Steve Barclay wrong to say NHS consultants get tax-free pensions, admits UK government

Health secretary made the false claim while trying to defend opposition to junior doctors' pay demands

Steve Barclay, the health secretary, got it wrong when he claimed in an interview this week that NHS consultants received tax-free pensions, the Department of Health has admitted.

Barclay had come under fire after trying to defend the government's stance on junior doctors' pay demands in England by claiming that consultants retiring at 65 would get a tax-free pension of more than 73,000 a year.