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Jeremy Hunt's angered his critics with an attack on people who wrongly go to A&E.

"It is clear we need to have an honest discussion with the public about the purpose of A&E departments," the Health Secretary declared yesterday.

“If we are going to protect our four-hour [waiting time limit], we need to be clear that it is a promise to sort out all urgent health problems within four hours. Not all health problems however minor.”

He's right about the strain - with figures today revealing 18,000 A&E patients waited longer than four hours in the week to January 7.

But there's just one, er, minor problem with his criticism.

In 2014, Mr Hunt was himself pillioried by Labour for taking his children to A&E because he "didn't want to wait" for a GP.

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The dad-of-three made the comment in the House of Commons when a Tory MP heaped praise on weekend GPs for "alleviating pressure" on emergency wards.

Mr Hunt, who was Health Secretary at the time, said: "I took my own children to an A&E department at the weekend precisely because I did not want to wait until later on to take them to see a GP."

Andy Burnham, shadow health secretary at the time, branded Mr Hunt's actions "irresponsible" and said they appeared "at odds with long-standing advice to the public".

He tweeted: "Are you really saying it's OK to go straight to A&E if you don't want to wait for a GP appointment?"

Mr Hunt replied: "If parents have an unwell child needing medical attention, A&E provides a trusted service."

Mr Burnham added: "If all "unwell" people went to A&E, NHS would collapse. Surprised you continue to contradict official advice. Irresponsible."

Yesterday Labour accused Mr Hunt of trying to "rewrite and downgrade" the NHS's vital four-hour target for treating patients in A&E with his remarks.

Set up under Labour more than a decade ago, the crucial measure says A&Es should see 95% of all patients within four hours.

But it has been repeatedly missed for years and the cash-strapped NHS now faces unprecedented pressure.

Contacted by the Mirror after Mr Hunt's statement to Parliament, a Department of Health spokesman insisted: "There are no plans to alter the 4 hour target. We remain absolutely committed to it."

Back in 2014, when he spoke about his own children's trip to A&E, Mr Hunt added: "We have to recognise that society is changing and people do not always know whether the care that they need is urgent or whether it is an emergency.

"Making GPs available at weekends will relieve a lot of pressure in A&E departments."