Ministers have been accused of making “disingenuous” and “wrong” claims about attempts to avert unprecedented strikes by nurses later this week, as union leaders said the action could be called off “right now” if serious negotiations resumed.
The row prompted one senior Conservative MP to say the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) was “1-0” up, and suggested the health secretary, Steve Barclay, should be “inviting them in” because there was not “an awful lot to lose”.
Pressure is mounting on ministers before a crunch meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra committee, later on Monday to try to mitigate the impact of a wave of strike action in the run-up to Christmas.
The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, has accused the government of a “profound lack of leadership” but acknowledged the pay rise of up to 19% being demanded by nurses was “probably more than can be afforded”.
With just three days until a historic strike, Pat Cullen, the RCN’s general secretary, said the action could be called off “right now, this very minute” if Barclay agreed to talks on pay.
“Our door is absolutely wide open and it appears at the minute that their’s is totally shut,” she told ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme.
Cullen said: “If [Braclay] gets round a table with us and has realistic, honest talks, there’s a strong possibility that I will be able to go back to my council and say: ‘I recommend that we avert the strikes and continue those negotiations.’”
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