The cancellation of Jeremy Hunt's visit to Ealing where protesters gathered on Thursday (November 19) has sparked a heated row in the borough.

Mr Hunt was due to attend Southall Conservative Club as a guest speaker for the Ealing Southall Conservative Association.

But the Health Secretary pulled out on Wednesday (November 18), the day before 98% of junior doctors voted in favour of full strike action, as hundreds of protesters stood outside.

According to ESCA member Fabio Conti, Mr Hunt postponed the talk because of an "important meeting," and although he did not reveal what the meeting was he denied suggestions Mr Hunt shied away from the protesters.

Mr Conti said: "He has postponed, he has not cancelled and he will be coming.

"Because of the ballot result he had to go to an important meeting, but I did not enquire what the meeting was."

"He knew about the protest many days before and he was still prepared to come."

But Dr Onkar Sahota, who attended the protest, accused the MP for South West Surrey of "running away" from his actions.

Mr Hunt's proposals for the NHS has prompted fears his plans could abolish overtime rates for evenings and Saturday's for junior doctors.

An estimated 16,000 protesters marched through Westminster on October 17 to urge Mr Hunt to scrap his proposals.

And on Thursday (November 19), 98% of junior doctors voted in favour of full strike action.

Dr Sahota said: "We have been protesting the Tory government's choice to close numerous NHS services across West London for several years now.

"In all that time Jeremy Hunt has never had the courage to face the residents of this Borough who are set to lose access to these vital A&E, maternity and pediatric units his government is cutting.

"Hunt's no-show at his own party fundraiser in Southall is just another example of him running away from the consequences of his actions, and I for one have no intention of letting him off the hook."

Leader of the Conservative council in Ealing, Gregory Stafford, who attended the speech, also claimed that Mr Hunt's no-show was due to a meeting the Health Secretary had to go to - but would not reveal what the meeting was.

Many of the protesters outside SCC were from Ealing Save Our NHS, who had taken to Twitter to organise the protest.

Vice-chair Oliver New said: “It’s a great turn out with only 3 or 4 days’ notice. The fact is that even now our hospital emergency departments are tettering on the brink of disaster.

"A junior doctor from Ealing Hospital addressed the protest and reported that 98% of doctors had voted to take strike action, which she said was not about money but about being able to deliver good health care.

"Our message to Mr Hunt is that he must stop what he’s doing to our NHS and health services."