Dr Mark Porter refuses to answer question on junior doctors support 6 times
Dr Mark Porter refuses to answer question on junior doctors support 6 times
BMA Chair grilled by Nick Robinson ahead of fresh strikes
BMA Chair grilled by Nick Robinson ahead of fresh strikes
Nick Robinson
The BMA represents not just junior doctors, you don't just represent junior doctors, you represent all doctors - consultants in hospitals as well, GPs for example.
When this was voted on by the BMA, can you tell us whether there was unanimous support for this strike action?
Dr. Mark Porter
Sorry - say that again?
Nick Robinson
Was there unanimous support for this strike action on the BMA council?
Dr. Mark Porter
Oh, I see what you mean. Council has decided that after a long and exhaustive debate to support this strike action-
Nick Robinson
Was there unanimous support?
Dr. Mark Porter
And today the council is united behind junior doctors in their struggle in this-
Nick Robinson
Was there unanimous support, Dr Porter?
Dr. Mark Porter
As I believe will be the profession-
Nick Robinson
Dr Porter, for the third time, was there unanimous support on the BMA council for this strike?
Dr. Mark Porter
And I will not engage with you in talking about the long and difficult debates we had inside council over what the best decision was.
Nick Robinson
Well I'm told that the decision was overtaken by 16 votes to 14. That consultant representative voted against it and GP representative voted against it. Is that true?
Dr. Mark Porter
The point is the decision that we took at the end of it. What is untrue in what you just said is that there was block voting between the different branches of practice in medicine. That is simply false; whoever told you that was lying.
Nick Robinson
So you're not disputing that it was a 16-14 vote, in what you describe as a long, exhaustive and difficult process?
Dr. Mark Porter
I said, we had a long exhaustive difficult debate because this is a key debate about the future of medical staffing in the NHS. You would expect us to take a long time deciding what the best thing to do is, when the only alternative that junior doctors have been left with is protracted strike action.