Ministers are to promise a crackdown on the illegal sale of e-cigarettes to under 18s as they consider stricter rules to tackle underage vaping.
An “illicit vapes enforcement squad”, led by Trading Standards and backed by £3m in funding, will be set up to conduct test purchases and remove banned products from shops and at borders.
The government will also launch a call for evidence to “identify opportunities to reduce the number of children accessing and using vapes”, according to plans expected to be unveiled this week.
The measures come amid rising concern over youth vaping in Britain, with the latest survey by Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) showing a rise in recent years. In 2022, 7% of 11- to 17-year-olds surveyed said they used vapes, compared with 3.3% in 2021.
The plan to tackle illegal sales to children has been welcomed by vape manufacturers. The UK Vaping Industry Association had been calling for increased action on “rogue resellers” and said the targeted action due to be announced by the government would help cut the supply of e-cigarettes to minors. Recent raids have found shops across the country selling illegal vapes, including those containing illegal nicotine levels, and failing to conduct proper age checks.
However health experts warned the measures would do little to stop underage vaping and said action was needed to make e-cigarettes less appealing to children in the first place.
Dr Mike McKean, the vice-president for policy at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: “We’re relieved that the UK government has started to focus on the rising levels of children and young people picking up e-cigarettes, but an enforcement squad is just the tip of the iceberg.”
He said vapes were often “affordable, appealing and clearly very accessible for children”, and called for action on the “bright packaging, exotic flavours and enticing names” used in many products. “Tighter restrictions on advertising of vaping products are also needed to ensure these products are only advertised as a smoking reduction aid rather than a fun and colourful lifestyle product,” he said.
The Department of Health and Social Care said its call for evidence would look at ways of cutting underage vaping while “ensuring they remain available as a quit aid for adult smokers”. It is expected to explore issues such as the marketing and promotion of vapes. Vape manufacturers argue that features such as fruity flavours can help adults quit smoking.
Last year, the Observer revealed how influencers were flouting advertising rules to promote popular Elf Bar vapes to young people on TikTok. E-cigarette companies have also run campaigns across buses and billboards.
Health minister Neil O’Brien said the government was “concerned about the rise in youth vaping, particularly the increasing use of disposable vaping products”, and that the measures were designed to “clamp down” on those businesses that were “getting children hooked on nicotine”. “Our call for evidence will also allow us to get a firm understanding of the steps we can take to reduce the number of children accessing and using vapes,” he added.
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Ash, said the charity welcomed the government announcement but that more action was needed to “tackle the scourge of youth vaping”. She said: “The call for evidence is all well and good, but we already know the problems that need addressing, and how to address them. Cheap disposable vapes need to be taxed so they can no longer be bought for pocket money prices. And the government needs to regulate to limit where these products can be sold, and prohibit brightly coloured packaging with cartoon characters and names like ‘gummy bears’. There’s no time for delay.”
Rishi Sunak is seeking to capitalise on Joe Biden’s visit to Northern Ireland this week with an investment drive that he says will deliver on the “promise” of the Good Friday Agreement.
President Biden will arrive in Belfast this week to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement - the peace deal that brought power-sharing to the province and ended the 30 years of conflict known as The Troubles.
Mr Sunak is expected to meet the president on the tarmac as he disembarks from Air Force One on Tuesday evening, with Mr Biden then undertaking a programme of engagements including a meeting with the Prime Minister.
Downing Street said that he would use the president’s visit and his engagements with business leaders and others in Belfast to “celebrate Northern Ireland’s successes and encourage further long-term investment”.
Investment summit
As part of his drive to bring more private capital to the province, Mr Sunak has decided that the UK will host a Northern Ireland Investment Summit in Belfast in September.
The Prime Minister said: “The Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement was an incredible moment in our nation’s history. It was a powerfully rare example of people doing the previously unthinkable to create a better future for Northern Ireland.
“It is that promise of a better future that we offered to everyone in Northern Ireland that I will be thinking of first and foremost over the coming days. It is my responsibility as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to ensure we are making good on that promise.
“Northern Ireland – like the rest of the UK – is teeming with opportunities, talent and ingenuity. The biggest thing we can do to improve people’s standard of living and secure a prosperous and thriving Northern Ireland, is economic growth. That’s something I’m relentlessly focused on delivering.”
