two further eight-day-long walkouts next Wednesday and on 16 December - unless a deal can be reached.

A planned strike ballot among London Underground workers in a row linked to the firefighters' dispute has been suspended.