A Dorset MP has accused unions of using railway employees as 'political pawns' as he slammed train strikes which are set to hit Christmas travellers this month.

Chris Loder, Conservative representative for West Dorset, was speaking on BBC Radio 4's World at One show on Wednesday, December 7. 

When asked by presenter Sarah Montague whether he supported the upcoming strikes on the railway, the former train guard said 'absolutely not' before launching an attack on union chief Mick Lynch.

Commuters face four days without trains to or from Weymouth before Christmas as a result of upcoming strike action.

South Western Railway - which serves the town - has announced restricted timetables for the demonstrations announced by the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union (RMT).

As well as slamming the strikes, Mr Loder backed new legislation set to be put forward by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak which aims to combat the lack of rail services during strikes.

Mr Sunak recently told MPs he was working on 'new tough laws' to protect people from disruption.

Nurses, paramedics, rail staff and postal workers are among employees on strike this winter over pay and conditions.

The new legislation - which has not yet been debated - would ensure minimum service levels on transport networks during strike action.

Mr Loder told the BBC that Mr Lynch, general secretary of the RMT union, is running on 'very thin ice'.

"No I am absolutely not [in support of strikes]. Mick Lynch is now using hard-working railway employees as political pawns," he said.

"I think [he] is on very thin ice with this now because there are a lot of frontline staff who think [striking] in a cost-of-living difficulty running up to Christmas is too much and he needs to be very careful.

"The ongoing support for these strikes is starting to come into question."

Mr Loder added that the unions are 'forcing' tougher legislation to happen and the UK would be following in the footsteps of countries such as Spain and France by bringing in new laws.

"I personally would prefer it if it didn't [come in] but we are in a situation where the unions are forcing it," he said. 

The Dorset MP concluded to say that he wanted the legislation to be brought forward 'as soon as possible' and said the PM had good support for the new laws.

Mr Lynch has requested a meeting with Mr Sunak to resolve the disputes which have been hitting train services.

The RMT says that it has received no revised offers from railway companies to meet its demands and has given the green light for scheduled upcoming strike action.