Rishi Sunak refuses to back calls for NHS funding boost

PM says NHS already has record funding' as health secretary privately admits more money needed to end strikes

Rishi Sunak has refused to back calls to boost the health service budget in an attempt to alleviate staffing pressures that have already led to strikes by nurses and ambulance workers, and could soon prompt junior doctors to strike as well.

Asked on BBC's Good Morning Scotland whether there was scope for a one-off increase in health spending, the prime minister added: There is record funding already going into the NHS ... in spite of the difficult decisions we have had to make to get a grip of borrowing and tackle inflation."