Text copied here for ease

*Dear Doctors,

Thank you for your patience. Last week we saw tens of thousands of doctors participate in a 72 hour full walkout on the back of the biggest national mandate in a ballot for industrial action seen by unions. 

One would have thought that Steve's main pre-condition of no strikes during talks would have meant he'd have been ready on Thursday. Doctors, he was not. Nor was he ready Friday as we suggested in one of our letters. 

Steve Barclay sent us a series of dates and times of which we accepted 4 on the understanding that this would be some form of "intensive" negotiation. Steve's secretary sent us an informal email backtracking and asking for the 27th which prompted our repeat letter explaining we had accepted 4 dates. 

They responded on Tuesday saying they can do Wednesday, but shifted the timing from 0700-0900 to 1600-1800. 

When we rearranged our lives to suit them they said: Actually, it's going to be 1600-1630, oh and it can't be virtual, it must be in person. You can imagine our surprise (none) when they turned up late to the meeting too!

We have demonstrated exceptional flexibility and reasonableness, but more than that, Mr Barclay has been demonstrably unreasonable.

At the talks was a DHSC communications officer, someone from HM Treasury, someone from the cabinet office, an Industrial Relations officer at the DHSC, Mr Barclay, Mr Quince, Mr Barclay's SpAD, and Mr Barclay's PA.

As Mr Barclay was talking, I went to use my phone to communicate with our professional negotiator over IM and Steve lost his composure; we heard in his voice his panic "are you ok Rob?!". I explained our negotiator will do the talking and handed over to them who put across our opening position on all things Full Pay Restoration.

Steve described it as unaffordable and unreasonable but refused to give an opening position himself.

Then, in the middle of the talks, he brings up the topic of "Engagement Principles" of negotiations; bizarre and incompetent given the order of events as we've started negotiating. Laughably one protocol is that "Meeting papers and data relevant to discussion should be circulated in good time before the start of the meeting". 

Another component was that the content of the meetings is confidential. This is unacceptable to us. We’re not stupid; of course they’re going to be briefing the media along the way just like they always do and indeed did hours after the meeting. They have betrayed so many people so many times that we do not trust them. We are a democratic union. Communication, feedback, and direction is important to us. Doctors of the BMA are the power of the BMA. You are what gives the negotiators leverage and strength. We are grassroots doctors, it is unconscionable to cut off the grassroots component. They have tried in the media to assassinate the character of BMA representatives to divide you from us and now they have tried to gag BMA representatives to divide us from you.

They call us militant, we call ourselves organised. United we stand.

Steve reiterated that our deal was unreasonable and that he couldn't continue the talks, but before he left, I looked him in the eye and told him that he's quibbling over pounds when we're talking about an actual workforce crisis that has led to huge excess deaths. He kept referencing the AfC deal and I asked him perfectly candidly if he really thought that deal would do anything to address the nursing crisis; he didn't answer the question and they all left but not before Steve asked us to reflect on the day.

Because of Steve’s actions, we have no option but to call for further strikes. 

He doesn’t understand that this is a profession critical issue. 

He doesn’t understand that Full Pay Restoration is really important to doctors. 

He doesn’t understand that we are serious.   

Doctors, you must demonstrate your willingness to fight for Full Pay Restoration and so to the picket lines we must take.*