Health Secretary Steve Barclay’s department has been slapped down by Britain's statistics watchdog for a “misleading” graph that exaggerated increases in nurse pay.
Hard-pressed nurses will hold strikes before Christmas as the Tory minister refuses to even hold talks on raising their wages.
In a bid to turn public opinion against the NHS workers, officials working for Mr Barclay posted a chart on Twitter apparently showing “how nurses' pay has gone up”.
But now the UK Statistics Authority has given a dressing down to the Department of Health following complaints about the dodgy graph.
In a letter to Labour ’s Andrew Gwynne who raised the issue, the watchdog’s boss Sir Robert Chote condemned the “poor and misleading representation” of the data, which he warned “risks damaging public confidence” in official statistics.
He criticised how one side of the graph starts at around £20,000 rather than £0, which “exaggerates the proportionate increase” in pay.
Sir Robert added: “In addition… the freehand way in which the lines appear to have been drawn suggests a bigger relative increase in pay for newly qualified nurses… than the underlying data justify.”
Shadow health minister Mr Gwynne said: “The Conservatives have been caught red-handed using official Government propaganda to gaslight nurses.
"Nurses know their pay hasn’t increased, and patients know there aren't enough nurses to treat them- social media spin isn't going to persuade them otherwise.
“Instead of pretending nurses are to blame for the crisis in the NHS, the Government should get round the table with them and find a deal to avert strikes in the NHS."
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) will stage its first ever national walkout on December 15 and 20.
The union, which represents about two-thirds of NHS nurses, has warned they have had “enough of being taken for granted”.
Nursing representatives have offered to hold talks with Mr Barclay in an attempt to avoid the action - but he has ruled out negotiations on pay.
Patients could have non-urgent treatment disrupted with thousands of NHS operations and appointments likely to be cancelled if the strikes go ahead. Emergency care will not be affected.
Nearly a million NHS workers are being balloted for industrial action this winter, including midwives, ambulance crews and physiotherapists.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “All of the figures are accurate but we accept the data could have been presented more clearly.
“We are committed to using data accurately and transparently.”
