EDUCATION unions have slammed the Tories’ “shameful” threat of legal action to force a London council to keep its schools open. 

Greenwich Council leader Danny Thorpe says that he received a directive from the Department for Education (DfE) on Monday that schools be kept fully open until the end of autumn term on Friday.

The south-east London borough had announced on Sunday that primaries, secondaries and colleges were advised to close several days early and move to online teaching because Covid-19 infections in the area have been increasing.