Nurses tonight suspended strikes and announced new pay talks with Government in a dramatic development in the bitter NHS industrial dispute.
The move could pave the way for an improved pay offer for hundreds of thousands of nurses but blindsided unions representing other NHS workers, which labelled it a “tawdry backroom deal”.
“Intensive talks” will start on Wednesday and the Royal College of Nursing will pause its planned 48-hour walk out on March 1 while they are ongoing.