Wes Streeting tonight took aim at the leaders of Friday's striking doctors whose five-day walkout is set to inflict 'untold misery' on patients.
The Health Secretary accused union officials of acting in bad faith during talks or being 'too weak' to get a grip of their members.
On the eve of the strikes, he told the Mail he would not cave in to their 'unreasonable' demands, adding: 'I'm not going to let the BMA hold this country to ransom.'
Mr Streeting said union leaders had given the impression they were happy with how negotiations had progressed and he had believed they would pause industrial action for more talks. But he was shocked when the BMA's resident doctors committee pulled the plug on further discussions on Tuesday and announced it would plough on with the strike.
The Secretary of State described it as 'unprecedented' for a union to lead its members to the picket line after receiving inflation-busting pay rises totalling 28.9 per cent over three years.
