Doctors’ leader claims new reduced pay offer killed chances of ending strikes in England

Exclusive: Deal for resident doctors was in sight when sudden change by ministers forced latest action, says Jack Fletcher Ministers killed the chance to end strikes by resident doctors when they suddenly reduced the amount of money they were offering to secure the peace deal, the doctors’ leader claims. Dr Jack Fletcher accused the government of “playing games” and forcing resident doctors to embark on their 15th strike over pay and jobs, which is disrupting the NHS this week. Fletcher, the chair of the British Medical Association’s resident doctors’ committee (RDC), said that a last-minute wrangle over money suddenly being taken off the table proved to be “the breaking point” that scuppered weeks of negotiations that had looked set to resolve their four-year-long dispute. Fletcher ramped up his war of words with Wes Streeting by alleging that the health secretary had talked “nonsense” about the dispute and damaged public trust in doctors by portraying them as “bad people” and “a huge problem” because of their long-running campaign of industrial action. In an interview with the Guardian, Fletcher warned that resident – formerly junior – doctors in Eng