Nursing union leader calls on PM Rishi Sunak to intervene ahead of biggest NHS walkout in history
A nursing union leader is calling on the prime minister to intervene on the evening of the biggest NHS walkout in history.
Royal College of Nursing’s director for England, Patricia Marquis, has told Sky News that so far there has been no “direct contact” with Rishi Sunak despite four previous strike days.
“It’s a cry out to Rishi Sunak”, she said, “to come to the table to seek a resolution. So far we’ve not had direct contact with him, all of our efforts have been through the secretary of state for health.
“And those have not really brought us any solutions.
The Royal College of Nursing’s director for England, Patricia Marquis
“So really, now, we don’t want the strikes to go ahead tomorrow or at any point. And we’re really calling on the prime minister to intervene, to come to the table and seek a resolution with us.”
Monday 6 February will see tens of thousands of NHS workers including nurses, in England, and GMB union ambulance workers, in England and Wales, taking industrial action in a dispute over pay and conditions.
On Tuesday 7 February, a second day of nursing strikes will take place.
Thursday 9 February will see more than 4,000 NHS physiotherapists walk out across England.
And on Friday there will be more ambulance worker strikes – this time members represented by Unison in London, Yorkshire, the South West, the North East and North West.
Carmel O’Boyle has been a nurse in Scotland and Liverpool for six years, and an NHS worker for nearly two decades.
Carmel O’Boyle has been a nurse in Scotland and Liverpool for six years
She describes making the “horrendous” and “emotional” decision to strike.
“No nurse wants to strike,” she said, “but the wages just aren’t compatible with the cost of living”.
“We need a wage increase that is in line with inflation so that we can attract people, and keep people in the profession so that we can give the care to our patients that we want to deliver.”
Strikes will have ‘impact on patients’
The health secretary has described the industrial action as “regrettable” and said the strikes will “undoubtedly have an impact on patients and cause delays to NHS services”.
Carmel says the government needs to understand that “people aren’t dying because nurses are striking, nurses are striking because people are dying”.
Read more:
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Concern has also been raised over the impact the strikes will have on the NHS backlog of treatment and waiting lists.
Kim Whyman has been waiting for surgery on her elbow
Kim Whyman has been waiting for surgery on her elbow for two years.
It often dislocates and she often has to “pop it back in” herself. Her operation to stabilise it was scheduled for Monday, but due to strikes it has been cancelled for the second time.
Mrs Whyman, from Norfolk, describes being in pain regularly and is worried about the amount of painkillers she has to take, over a longer period of time, while she waits for surgery.
She works as a receptionist in a GP surgery but is “angry” over her care being disrupted.
‘It’s not fair’
“I’m not very happy,” she told Sky News. “You build yourself up to go into hospital and this is the second time it’s been cancelled in just under a month.
“I understand where (nurses) are coming from. But it’s everybody that’s been affected by their strike. Not just nurses.
“It’s patients and families, there are people worse off than me that are being cancelled as well. And it’s not fair”.
She said she wants immediate action from the government: “Give them a pay rise.”
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Junior doctors ‘likely to strike’
The RCN and other NHS unions in Wales called off strikes in Wales this week after receiving a new pay offer from the Welsh government, while negotiations in Scotland are ongoing.
In a statement from the government, Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: “We accepted the recommendations of the independent pay review body to give over one million NHS workers, including nurses and ambulance workers, a pay rise of at least £1,400 this financial year, on top of an increase the previous year when wider public sector pay was frozen”.
He added: “I have been having constructive talks with unions about what is affordable for 2023/24, and urge them to call off the strikes and come back around the table.”
Sir Keir Starmer has joined other European leaders in Kyiv to press Russia to agree an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
The prime minister is attending the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It is the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled to Ukraine at the same time – arriving in the capital by train – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kyiv. Pic: Reuters
Leaders arrive in Kyiv by train. Pic: PA
It comes after Donald Trump called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting is not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.
Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington the European leaders are “rowing in behind” the US president, who referred to his “European allies” for the first time in this context in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“So this meeting is all about heaping pressure on the Russians to go along with the American proposal,” he said.
“It’s the closest the Europeans and the US have been for about three months on this issue.”
Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron among world leaders in Kyiv. Pic: AP
Trump calls for ceasefire. Pic: Truth Social
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies are ready for a “full, unconditional ceasefire” for at least 30 days starting on Monday.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement.
European leaders show solidarity – but await Trump’s backing
The hope is Russia’s unilateral ceasefire, such as it’s worth, can be extended for a month to give peace a chance.
But ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian sources told Sky News they are still waiting for President Donald Trump to put his full weight behind the idea.
The US leader has said a 30-day ceasefire would be ideal, but has shown no willingness yet for putting pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to agree.
The Russians say a ceasefire can only come after a peace deal can be reached.
European allies are still putting their hopes in a negotiated end to the war despite Moscow’s intransigence and President Trump’s apparent one-sided approach favouring Russia.
Ukrainians would prefer to be given enough economic and military support to secure victory.
But in over three years, despite its massive economic superiority to Russia and its access to more advanced military technology, Europe has not found the political will to give Kyiv the means to win.
Until they do, Vladimir Putin may decide it is still worth pursuing this war despite its massive cost in men and materiel on both sides.
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
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Putin’s Victory Day parade explained
The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for a coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
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This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
A special constable has been jailed after taking pictures on his phone from bodycam footage showing a dying man.
Former police volunteer William Heggs, 23, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment at Leicester Crown Court on Friday after showing the photos of victim William Harty, 28, to a female colleague and storing them on his Snapchat account.
Mr Harty was found seriously injured in a residential street in Leicester on 25 October 2021 and Heggs had attended the scene, helping with CPR before paramedics arrived.
Mr Harty died in hospital a day later and the man responsible for his injuries, his brother-in-law Martin Casey, was subsequently convicted of his manslaughter.
Heggs showed the pictures he had taken of bodycam footage of Mr Harty’s body to a Leicestershire Police constable, who reported Heggs and said she did not like seeing blood.
His phone was seized and officers discovered other photographs and video clips of bodyworn footage of incidents Heggs had attended on duty, including of a knife seizure, use of baton and pepper spray, and a man with an injured hand receiving first aid.
He also took pictures of a police computer screen, showing details of crimes and suspects, without consent.
Heggs stored the materials in a Snapchat folder and disclosed graphic details – most of which were not in the public domain – about the injuries to a woman who was killed in a road traffic collision he had attended, to a friend on the social media platform.
Heggs was suspended from the force in November 2021 and resigned in October 2024 before pleading guilty to 11 computer misuse and data protection offences this March.
William Harty’s widow Mandy Casey. Pic: PA
‘He has traumatised me’
Mr Harty’s widow, Mandy Casey, said in a victim impact statement read to the court that Heggs “took (her) husband’s dignity when he was most vulnerable”.
“You don’t take someone’s dignity and pride from them on their deathbed.”
She continued: “When I found out special constable Heggs had done this, I just wanted to ask why. He has traumatised me. I feel I will never know if he showed them to others.”
Ms Casey said she was still scared that photos of her husband’s body might appear on social media.
She added that she had lost trust in the police.
Public trust in police ‘significantly undermined’
Judge Timothy Spencer told Heggs, who has autism and ADHD, that he was “probably too immature to be working as a police officer” as he handed down the sentence.
He said Heggs had received “extensive training”, including on the importance of data protection, and knew he should only share materials for “a genuine policing purpose”.
Heggs’s actions had “significantly undermined” public trust and confidence in police, according to the judge.
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Malcolm McHaffie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, added: “William Heggs abused the public’s trust in the office he held as a special police constable.
“He violated the dignity of the deceased victims for no apparent reason other than what could be considered personal fascination and to gain credibility among his peers.”
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