Windsor Framework deal
The Prime Minister will return to Belfast on April 19 to address Queen’s University’s ‘Agreement 25’ conference and to host a special gala dinner to commemorate the anniversary.
His pledge to drum up investment for Northern Ireland will be seen as an attempt to move on from the bitter rows over the province’s post-Brexit status.
However, the Democratic Unionist Party is continuing to boycott the Stormont Assembly over the post-Brexit arrangements, claiming they threaten Northern Ireland’s place within the union.
Mr Biden will give a key address at Ulster University’s newly opened campus on Wednesday, before departing for Dublin in the afternoon.
He will undertake a number of engagements in the Republic of Ireland before flying back on Friday.
The Irish deputy premier, Micheal Martin, denied this was the case. “I think his visit to Northern Ireland is a manifestation of his genuine commitment to the people of Northern Ireland," he said.
Mr Biden’s visit has been overshadowed by warnings from the police that dissident republicans are plotting terror attacks against police officers to coincide with tomorrow’s anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
The president’s visit to Northern Ireland comes after The Telegraph revealed that he would not be attending the King’s Coronation next month.
The White House said a decision to send the first lady Jill Biden in his absence was “not a snub”, insisting “the president has a good relationship with the King”.
The junior doctors' union appears "intent on maintaining a militant stance" which "hampers serious talks over pay", the health secretary says.
Writing in The Telegraph, Steve Barclay said pay demands by the British Medical Association (BMA) were "unrealistic".
Junior doctors in England are set to stage a four-day strike from Tuesday.
The BMA wants a 35% pay rise to make up for 15 years of below-inflation wage rises, It says falling pay has caused a recruitment and retention crisis.
Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-director of the junior doctors' committee at the BMA, said on Saturday that Mr Barclay is yet to put a serious offer on the table.
"All we're asking for is a credible offer that shows us he's serious, that we can start a path of negotiations to try to address the real-terms pay cut," he said.
The strike is due to take place from 07:00 BST on Tuesday until 07:00 BST on Saturday.
The NHS national medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, is warning that the strike will cause "unparalleled levels of disruption" as it is longer than previous strikes and comes after the bank holiday when many staff are "taking much-needed holiday".
Up to quarter of a million operations and appointments could be postponed because of it, the NHS Confederation - the body which represents health service trusts - has warned, and health bosses are more concerned about this than they have been about any other strike.
Th BMA has refused to exempt any services but says it has plans to protect patients.
'Out of step'
Mr Barclay said the walkout - just after the bank holiday and which "coincides with school holidays, Ramadan and Passover", has been timed to "cause maximum disruption".
Mr Barclay said pay demands by junior doctors were "out of step with pay settlements in other parts of the public sector" and claimed some doctors could receive an extra £20,000 a year if wage demands were met.
He said he wanted to "see a fair deal that increases their pay" but could see "no prospect of getting into serious and constructive talks" unless the strike action was cancelled and the BMA changed its pay demands.
The BMA says junior doctors' pay has fallen by 26% since 2008, once inflation is taken into account.
Junior doctors represent more than 40% of the medical workforce and include those fresh out of university through to experienced medics with more than 10 years of experience. Around two-thirds are BMA members.
Deputy chair of the BMA junior doctors committee Dr Mike Greenhalgh said falling pay had caused "a real recruitment and retention crisis" in the health service.
He told the BBC on Saturday: "It's hard to negotiate when only one side is doing it, and we're not getting anything back from the government on that front."
He added: "We're happy to meet at any time. We would still meet [Mr Barclay] over the bank holiday weekend before the industrial action next week.
"And if he was to bring a credible offer to us, it could still, even at this late stage, avert action."
During last month's strike, hospitals drafted in consultants to provide cover but it is estimated a quarter of them are on leave due to the Easter holidays.
The BMA says it will not exempt any services but that there are plans to protect patients, which could involve pulling junior doctors off the picket line if individual hospitals report lives are in immediate danger.
The Department of Health and Social Care has said the government is working with NHS England to put contingency plans in place to protect patient safety during the strike.
"The NHS will prioritise resources to protect emergency treatment, critical care, maternity and neonatal care, and trauma," a spokesman said.
Are you a junior doctor with a view on the strike? Are you a patient affected? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.
