Nurses are being "gagged" and threatened with the sack in case they spill the beans on the poor conditions in NHS hospitals, the Liberal Democrat leader, Mr Paddy Ashdown, claimed yesterday.
Mr Ashdown made the accusation during an open discussion with health care professionals in his Yeovil constituency. "We would have liked to have had nurses here, but we were unable to do so because they were specifically told that under no circumstances were they allowed to give their opinion," he said.