SCOTLAND’S health secretary Michael Matheson was slammed today after he said that pay demands from junior doctors are “simply unaffordable” despite the threat of industrial action.

The British Medical Association (BMA) Scotland has asked for a 23.5 per cent increase on top of inflation, taking the total rise to about 35 per cent.

Mr Matheson told BBC Scotland’s The Sunday Show programme that a pay rise of that scale would result in significant cuts to the NHS budget.