Talks to avert the nursing strike on Thursday have failed after the union leader behind the action accused Health Secretary Steve Barclay of refusing to discuss pay.

In a statement on Monday night, Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen said: “I needed to come out of this meeting with something serious to show nurses why they should not strike this week. Regrettably, they are not getting an extra penny.”

Earlier, No 10 had indicated Mr Barclay would not be willing to negotiate a new pay offer for nurses, but it was thought other aspects of the nurses’ employment could be up for discussion.

Ms Cullen said the government “was true to its word – they would not talk to me about pay”.

She added: “Ministers had too little to say and I had to speak at length about the unprecedented strength of feeling in the profession.

“I expressed my deep disappointment at the belligerence – they have closed their books and walked away.”

The union is demanding a pay rise of 5% above the RPI rate of inflation, which was 14.2% in October, but Ms Cullen has hinted that she could compromise if the government negotiates on pay.

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Ministers have repeatedly insisted they can’t afford to give inflation-busting pay rises as the UK braces for a wave of strikes across multiple sectors this winter.

It is understood Mr Barclay told Ms Cullen that pay increases for nurses would take money from frontline services.

A source from the Department of Health and Social Care said: “He again listened to the RCN’s position on pay and reiterated the government has agreed to the recommendations of the independent pay review body and prioritised the National Health Service with £6.6 billion of investment over the next two years.

“He said that any further pay increase would mean taking money away from frontline services and reducing the 7.1 million elective backlog.

“Mr Barclay said he would continue to engage with the RCN around non pay-related issues and challenges the union has with the pay review process.”

Nursing strikes will also go ahead in Wales after last-minute talks to resolve the dispute over pay also collapsed on Monday.

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