Bin strike's impact completely unacceptable - PM

The strike has left more than 17,000 tonnes of rubbish on the streets of Birmingham, attracting increasing numbers of rats

The prime minister has condemned the all-out bin strike in Birmingham as "completely unacceptable".

Sir Keir Starmer told the Commons during Prime Minister's Questions that he also supported the Labour-run city council's decision to declare a major incident, imposed 20 days into the strike over workers' pay.

It comes after Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accused him of not wanting to talk about Birmingham and referred to the more than 17,000 tonnes of rubbish that have been building up on the streets since 11 March.

"Normally a state of emergency is called for natural disasters, not Labour ones," she said.

Addressing the house, Sir Keir said: "In relation to the situation in Birmingham, it is completely unacceptable. I fully support the council in declaring a major incident to resolve the situation.

"We'll put in whatever additional support is needed."

Sir Keir Starmer said he supported the council's major incident declaration

The exchange in the House of Commons came after the council acted on Monday over "rising concerns of risks to public health and damage to our environment".

In its announcement, the authority also said daily picket lines by workers who are members of the Unite union, were blocking its depots, preventing refuse vehicles from getting out, directly reducing the amount of waste that can be collected.

In response, Unite's general secretary Sharon Graham accused the council of being "hellbent on imposing its plans of demotions and pay cuts at all costs", as opposed to negotiating a settlement.

Unite has said a planned restructuring of the city's refuse service would see 50 workers lose £8,000 a year and about 20 lose £2,000 per annum - claims the council has rejected.

Residents in Birmingham have been left with rotting piles of waste outside their doors for weeks on end

Some calls have been made for the police to step in and prevent workers from blocking refuse vehicles getting out to collect waste.

Councillor Roger Harmer, leader of Birmingham Liberal Democrats, called on police to take urgent action, claiming they had powers to stop obstructions "if they choose to use them".

"If the police need more resources, they must be found," he said.

"If they are unwilling to do this, then the chief constable should resign and be replaced by someone who will act."

Speaking to BBC Radio WM, West Midlands Chief Constable Craig Guildford, said the police's job was actually to facilitate people's rights to lawful protest but also other people's rights to go to work.

West Midlands Police said they had "ample resources" to police the strikes

He also described Mr Harmer's comments as "quite amusing actually, from an armchair observer".

"Our job is to make sure we police proportionately – that we are fair, that we tread that middle ground, that we facilitate lawful protest and at the same time people wanting to go to work," he said.

"That's our job. We've got ample resources to police these things and the commander on the ground will increase or reduce that resourcing as he or she sees fit."

Analysis

By Rob Mayor, BBC Midlands Today Political Reporter

Reports of oversized rodents have come in from across the city

Residents in Birmingham have been dealing with mountains of rubbish and reports of oversized rodents for several months now.

But it's only in the last few weeks, since bin workers in the Unite Union downed tools completely, that the strike has become a hot political issue.

Today, for the first time, the prime minister was forced to comment directly on the 17,000 tonnes of waste which is lying in the city's streets.

The longer the strike goes on, the more the pressure will grow on the Labour government to intervene in the affairs of a Labour-run council that is in dispute with trade union Unite, itself closely tied to the Labour movement.

Awkward stuff for the politicians involved, though you won't hear much sympathy from residents who simply want them to find a resolution and get on with clearing up the mess.