The Government has told GB News it has no plans to send in the military to deal with the growing public health crisis caused by the bin strike in Birmingham.
Birmingham City Council declared a major incident at the beginning of this week, as more than 17,000 tonnes of waste have been left piled up on the streets of Britain's second city.
Former government minister Edwina Curry said the army should be deployed as a matter of urgency to deal with a crisis which had now become a serious public health issue, with a real risk of disease.
She told GB News: "I tell you what I'd do now. I'd have a quick word with the Secretary of State for Defence and I'd get the army in.
Birmingham bin strike leaves rubbish piling upPA"And it wouldn't be the first time the army has been deployed in similar circumstances. In 1970, there was a bin strike in London and the army was called in to clear the rubbish from the streets."
The former health minister said the risk of serious disease was very real.
"It's a public health issue. It's not just politics, it's a public health issue. With rats and rubbish, really you're talking about spreading disease. You're talking about spreading serious diseases."
GB News contacted the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which is run by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Unite union members have been on all-out strike in Birmingham since 11 March in a dispute over pay and conditions
PAAsked whether the military might be deployed to assist in combating the growing crisis, a spokesperson said: "We are monitoring the situation closely. The response is locally led. We wouldn't consider sending in the army."
The Prime Minister's official spokesperson said the crisis caused by the ongoing refuse collection dispute was "unacceptable" and the Government was "monitoring the situation and working with the council."
However, they said they were "not aware the army is an option".
Unite union members have been on all-out strike in Birmingham since 11 March in a dispute over pay and conditions.
The council's declaration of a major incident allows them to bring in extra crews to help deal with the mountains of rubbish
PA
The council's declaration of a major incident allows them to bring in extra crews to help deal with the mountains of rubbish.
Refuse workers have reportedly told Unite that waste managers were concentrating on cleaning "more affluent, less built-up areas" because picking up rubbish from those locations was seen as being easier.
But the council has accused the union of blocking refuse lorries from leaving their depots.