Boris Johnson in historic talks with unions as Tube drivers call off royal wedding strike

Boris Johnson tonight attempted to rebuild his relationship with Tube drivers after welcoming their decision to abandon plans for a royal wedding day strike.

The Mayor wrote to Aslef general secretary Keith Norman inviting him to face-to-face talks in a bid to solve their dispute over bank holiday working.

This is a radical move for Mr Johnson who normally refuses to get involved in direct talks with union barons and leaves negotiatons to Transport for London officials.

The train drivers' union wants its members to receive three days' pay and receive a day in lieu for working bank holidays. A strike on Boxing Day brought the Underground to its knees.

In the letter, seen by the Standard, Mr Johnson invited Mr Norman - whose union has funded Labour mayoral candidate Ken Livingstone - to meet "at your earliest convenience" in an attempt to resolve the dispute over Bank holiday working.

However it is understood that no such invitation will be extended to Bob Crow's RMT, which has held several strikes over proposals to remove 900 Tube station staff and which City Hall feels is to ready to threaten industrial action.

The Mayor's spokesman said the "strategic" talks with Aslef would cover a range of issues such as Tube funding and the Olympics but not drivers' pay.