Strikes are absolutely unjustifiable, says Francis Maude

Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude has hit back at unions staging a 24-hour strike, calling them "absolutely unjustifiable".

Services including job centres and courts will be hit and thousands of schools closed as public sector workers across the UK stage a 24-hour strike.

Mr Maude told BBC Breakfast "People are going to be scratching their heads, wondering why teachers and some civil servants are going on strike while discussions are still going about how we keep public sector pensions".