Health Secretary Steve Barclay criticises junior doctors for ‘walking away’ from talks ahead of strike
Health Secretary Steve Barclay has criticised junior doctors, accusing them of “walking away” from talks over pay and conditions.
The British Medical Association (BMA) – the union representing many from the profession – has called a five-day strike in July and is demanding a rise of 35% to restore their wages to 2008 levels.
It has also accused the government of refusing to get around the table to negotiate a deal.
But Mr Barclay told Sky News that junior doctors had “refused to move” during three weeks of talks earlier this year, adding: “It was the junior doctors sadly who walked away from the discussions and called a further strike.”
Politics live: Striking doctors ‘walked away’ from talks, says Barclay
Junior doctors went on strike for three days in June, following a four-day walk-out in April and three days in March.
The BMA claims pay has decreased by more than a quarter since 2008 when inflation was taken into account, so the 5% offer on the table was far below what was needed.
And it said many doctors were burnt out from an increasing workload.
But Mr Barclay said the 35% pay restoration demand was not “affordable in the context of inflation and the other pressures” on the economy.
Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, the health secretary said the upcoming strikes were “hugely concerning”, with thousands of appointments and pre-planned operations set to be disrupted.
But he put the blame at the door of junior doctors and the BMA, saying they were the ones refusing to negotiate.
“We have [talked to them], we had three weeks of talks… the department agreed to bring in an intermediary,” he said. “But not withstanding [the intermediary’s] excellent work, the discussions that we had with the junior doctors to date, they have refused to move from a 35% demand.
“I don’t think that in the context of the wider economy, [with] the need to get inflation down, that is a fair demand.”
Mr Barclay conceded that “both sides need to move” to reach an agreement, and claimed the government was “willing to do so”.
But he said that without the strikes being called off, there was little room for negotiation.
“We have been consistent, not just in health but in all departments, that if people suspend the strikes then we can get round the table and have talks, but at the moment the junior doctors have walked away from the talks,” said the health secretary.
“We were in middle of discussions with them. There were a range of other factors that they have raised with me in terms of annual leave that is often cancelled at short notice, rotas that are changed, some of the wellbeing issues around circumstances in hospitals.
“We are happy to discuss [those issues].”
Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-chair of the BMA Junior Doctors Committee, dismissed Mr Barclay’s criticism, saying: “We have always been willing to continue talking.
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“It was the government who cancelled our remaining meetings after we called for strike action, but we have made it clear that we will call strikes off if [Rishi] Sunak makes a credible offer.
“A 5% offer, when inflation is in double digits is yet another real terms pay cut, and would only worsen the already 26% real terms pay cut we’ve endured prior that.”
Pay review proposals
Sophy Ridge also quizzed Mr Barclay on whether the government would accept recommendations from public sector pay review bodies for wages rises next year after speculation Prime Minister Rishi Sunak planned to block them in an attempt to tackle inflation.
Pay review bodies – or PRBs – take evidence from across sectors like the NHS and education each year, as well as submissions from government, before saying what wage rises should be introduced for the following 12 months – and they are expected to say healthcare staff should have a 6% uplift.
Amid anger from unions about the figures failing to match inflation last year, the health secretary insisted it was right for ministers to “continue to defer to that process to ensure decisions balance the needs of staff and the wider economy”.
Read more:
Junior doctors to strike ‘in longest single walkout in NHS history’
Nurses’ strikes in England to end – as union boss vows ‘fight for fair pay is far from over’
But this morning, he refused to confirm if ministers would accept the PRB proposals, instead they would look at them “in the round”.
The BMA’s Dr Trivedi accused Mr Barclay of “negotiating in bad faith” and said the government had “totally discredited the supposed independence of the pay review body”.
Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson was also asked by Sophy Ridge if Labour would accept PRB recommendations if it was in power – with a 6.5% expected bump for teachers.
However, she would not commit to the figure either, saying it was a “complicated” issue due to the Conservatives “crashing the economy”.
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‘Would you accept a 6.5% pay rise for teachers?’
“I would see that as the starting point for negotiation,” she said. “We can’t get anywhere unless we’re prepared to negotiate.
“I’m not going to come on this programme and commit to a figure, I wouldn’t expect the secretary of state to do that either, that is what will happen during the course of a negotiation.”
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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