Angela Rippon sparks outrage after ‘ignorant and biased’ comments on Junior Doctors crisis

BROADCASTER Angela Rippon sparked outrage as she said Junior Doctors should be negotiating themselves a better deal rather than protesting on the picket line.

Angela Rippon opposed the Junior Doctors strike when she appeared on The One Show
PA/IG

Angela Rippon opposed the Junior Doctors strike when she appeared on The One Show

Ms Rippon, who is now vice-president of the Patients Associaiton, appeared on The One Show on BBC One tonight.During a segment on today’s strikes, which saw Junior Doctors walk out for the first time in 40 years in a dispute over new contracts, Ms Rippon said Junior Doctors should settle their dispute at the negotiating table.Her remarks, which came after she visited doctors on a picket line outside John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, triggered a backlash on social media.

On Twitter, Suzie Robbo, said: „She’s just made a complete fool of herself stupid woman.”Kiki Motparnasse chimed in saying: „I suspect #AngelaRippon thinks hospitals shut at 5pm and the patients are left to fend for themselves”.The term Angela Rippon even started trending on Twitter as outraged viewers aired their anger online.

During the segment, presenters Alex Jones and Matt Baker, asked Ms Rippon if she had changed her mind about opposing the strike.

Junior Doctors should be discussing and coming to an agreement, not on the picket lines

Angela Rippon

Ms Rippon replied: „No I haven’t. I think if you have the kind of issues the doctors are arguing about at the moment these are things which should be settled around a table. They should be discussing and coming to an agreement, not on the picket lines.”She continued: „The seven day operation is at the heart of all of this and its not right for doctors to say they can’t make it work, they’re going to have to make it work because the British public are never going to co-operate by only being ill Monday to Friday.”They’re going to have heart attacks, strokes, accidents, be taken ill on a Saturday and a Sunday and they expect a health service that runs 24/7, 365.

„I still believe they should not have gone on strike and we should have a seven day a week national health service.”