Francis Maude accused of 'lies' by union's Mark Serwotka

General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union Mark Serwotka accused Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude of ''lies'' in a BBC Newsnight debate about the public sector pensions dispute chaired by Jeremy Paxman.

The government says it is committed to reaching an agreement over public sector pension changes, as talks with the teaching unions begin.

The meeting follows a 24-hour walk-out over the issue, which unions claim involved up to two million workers.