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Owen Smith says the "worst Health Secretary in history" Jeremy Hunt must be "sacked immediately" - and has claimed it's Jeremy Corbyn 's fault he still has a job.

Labour's leadership challenger hit out after Mr Hunt compared himself to NHS founder Nye Bevan ahead of a new junior doctors' strike.

Mr Hunt has refused to resign despite the British Medical Association (BMA) calling a record five-day A&E walkout from September 12 over his 7-day contracts.

Instead he blamed the medics for drawing "battle lines" and inflicting "misery" on patients with more than 100,000 cancelled operations.

Mr Smith claimed it was the fault of his rival Jeremy Corbyn, who has repeatedly condemned Mr Hunt and attended marches with junior doctors, that Theresa May felt strong enough to keep him in post.

(Image: Yui Mok/PA Wire)

Mr Smith said Mrs May should sack Mr Hunt, and Labour should force a no confidence vote in Parliament if she does not.

Such a vote would be unlikely to succeed because the Tories have a majority. It is also not clear if a victory would be legally binding.

Mr Smith published a '10-point plan' vowing to restart junior doctors' contract negotiations, repeal the 2012 Health and Social Care Act and raise NHS spending by 4% every year funded by wealth taxes.

He said: "This situation has been brought about by a combination of chronic underfunding, a botched reorganisation and the worst Health Secretary in the NHS’s history.

“It is simply astounding that on the day Theresa May walked into Number 10 one of the first decisions she made was to keep Jeremy Hunt in post.

"It highlights the weakness of Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn that Mrs May felt she could keep him on in the job, despite him having lost the faith and trust of patients and staff."

The Mirror has contacted Mr Corbyn's campaign for comment.

(Image: PA)

The attack is the latest on Mr Hunt ahead of the fresh walkouts, which one source claims the BMA Council approved 16-11.

He refused a call to resign this morning, saying: "Nye Bevan, the founder of the NHS, was described by the BMA (British Medical Association) as a medical Fuhrer.

"All I would say is we know very well that Health Secretaries are rarely popular in their job - but what matters is are we doing the right thing for patients."

Labour MP Helen Jones fumed: "Nye Bevan founded the NHS . Jeremy Hunt wrote the book on how to privatise it."

(Image: Carl Court/Getty Images)

Shadow Health Secretary Diane Abbott said the comparison was "ridiculous".

She added: "Bevan set up the NHS. Hunt is dismantling it."

Prime Minister Theresa May accused the BMA of playing politics and backed Mr Hunt, saying he was an "excellent health secretary".

She said the deal was "safe for patients", adding that the NHS had "record levels of funding" and "more doctors than we've seen in its history".

"The Government is putting patients first, the BMA should be putting patients first - not playing politics," she added.

(Image: Bloomberg)

Mr Hunt insisted "I'm prepared to have talks at any stage".

But he admitted he would not consider rewriting the hated 7-day contract, which 58% of junior doctors rejected in a BMA ballot.

He said the contract was previously accepted by the BMA leadership, adding: "We're proceeding with that contract next month."

He said his judgement was "the only was to resolve this very very difficult dispute, because we have a manifesto commitment we have to honour, is to proceed with the contract that was negotiated painstakingly in May".

A spokesperson for the Jeremy for Labour campaign said: "This is pretty desperate stuff from an increasingly desperate looking campaign from Owen Smith. He should instead reflect on his own actions in triggering a leadership contest and spend less time attacking those Labour MPs who are still holding the Tories to account.

"Jeremy has been a long standing opponent of privitisation in our NHS, raised the NHS at PMQs on numerous occassions, and has committed to reverse the abolition of bursaries for student nurses, and stood shoulder to shoulder with junior doctors in their dispute with the government - none of which Owen Smith can claim."