Hard Left union leader behind the most disruptive NHS strike in history goes on HOLIDAY

A militant leader of England’s junior doctors has gone on holiday – just as his colleagues launched the most disruptive strike in NHS history, the Mail can reveal.

Dr. Robert Laurenson played a key role in plotting the devastating 96 Hour industrial action.

But as the strike started at 7am yesterday, he was absent as he had already booked time off to attend a friend’s wedding.

While colleagues will lose money for participating in the action, it is believed that Dr. Laurenson has taken annual leave and that he will not be punished.

Up to 47,600 doctors below the rank of consultant have thrown the health service into chaos with the strike.

Up to 47,600 doctors below the rank of consultant have thrown the health service into chaos with the strike

They refuse to cover all services, including A&E and cancer care, as they are seeking a 35 per cent pay rise, worth up to £20,000.

Health bosses warn that the strike is putting lives at risk and say it will take weeks to reschedule the 350,000 appointments and surgeries likely to be postponed.

The British Medical Association website tells young doctors they will lose their pay if they don’t show up on strike days when they’re on shift.

It acknowledges that losing wages will be “difficult,” but encourages members to join the walkout anyway, saying, “If we don’t fight to defend our wages now, we’d be a lot more in the future.” can lose more.’

However, it also stresses that doctors ‘should’ be paid if they have booked the time off as holidays and notes that they ‘should not be called upon’ to work during annual leave.

Dr. Laurenson, 28, is co-chair of the British Medical Association’s junior doctor committee, which favors strikes and has refused to exempt emergency rooms from the action.

The GP-in-training, who is also a director of his parents’ multimillion-dollar investment company, was one of the BMA delegates at pay talks with Health Secretary Steve Barclay last month.

Talks broke down within half an hour, with Whitehall sources saying the union was ‘intending to fight’ and refusing to give in to demands for a 35 per cent increase.

A BMA spokesperson said last night: “Dr. Laurenson is off this week to fulfill a long-standing commitment to attend a family friend’s wedding. He remains actively involved in the preparation of the dispute and we expect him to do some media work.’

The BMA yesterday threatened further action if ministers do not agree to its demands. Dr. Vivek Trivedi, the other co-chair of the BMA junior doctors committee, said: ‘Strikes are by their nature meant to be disruptive, to put pressure on the government to come to the table.’

British Medical Association website tells young doctors they will lose their pay if they don’t show up on strike days when they are on shift

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director of the NHS in England, told Times Radio: ‘This is… probably the most disruptive period of action in the history of the NHS.

‘Our focus has been on providing cover for absentee doctors in training – they make up half of the medical workforce.

“The staff who provide cover can’t be in two places at the same time, so that means inconvenience and cancellations, I’m afraid.”

Asked for comments that the strike will cause disruption for at least a month, he said: “It will certainly be weeks. This will cause unprecedented disruption.’

NHS Providers’ Miriam Deakin, representing trusts, said: ‘Keeping patients as safe as possible – trusts’ first priority – will be even more difficult than with previous strikes, so it’s all hands on deck.

“Trust leaders are concerned about adequate coverage for night shifts. This is going to be a very long, difficult week for the NHS.’ Managers are finding it more difficult to find cover than before as many consultants have taken time off for the Easter break.

Mr Barclay said he deeply regretted the timing of the post-Easter holiday strikes. He also regretted that the BMA had asked members not to tell NHS managers ‘whether they intended to strike or not – which complicates emergency planning – and also their refusal to agree on national exemptions’.

He added: “We are willing to have discussions, but it is clear that a 35 percent requirement is not fair or reasonable.”

Yesterday, hundreds of doctors marched past Downing Street and Parliament after a rally in central London. The strikes will last until Saturday morning.

Holidaying chief is a director of a £2 million family investment company

Dr. Laurenson is co-chair of the British Medical Association’s Junior Doctors Committee

With his calls for junior doctors to show their ‘willingness to fight’ on the picket lines, Dr. Robert Laurenson could be mistaken for an old-fashioned socialist union baron.

But the 28-year-old, who has been a key figure in this week’s strike action, is also a director of an investment firm run by his family.

Dr. Laurenson is co-chair of the British Medical Association’s junior doctors committee and was involved in communications with the Department of Health about payroll earlier this year.

He disclosed details of the faltering discussions last month in an open letter to doctors, saying: “Doctors, you must demonstrate your willingness to fight for full wage recovery and thus to the picket lines we must take.”

Still, Dr. Laurenson will not be on the picket line with his colleagues this week because he is attending a family friend’s wedding instead, according to the BMA.

He is a GP trainee with Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, having taken a year off from college to work as a freelance doctor for “money and well-being,” according to his LinkedIn.

The company he worked for as a deputy doctor has taken millions from the NHS by cashing in on staff shortages.

Dr. Laurenson is also listed as a director of Westholme Investments Limited alongside his parents and brothers. The company has over £2 million in investment and previously managed a golf course in Surrey that has been described as ‘one of the best’ in the county.

Dr. Laurenson was appointed director in 2013, a year after he began medical training at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. It is clear that he has no day-to-day duties at the company and receives no salary or dividends and is not a shareholder.

He attended Sevenoaks School in Kent, one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the country, charging up to £46,566 a year for sixth form pupils.