A love triangle and two specks of gunpowder on a pair of Under Armour tracksuit bottoms helped to prove that Thomas Cashman was the man who shot Olivia Pratt-Korbel dead.
The 34-year-old, of Grenadier Drive in West Derby, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 42 years this week after being unanimously found guilty of the schoolgirl's murder. She was killed aged nine in her own home on Kingsheath Avenue in Dovecot on the evening of August 22 last year.
One of the key pieces of evidence in the trial was the testimony of a woman whom Cashman had previously had a sexual relationship, behind the back of his long-term partner Kayleeanne Sweeney. This witness cannot be identified for legal reasons, but she reported to the police that the killer appeared by her bedside following the shooting before making an apparent confession.
She had dozed off while reading a bedtime story to her children, but around two hours later was woken by Cashman tapping on her leg saying "it's Tommy, it's Tommy". He had no trousers on and had his head in his hands, telling her: "I didn't know where else to go. I trust you."
The late night visitor asked her to get him a pair of pants and was handed him a pair of navy blue Under Armour tracksuit bottoms belonging to her boyfriend, Paul Russell. She and Cashman had been having an affair behind the backs of their respective partners, a fling which had been ongoing for some two years after an exchange of flirty messages on Instagram.
A pair of Under Armour tracksuit bottoms seized from Thomas Cashman's sister's home (Image: Merseyside Police)
He asked her "do you feel what I feel?". The woman responded: "Why do your eyes undress me all the time?"
The relationship continued "on, off for months" but soured after a pregnancy scare, while he had also told Russell's brother that she wanted to move away with him to Spain and set up an OnlyFans account. She said this had inevitably got back to her own partner and caused "murder" between them, but later denied in court having wanted a relationship with a "thug with a little willy".
Back in her bedroom in the night of August 22, Cashman was stuttering and saying "someone was coming for him". An ally had told him that someone had been "sitting him off, observing him".
He implored her, "no one can know I'm here". But, against Cashman's wishes, she called Russell.
At the doorstep, she heard the two men discussing "Joey Nee". Upon his arrival, Russell was reported to have said to Cashman: “Lad, don’t wanna hear it, don’t tell me nothing."
But, in an apparent confession, Cashman told Russell: "I've done Joey."
Thomas Cashman (Image: Merseyside Police)
Soon after, they headed off in the family car - Cashman wearing Russell's trackie bottoms, a recently washed and mismatched black and grey Under Armour t-shirt of his which had been drying on a radiator and a grey and yellow pair of Nike sliders. He had left his "murder clothing", including a pair of Monterrain trackies, in a pile by the washing machine.
Russell would get rid of these incriminating items by taking them round to the house of a Cashman associate called Craig Byrne after giving the would-be hitman a lift back to his van, helping to cover for the very man who was secretly having sex with his girlfriend. The guns have never been found, although the woman reported that her once lover told her he had "dropped the bits off" before arriving at her house.
The next morning, she heard the news of Olivia's death. When she heard Nee's name being reported in the media as the intended target of the shooting, she put two and two together.
On the sixth day of Cashman's trial, the prosecution called her as what was arguably its most vital witness. Giving evidence from behind a screen, she spent a day-and-a-half on the stand being cross-examined by the defendant's brief Professor John Cooper KC.
Yet her version of events on the evening of August 22 occupied less than 10 minutes of that time. Topics instead included sexual fluids, Cashman's underwhelming performance in the bedroom, chlamydia and a collection of intimate pictures saved in a hidden album on a phone and referred to as the "Tommy file".
High Court judge Justice Amanda Yip had to step in as a peacemaker on several occasions as the exchange became fiery. One difficult piece of evidence for the witness to face was a text she had sent to a friend a month prior to Olivia's murder in which she said she wanted to "ruin him like he's done to me".
She claimed this was because she had learned that Cashman had also been seeing one of Ms Sweeney's closest friends, and she was planning to set up a burner Instagram account in order to expose him as a "rat". There were further accusations to throw at her however.
Russell was said to have racked up a £25,000 drug debt to Cashman after he supplied him with five kilos of cannabis. She herself was in rent arrears amounting to £2,500, and was also said to have been after the £200,000 reward money.
But she claimed to have one motive, telling the jury: "I’m sorry, I can’t forgive anyone who has hurt any child. If he was any sort of man he’d just f****** own it.
