TWO days of strikes in York have been called off following the death of the Queen.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union have suspended train strikes due for September 15 and 17 following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Its general secretary Mick Lynch said: "RMT joins the whole nation in paying its respects to Queen Elizabeth. The planned railway strike action on September 15 and 17 is suspended.

"We express our deepest condolences to her family, friends and the country."

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union RMT said its members will not now walk out on September 15 and 17 at Network Rail and 14 train operators.

The operators included York-based LNER, who run services on the East Coast Mainline to London and Edinburgh, TransPennine Express, whose trains run to cities including Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool, Northern, whose services include the York to Harrogate route and CrossCountry, whose services from York run to cities including Birmingham and Bristol.

It followed the announcement yesterday that postal workers in York have also called off strike action planned for today (September 9) following the death of the Queen.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) General Secretary Dave Ward said: “Following the very sad news of the passing of the Queen, and out of respect for her service to the country and her family, the union has decided to call off tomorrow’s planned strike action.”