Pat Cullen, the general secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), who is leading nurses on their first national strike in the union’s 106-year history, has said Rishi Sunak’s government has forced her members to resort to industrial action.
Ms Cullen, 58, said health secretary Steve Barclay and his ministers were responsible for the cancellation of thousands of NHS operations because of their refusal to negotiate on pay, with the RCN asking for a 19 per cent hike.
