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Arrogant Jeremy Hunt has claimed he will leave Government in triumph if he wins his bitter battle with junior doctors.

The minister yesterday boasted that being Health Secretary was “likely to be my last big job in politics”.

It came as he again snubbed calls to thrash out a compromise with medics and end the dispute over new contracts .

His refusal led to more than 21,000 junior doctors downing stethoscopes yesterday in the first strike to include emergency medics in NHS history.

They are set to walk out for a second nine-hour strike at 8am today.

(Image: David Dyson/Daily Mirror)

Joining doctors on a rally in London last night, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn hailed their bid to defend the health service, adding: “It’s not safe in the hands of a government more interested in attacking those who work in the NHS.”

While Mr Hunt accused doctors of trying to “blackmail” the Government, claiming he could only halt strikes by breaking a Tory election promise.

Read more:Jeremy Hunt's words should come with a warning

The Health Secretary insisted: “It was the first page of our manifesto that we’d have a seven-day NHS. I don’t think any union has the right to blackmail the Government, to force the Government to abandon a manifesto promise that the British people have voted on.”

And he told the BBC: “This is likely to be my last big job in politics. The one thing that would keep me awake is if I didn’t do the right thing to help make the NHS one of the safest, highest-quality healthcare systems in the world.”

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He added: “Health secretaries are never popular; you are never going to win a contest for being the most liked person when you do this job.

“But what history judges is, ‘Did you take the tough and difficult decisions that enabled the NHS to deliver high-quality care for patients?’.”

The comments underline how far Mr Hunt’s popularity has plunged. He was once tipped as a future Tory leader, but the multi-millionaire now appears to be planning a life outside politics – and ready for a final showdown with doctors.

In a separate interview, Mr Hunt said: “I sincerely hope it isn’t a Miners’ Strike moment, because that strike left swathes of devastation, bitterness and unhappiness that lasted decades. I would never want that to happen in our NHS.

(Image: David Dyson/Daily Mirror)

“The only corner we are in is we have to honour our manifesto commitments.

“I’ve always said I’d like to do this job for five years as I think there’s a big opportunity to set the NHS on the right track and I’m only halfway through that.”

But bookies William Hill are offering odds of 11/10 that Mr Hunt will have left his post by the end of the year.

Read more:'Junior doctors are protecting patients by taking to the picket line'

The strike he unleashed was backed by 78% of junior doctors who did not turn up for work yesterday, according to NHS England figures. More than 125,000 appointments and operations have been cancelled across England’s hospitals, and the controversy is set to dominate David Cameron ’s grilling at Prime Minister’s Questions today.

There were fears the end of the strikes could trigger a surge in demand for services tonight, but no NHS trust ­triggered the emergency escalation procedure yesterday, which lets them ask striking doctors to return to work.

It suggests Mr Hunt’s scaremongering in the run-up to strikes was unfounded.

NHS England National Incident Director Dr Anne Rainsberry said: “This is an unprecedented situation and staff across the NHS have made Herculean efforts to ensure continued safe services for patients, which is always our priority.

“However, the escalation of this action does bring heightened risk and we are continuing to vigilantly monitor the picture across the whole of the country.”

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Hundreds of doctors last night marched from St Thomas’ Hospital to the Department of Health at Whitehall, joined by Mr Corbyn and Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.

The Labour leader told them the health system was “under threat from a Government that is more interested in attacking the core of the NHS than supporting the NHS and people that keep us all alive”.

Mr McDonnell added: “I want to thank you for having the courage to stand up to Hunt and the bullying of this government.”

(Image: Getty)

While strike organiser Roshana Mehdian, 29, escorted from Whitehall after trying to confront Mr Hunt at his offices yesterday, told us: “He really is doing everything in his power to avoid us, but if he thinks we’re going away he is sadly mistaken.”

The latest strikes centre on Saturday staffing and pay. While medics’ basic wage will rise by an average of 13.5%, unsociable hours pay for Saturdays will be curbed, and guaranteed pay rises replaced with a new system.

Ministers claim the shake-up will fulfil a manifesto pledge for a seven-day NHS.

(Image: Reuters)

But British Medical Association chief Mark Porter pointed out that junior doctors had been “providing weekend and night emergency cover since the NHS started”.

Author JK Rowling, 50, married to a doctor, tweeted: “Doctors who’ve been loyal 2 the NHS for years rather than chase £ abroad don’t deserve to be accused of greed.”

The Trades Union Congress is to discuss calls from union chiefs today for a national day of action to support junior doctors.