Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham reacted vehemently to the Zahawi attacks. She said:

“Today, another multi-millionaire government minister has chosen to attack ordinary workers whose only crime has been to refuse to take a pay cut.

"Nadhim Zahawi's allegation that Britain's nurses, ambulance drivers and teachers are allies of Vladimir Putin is as ridiculous as it is disgraceful.

"Rather than running down our NHS in an act  of catastrophic self-harm and threatening to bring in the military, the minister should instead ask himself why health staff are leaving in droves.

"The truth is, if pay and conditions are not dramatically improved, no army will be big enough to cover the vacancies never mind strikes."

ENDS

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