Strike at helicopter manufacturer suspended

Italian-owned Leonardo runs the UK's only helicopter factory in Somerset

Workers at one of the world's biggest defence firms have decided to suspend their strike action following a new pay offer.

About 3,000 employees at Leonardo, which runs the UK's only helicopter factory in Yeovil, Somerset, planned to walk out across five of the company's UK sites.

After last-minute talks, union Unite has agreed to suspend the action to allow for a ballot of members to take place on the new offer.

Leonardo has been approached for a comment.

Leonardo, which has its headquartered in Italy, manufactures defence industry equipment including helicopters, aerospace parts, electronics and cybersecurity technology.

It has five sites across the UK in Yeovil, Luton, Basildon, Edinburgh and Newcastle.

The AW149 is one of the helicopters manufactured by Leonardo staff

Rhys McCarthy, Unite national officer, said the "threat of action" has brought Leonardo "back to the table with a new and improved offer and we will now consult our members".

If the offer is rejected, strike action will take place on 12-13 November at its Yeovil, Luton and Basildon factories and 10-18 November in Edinburgh and Newcastle.