Thousands of members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union at the Home Office have decided on a one-day strike to demonstrate their anger over cuts to UK border staff numbers, pay and other issues.

They have announced the strike will take place on July 26, the day before the Olympic Opening Ceremony.

The move would cause major problems at key London 2012 transport hubs, including Heathrow Airport, now entering its busiest ever period.

Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, warned the union to reconsider the move.

Volunteers at Heathrow Airport waiting to assist London 2012 athletes earlier this week

"There is nothing particularity new about the threat of strike action from unions and we have good contingency plans in place," he said at a press conference here.

"We had a strike last autumn of border security guards and we had a contingency plan and that worked pretty smoothly and we have contingency plans in place if it happens again now.

"But we would be very disappointed if it actually came to that.

"If the unions chose to strike during an Olympic period, I'm absolutely confident that Olympic plans would continue and we would be able to minimise any disruption, but it would be completely out of tune with the mood of the British public.

"This is a moment when Britain wants to show its best face to the world, and that is what the vast majority of the public want as well.

"I would strongly counsel any unions thinking of disrupting this very important period, I think they would lose huge amounts of public support if they really tried to do this."

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