"I can’t believe he’s making the family go through what they’re going through. It’s a child.
"She can never go home ever again. It breaks my heart."
By coming forward and speaking out, she said she had risked her own skin, adding: "You’re implying I’ve ruined your client’s life, yet I’ve ruined my life. I am sitting here for what, because I’m angry?
"I’m mad? No.
"I’m sitting here for the little girl. I’ve not been asked one question about her."
Cashman's legal team were keen to paint the witness as either a woman scorned, someone who wanted the reward money or being out to fit him up for murder as her boyfriend owed him a substantial drug debt. But there was one piece of vital evidence which backed up what she was saying.
The tracksuit bottoms given to him were recovered from his sister's home on Mab Lane on September 5, the day after his first arrest in connection with Olivia's murder, stashed inside a cardboard box originating from a pram. Forensic examinations found both his and Russell's DNA on them.
Crucially, two particles of type one gunshot residue - matching that found at the scene of the shooting - were discovered on the outer surface of the right leg. This gave support "for the proposition that they had been put on by the firer after the incident".
The Under Armour t-shirt given to him on the night of the shooting was also found in the same box, with Cashman's blood found in the inner surface. It was speculated that this speck may have been as a result of a minor cut or scrape sustained as he garden hopped away from the scene.
Cashman did come up with a story hoping to explain the gunshot residue on the Under Armour trackies. He cited a rendevouz with the woman after she had been one of the first people on the scene of another shooting in which a man was injured.
He said this escapade had occurred in her kitchen, and she had given him the items of Russell's clothing after sexual fluids were transferred to the top and trousers he was wearing at the time - fearing that he would be rumbled by his girlfriend if she saw the stains. This however clashed with her account, which stated that the encounter had taken place in her bedroom and he had only been wearing his "boxies" and socks, while she had not handed him the change of clothes at this time.
An Under Armour t-shirt seized from Thomas Cashman's sister's home
Cashman claimed that he had been counting £10,000 in ill-gotten cash from his drug dealing activities at Mr Byrne's house and smoking a spliff at the time Olivia was shot dead. Later, he supposedly spotted Russell driving down Snowberry Road, flagged him down and grabbed a lift with him to Aspes Road.
Cashman admitted that he had exerted some pressure on his driver as a result of the £25k debt. This included threats to take his graft phone and his "nice car" from him.
When pressed on this point by the prosecution, he said: "He was taking the p***. I told him if he doesn’t pay the money, I’ll take his graft phone and his car.
"If he didn’t give it me, well, he would have ended up getting a punch or something. If I let people do that all the time, I wouldn’t be able to sell cannabis."
Russell previously pleaded guilty to assisting an offender in relation to his involvement. The 41-year-old, of Snowberry Road, is awaiting sentence and has been remanded in custody since his guilty plea in October.
Manchester Crown Square Crown Court heard during a three-and-a-half-week trial that when Nee left the address with another man, Paul Abraham, the gunman approached them from behind and opened fire with a self-loading Glock-style pistol. A chilling piece of CCTV footage showed Mr Abraham running for his life as two loud bangs rang out.
Nee was shot in the midriff at this point and stumbled to the floor as a result of his injuries. David McLachlan KC, prosecuting, described how Cashman had "murder on his mind" and stood over the helpless 35-year-old and attempted to discharge the firearm again as he begged: "Please don't, don't lad".
But the gun malfunctioned, and Nee was able to escape. Cashman however continued his "ruthless pursuit" as he fled towards the Korbel family home.
Forty-six-year-old Cheryl, alarmed by the gunfire outside, had stepped out of her house to investigation but quickly rushed back indoors when she saw Nee running towards her and away from Cashman - who was dressed all in black and had his face covered. She then tussled with the gunman's intended target in an attempt to keep her front door shut and to keep him out of the property, but was unable to fully close it as it had been left on the latch in order to allow the neighbours to let themselves in for a cup of tea.
The assailant fired another shot with a second, backup weapon - a 0.3 caliber revolver - at this point. This was the shot which claimed Olivia's life, the bullet passing through the door and travelling through the mother's hand before striking her in the chest.
