The Prime Minister said the Government had tried to give NHS staff “as much as we can” after recommending a 1% pay rise. Speaking on a visit to a vaccination centre in Brent in north London, Boris Johnson said: “I’m massively grateful to all NHS staff and indeed to social care workers who have been heroic throughout the pandemic. “What we have done is try to give them as much as we can at the present time. “The independent pay review body will obviously look at what we’ve proposed and come back. “Don’t forget that there has been a public sector pay freeze, we’re in pretty tough times. “We’ve tried to give the NHS as much as we possibly can and that means, in addition to the £140 billion of annual money, we’ve got another £62 billion we’ve found to help support the NHS throughout the crisis. “My gratitude is overwhelming and I’m so grateful particularly to the nurses, and thankfully we are seeing more nurses now in our amazing NHS – there are 10,000 more nurses this year than there were last year.”