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Plea to call off strike rebuffed by junior doctors
Junior doctors in the British Medical Association (BMA) have refused to call off next week’s three-day strike amid a bitter dispute over pay. They were responding to health secretary Steve Barclay’s invitation to enter formal pay talks, extended late on Friday night on the basis that the planned industrial action is cancelled.
The BMA junior doctors said they were disappointed by the “offer of talks being made so late, and with preconditions that would be completely unacceptable to our members”.
In a letter to Mr Barclay yesterday, the co-chairs of the BMA’s junior doctors committee, Dr Vivek Trivedi and Dr Robert Laurenson, wrote: “We remain open to entering talks with government anytime and anywhere to bring this dispute to a swift resolution and restore the pay that junior doctors have lost. We would encourage you to reconsider the preconditions that are currently preventing talks from taking place.
“As you have known for more than two weeks, our strikes will commence on Monday. And you also know, until we have a credible offer, we are not in a position to call them off.” They also described Mr Barclay’s 11th-hour offer as “a feeble attempt to stall us, to kick the can down the road, to delay an actual meaningful conversation”. PA
Feltz hits out at BBC over Bruce exit
Vanessa Feltz has hit out at the BBC over its alleged handling of Ken Bruce’s departure from Radio 2. Legendary broadcaster Bruce, who has been at the station since 1984, announced in January that he was planning to stop presenting the midmorning show, with his last shift due to take place at the end of March.
However, in late February, Bruce said that he would actually be leaving the show the following Friday (3 March), claiming that “the BBC has decided it wants me to leave earlier”.
In a new interview, Feltz – who herself left the BBC last year after nearly 20 years – branded the alleged circumstances surrounding Bruce’s exit “bewildering”. “After this incredibly long and amazingly distinguished career, to oust Ken Bruce two or three weeks before he was expecting to go and before his contract had actually played itself out, I thought that was incredibly discourteous and disrespectful and unnecessary,” she told the Daily Express.
Man and dog suffer ‘burns’ from unknown liquid, say police
A man and his dog suffered “burns” after an unknown liquid was squirted at them during an assault in Buckinghamshire, Thames Valley Police said. A 68-year-old man who was walking his dog in Grenville Avenue, Wendover, at around 6.30pm on Thursday was attacked by another male, who squirted liquid from a container into his eyes.
The liquid caused burns and irritation to both the victim and his dog, the force said. The man went to hospital and his pet received emergency veterinary treatment. Police have not established what the liquid was, but it is described as smelling like ammonia.
After squirting the liquid, the attacker then got into a darkcoloured Volkswagen Golf with another man and drove away. According to detectives, the pair were both wearing dark clothing and are described as being about 6ft and 5ft 8in tall respectively. PA
Fruit and veg supermarket shortage eases
Aldi said it will remove all customer limits on buying fresh produce as the supply issues that led to widespread shortages begin to ease. The supermarket joins Lidl and Asda in lifting restrictions. Aldi said in a statement yesterday: “From Monday, Aldi will remove all purchasing restrictions on fresh produce – including limits on tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.” Lidl will also lift all restrictions on fruit and veg by tomorrow.
Asda said it has removed limits of three on cucumbers, lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries, leaving restrictions of three on tomatoes and peppers. The supermarket said availability overall has improved as expected, and that supplies of tomatoes and peppers are expected to be back to normal within a couple of weeks. PA
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