Olivia Pratt-Korbel was fatally shot at her home in Dovecot (Image: Family handout/PA Wire)
The schoolgirl had been upstairs in bed, but was heard to say "mummy, I'm scared" as she ran to the bottom of the stairs to her mum having been startled by the commotion. With Nee by now inside, Cashman then forced his arm around the door and fired one final shot which became lodged in the doorframe.
Olivia was scooped up by the first police officer to arrive at the scene and rushed to Alder Hey Children's Hospital after being critically injured, but was pronounced dead shortly before 11.30pm. There were emotional scenes in court as Cheryl Korbel recounted the tragedy in a video interview with police, which was played to the jury.
In it, she said: "I heard the baby screaming, that’s when I turned round and spotted her sat at the bottom of the stairs. I couldn’t keep her awake.
"I knew she’d gone. I knew she’d gone."
Nee was bundled into a car by his associates and taken to Whiston Hospital, later being transferred to Aintree Hospital after suffering gunshot wounds to the chest and lower abdomen. Cashman meanwhile escaped the scene of the shooting by leaping through back gardens.
The attacker was also identified to have worn distinctive Monterrain trackies which matched a pair owned by Cashman. But he claimed in his evidence that he had no involvement in the shooting and was counting £10,000 in cash and "smoking a spliff" at Mr Byrne's house at the time.
The defendant also stated he had "no problems" with the Nee family and counted them as friends. The father-of-two, who was defended by Professor John Cooper KC, said on the witness box: "I'm not a killer, I'm a dad."
Cashman was unanimously found guilty of Olivia's murder, attempting to murder Joseph Nee, wounding with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm against Cheryl Korbel and two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 42 years on Monday.
Sentencing him in his absence after he refused to appear in the dock, Justice Amanda Yip said: "The killing of Olivia Pratt-Korbel is an offence that shocked not only the city of Liverpool, but the nation. Olivia’s name is likely to be remembered for many years.
"She should not be remembered only for her dreadful last moments. Her family have spoken today of Olivia in life and of the hopes and dreams for her future, which were so cruelly snatched away.
"It is plain that Olivia was a lovely little girl, who cared for others and brightened the lives of her family and friends. They have suffered an unimaginable loss which they must carry for the rest of their lives."
Rishi Sunak will welcome President Joe Biden when he arrives in Belfast this week - pledging to fulfil the promise of the Good Friday Agreement as they mark its 25th anniversary, and talking of a "better future" for Northern Ireland.
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Police: Easter terror attacks 'likely' in Northern Ireland
"It was a powerfully rare example of people doing the previously unthinkable to create a better future for Northern Ireland," the prime minister said.
"It is that promise of a better future that we offered to everyone in Northern Ireland that I will be thinking of first and foremost over the coming days.
"It is my responsibility as the prime minister of the United Kingdom to ensure we are making good on that promise."
Mr Sunak was "relentlessly focused" on delivering economic growth in Northern Ireland, which he said is crucial to improving living standards, the statement added.
Mr Biden, who will arrive in Air Force One on Tuesday evening, is intensely proud of his Irish heritage and the US's role in the peace accord.
He will give a key address at Ulster University's newly opened campus on Wednesday and will have a formal meeting with the prime minister.
Mr Sunak is expected to use the visit to drum up long-term investment for the nation.
A major policing operation costing around £7m and backed up by around 300 officers will be under way around the anniversary, after the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) warned of the potential of dissident republicans launching attacks.
The union representing junior doctors appears "intent on maintaining a militant stance" which "hampers serious talks over pay", the health secretary has said.
Writing in The Telegraph, Steve Barclay said pay demands by the British Medical Association (BMA) were "unrealistic".
The union is calling for a 35% pay rise to make up for 15 years of below-inflation wage rises.
Junior doctors in England are set to stage a four-day strike from Tuesday.
It will take place from 07:00 BST on Tuesday, lasting until 07:00 BST on Saturday.
The BMA junior doctors committee says real terms pay has fallen by 26.1% when compared to pre-austerity levels of 2008.
Mr Barclay said he could see "no prospect of getting into serious and constructive talks" unless the strike action was cancelled and the BMA changed its pay demands.
Junior doctors are below consultant level and may have many years of experience in a hospital setting or general practice.
Mr Barclay said pay demands by junior doctors were "out of step with pay settlements in other parts of the public sector" and claimed some doctors could receive an extra £20,000 a year if wage demands were met.
