A nurses strike planned for May 2 has been called off after a High Court judge ruled it would be unlawful.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay secured the court's interim declaration after "regretfully" bringing legal action against part of the trade union's proposed walkout in a long-running dispute over pay. Lawyers representing the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) did not attend a hearing in London on Thursday to face the Government's accusations that strike action beyond the end of May 1 had "no democratic legitimacy".
RCN members working in the NHS in England at workplaces with a strike mandate are preparing to take 48-hour industrial action from 8pm or the start of the night shift on April 30. Mr Barclay previously said NHS Employers - which represents National Health Service employers in England - had contacted him asking him to check the legality of the action because the organisation believed the strike mandate ran out on May 1.
