Hit by cuts, Britain goes on strike

As a show of defiance against the striking teachers, Prime Minister David Cameron dropped his two eldest children Nancy, 7, and Arthur, 5, to school in west London. However, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg preferred not to take his children to their school which was closed.

Elsewhere, nearly 12,000 state-run schools were officially closed. The strike has been called against pension reforms and spending cuts that have led to thousands of job losses.

The four unions on strike are the Public and Commercial Services Union, Universities and College Union, Association of Teachers and Lecturers and the National Union of Teachers.

At Heathrow airport, passengers said they were delayed at the immigration desk but “not excessively delayed”.

In a heated discussion on BBC Radio, cabinet office minister Francis Maude said: “All the early indications I’m getting from airports and ports are that fewer (union) members are heeding inflamed calls for action, more are turning up for work and we are maintaining a much better service than we expected to be able to.”