Exclusive: Controversial letter in aftermath of Paris attacks was accused of using terror fears for 'political purposes'

A controversial letter by the NHS’s top “independent” medic, questioning whether striking junior doctors would be available to help in the event of a Paris-style terror attack, was strengthened and signed off by Whitehall officials, it can be revealed.

Emails between senior Department of Health (DoH) staff and Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, the Medical Director of the independent body NHS England, reveal that Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, was given approval on the text of the letter. It went through a number of revisions, seen by The Independent, to ensure concerns about the possible impact of a major incident during the strike were made as “hard-edged” as possible.

Sent, and made public, in the week after the Paris terror attacks in November last year, the letter caused a storm of protest from junior doctors .... http://www.independent.co.uk