The stance represents a stepping up of their conflict with ministers and follows on from test boycotts and industrial action.

BBC: Education & Family

Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT) members will vote on industrial action ahead of preparations to test trains without drivers.

BBC: Strike ballot over tests for driverless Tube trains

This is the first big test of Tony Blair's industrial policy.

ECONOMIST: A handbrake on subsidies | The

Beans will be turned into chocolate on Tcho's elaborate production line, which is being used as a test-bed for remote video-monitoring of industrial processes by researchers at Fuji Xerox in Palo Alto.

ECONOMIST: A start-up innovates in an unexpected field