JEREMY HUNT will be remembered for causing one of the darkest moments in the history of the NHS, junior doctors said yesterday as they began an unprecedented all-out strike.

Fifty-four thousand doctors scrubbed up to stage spirited pickets outside hospitals across England in their dispute with the Tory Health Secretary over his plans to impose a “dangerous” new contract.

Public support for their strikes has risen from 44 per cent at the start of the year to 57 per cent, according to a poll by Ipsos Mori.