Revealed: Militant union leader at the heart of doctors’ strikes is a Labour activist who boasted of charging the NHS £1,870 for a strike cover shift
- Dr Tom Dolphin made the extortionate sum covering for picketing colleagues
A militant union leader behind the doctors’ strikes is a Labour activist who has boasted of charging the NHS £1,870 for a single strike cover shift.
Dr Tom Dolphin made the extortionate sum covering for picketing colleagues and donated it to the British Medical Association’s strike fund.
The consultant anaesthetist, from London, wrote on X – formerly known as Twitter – that the war chest ‘supports people to strike, meaning the strike is stronger and the win will come sooner’.
He is a member of the ruling BMA Council, a member of the BMA Consultant’s Committee and acts as a media spokesperson for striking doctors.
The Mail can today reveal that Dr Dolphin is also a Labour activist who has been a political campaigner for more than a decade.
Dr Tom Dolphin made the extortionate sum covering for picketing colleagues and donated it to the British Medical Association’s strike fund
He has campaigned alongside hard-left MP John McDonnell and was the election agent for Dawn Butler during the last two general elections.
He also finds time to promote woke causes, including trans issues and veganism.
Ministers believe the strike is ‘politically motivated’ and that the BMA leadership is not interested in a resolution with the current government.
They are also concerned that some consultants appear to be profiting from the industrial action by charging the NHS inflated overtime rates to cover for absent junior doctors, which more than makes up for the money they lose on strike days.
The consultant anaesthetist, from London, wrote on X – formerly known as Twitter – that the war chest ‘supports people to strike, meaning the strike is stronger and the win will come sooner’
Earlier this summer nearly a dozen Labour MPs joined BMA picket lines and the latest walkout was timed to coincide with the Conservative Party conference in Manchester.
Rishi Sunak this week said the dispute was ‘all about politics, not patients’. The Prime Minister described doctors’ pay demands as ‘massive and unaffordable’.
Writing on social media in 2019, Dr Dolphin said: ‘This election has really got our membership engaged and working together to bring in a new, different, Labour government.’
In July last year, he posted photos of himself at a Trans Pride march, adding: ‘About to set off to let London know that trans rights are human rights!’
Rishi Sunak this week said the dispute was ‘all about politics, not patients’. The Prime Minister described doctors’ pay demands as ‘massive and unaffordable’
He has described Brexit as a ‘failure’ and ‘one of the worst foreign policy decisions by the UK in decades’.
A Conservative source said: ‘It is deeply concerning that a Labour Party activist seems to be at the heart of militant BMA strike action which is creating further disruption and misery for patients.
‘The Government have given doctors a pay rise of between 6 per cent and 10.3 per cent, as well as generous reforms to their pensions, but sadly it seems ongoing action is increasingly politically motivated.
‘Keir Starmer needs to immediately distance Labour from the BMA’s strikes and back the government’s plan to cut waiting lists.’
Professor Phil Banfield, BMA chair of the council, said: ‘The BMA prides itself on being a non-partisan organisation made up of members from across the political spectrum, all with the common goal of fighting to retain doctors and safeguard the NHS.
‘We’re incredibly proud of Tom and all of the work that he does to represent and advocate for our members.
‘It’s very generous of him to donate this amount to the strike fund, supporting those who might otherwise struggle to take part in legal, legitimate industrial action.’
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