Anger grows at offer of 1% pay rise for NHS staff

Nurses leaders set up industrial action fund as Tory MPs fear another U-turn by the government

Ministers are on a collision course with millions of NHS staff as they insisted the country could not afford a more than 1% pay rise for health workers even as nurses leaders raised the prospect of strike action.

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, on Friday insisted the decision to recommend such a small increase was due to an assessment of what's affordable as a nation" after the economic toll taken by the coronavirus crisis.