Question Time audience booed woman for suggesting striking junior doctors should be fired

'They do 79 hours because they push at the weekend to get more money. I’m sorry, it’s true'

A woman was booed by the Question Time audience on Thursday for suggesting junior doctors participating in strikes against the government’s imposed contract should be sacked from their posts.

The woman, who claimed to be a former Accident and Emergency worker, launched the furious tirade as members of the BBC panel discussed the on-going dispute over the junior doctors’ contract.

The atmosphere, however, turned decidedly frosty when she suggested the proposed strikes were “all about money”, adding that if members of military were to act like the striking doctors they would be "arrested for going Awol”.

She claimed the strike was making the general public anxious by cancelling appointments.

Despite it being illegal in the UK to dismiss a worker for participating in legally organised and balloted industrial action, the woman’s outburst went on to claim they should be sacked for participating.

“It is their choice,” she said. “Anybody else in any other job would be sacked for doing that. Shame on them”.

Met with boos, she added: “I used to work in A&E and before you do extra hours you opt in… they do 79 hours because they push at the weekend to get more money. I’m sorry, it’s true.

“Nobody can force anybody to do over the 50 hours a week. They chose to physically do it. They put the patients at risk themselves. I’m sorry, it’s all about money and it is wrong. Anybody who goes Awol and doesn’t turn up for a shift when they’ve gone on strike should be sacked.

“If you were in the military, you’d get arrested for going Awol.”

"The NHS doesn’t want them going off work. They are technically going Awol. They are not turning up for their shifts, making people anxious by cancelling appointments. It's their choice."

An Ipsos MORI survey conducted in February for the Health Service Journal shows 64 per cent blame the Government for the strike while just 13 say it is junior doctors' fault.

While there has been a small rise in opposition to the strike, public support for the stoppage as a whole is still very high, with just 36 per cent opposed to the strike and 66 per cent supportive.