Chaos at Oxford Circus as entire Tube network starts grinding to a halt

Tube services in London are at a standstill. A 24-hour strike is underway, meaning misery for millions.

The action began on Wednesday evening with hundreds of commuters crowing into Tube stations to try and beat the strike.

Picket lines were mounted outside stations by members of four trade unions involved in a 24-hour walkout in a row over the new all-night Tubes, due to start in mid-September.

Business groups said the action will cost the capital millions of pounds, while commuters face a difficult day getting to and from work tomorrow.

LU's boss warned that the strike will cause "big disruption" in the capital, but branded it "totally unnecessary".

Managing director Mike Brown said in a message to passengers that the company had "strained every muscle" to put together a "remarkably fair" pay offer for the introduction of the new Tubes.

Services started running down late this afternoon ahead of the official walkout from 6.30pm, which coincided with a 48-hour stoppage by workers on First Great Western which will disrupt trains to and from London Paddington.

Workers involved in the two separate disputes staged a rally outside Paddington.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union, Aslef, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association and Unite have been in dispute over pay being offered for the new all-night Tubes.

• Managers have tabled a "final" offer, including an average 2% rise this year

• At least RPI inflation for each of the next two years

• And £2,000 for drivers on the new service

Transport for London said extra bus and river services will run, but warned that roads and all public transport will be much busier than usual.