Junior doctors have entered a second day of strike action as the bitter dispute over pay shows no sign of being resolved.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the timing of the strike was “regrettable” and he accused the British Medical Association (BMA) of putting patients at “greater risk” after not agreeing any national exemptions for strike action for some services, such as cancer care.
The Government and the union appeared to be deadlocked after Downing Street insisted there will be no talks unless junior doctors abandon their starting position of a 35 per cent rise and call off the strikes.
It comes as hospital bosses expressed concern about keeping patients safe as they struggle to secure cover for overnight junior doctor shifts during strikes.
Discussing the issue on LBC, Oli Dugmore pointed out that junior doctors are not asking for an “extraordinary pay rise – they’re only asking for the restoration of what they were paid in 2008”.
“That’s not an unreasonable demand”.
His blistering monologue managed to silence fellow panelists in just under a minute.
Watch the clip in full below:
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