The health secretary also said he valued "the important work these doctors do every day" and he wanted "to see a fair deal that increases their pay".
In his article, Mr Barclay wrote that the four-day strike "threatens to cause significantly more disruption than the previous NHS walkouts we have seen recently".
"It is deeply disappointing that this industrial action has been timed by the BMA's junior doctors' committee to cause maximum disruption to both patients and other NHS staff," he said.
"Not only does the 96-hour walkout come straight after the Easter weekend, but it is also longer than previous walkouts. And it coincides with school holidays, Ramadan and Passover."
He said while contingency plans were being put in place, "significant disruption in the coming days is inevitable".
Health bosses have estimated that up to a quarter of a million operations and appointments could be postponed as a result of the strike.
The BMA represents 173,000 members across all parts of the United Kingdom, and saw a recent surge in membership due to more junior doctors joining.
Speaking to the BBC, deputy chair of the BMA junior doctors committee Dr Mike Greenhalgh said falling pay had caused "a real recruitment and retention crisis" in the health service.
During last month's strike, hospitals drafted in consultants to provide cover but it is estimated a quarter of them are on leave due to the Easter holidays.
The BMA says it will not exempt any services but that there are plans to protect patients, which could involve pulling junior doctors off the picket line if individual hospitals report lives are in immediate danger.
Meanwhile, the NHS's national medical director warned that the strikes would create "unparalleled levels of disruption".
"This time the action immediately follows a four-day bank holiday weekend, which is already difficult as many staff are taking much-needed holiday," said Professor Sir Stephen Powis.
"It will be more extensive than ever before with hospitals facing nearly 100 hours without up to half of the NHS medical workforce."
The Department of Health and Social Care has said the government is working with NHS England to put contingency plans in place to protect patient safety during the strike.
"The NHS will prioritise resources to protect emergency treatment, critical care, maternity and neonatal care, and trauma," a spokesman said.
Ahead of the strikes starting on Tuesday, Mr Barclay had been urged to meet union representatives over the bank holiday weekend to try to resolve the issue.
Speaking previously, Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-director of the junior doctors' committee at the BMA, said the union wanted to be sure Mr Barclay "is serious about pay erosion" - but added he is yet to put a credible offer on the table.
"All we're asking for is a credible offer that shows us he's serious, that we can start a path of negotiations to try to address the real-terms pay cut," he said.
Are you a junior doctor with a view on the strike? Are you a patient affected? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.
The union representing junior doctors appears "intent on maintaining a militant stance" which "hampers serious talks over pay", the health secretary has said.
Writing in The Telegraph, Steve Barclay said pay demands by the British Medical Association (BMA) were "unrealistic".
The union is calling for a 35% pay rise to make up for 15 years of below-inflation wage rises.
Junior doctors in England are set to stage a four-day strike from Tuesday.
The BMA junior doctors committee says real terms pay has fallen by 26.1% when compared to pre-austerity levels of 2008.
Mr Barclay said he could see "no prospect of getting into serious and constructive talks" unless the strike action was cancelled and the BMA changed its pay demands.
Junior doctors are below consultant level, and may have many years experience in a hospital setting or general practice.
Mr Barclay said pay demands by junior doctors were "out of step with pay settlements in other parts of the public sector" and claimed some doctors could receive an extra £20,000 a year if wage demands were met.
The health secretary also said he valued "the important work these doctors do every day" and he wanted "to see a fair deal that increases their pay".
In his article, Mr Barclay wrote that the four-day strike "threatens to cause significantly more disruption than the previous NHS walkouts we have seen recently".
"It is deeply disappointing that this industrial action has been timed by the BMA's junior doctors committee to cause maximum disruption to both patients and other NHS staff," he said.
"Not only does the 96-hour walkout come straight after the Easter weekend, but it is also longer than previous walkouts. And it coincides with school holidays, Ramadan and Passover."
He said while contingency plans were being put in place, "significant disruption in the coming days is inevitable".
Health bosses have estimated that up to a quarter of a million operations and appointments could be postponed as a result of the strike.
The BMA represents 173,000 members across all parts of the United Kingdom, and saw a recent surge in membership due to more junior doctors joining.
Speaking to the BBC, deputy chair of the BMA junior doctors committee Dr Mike Greenhalgh said falling pay had caused "a real recruitment and retention crisis" in the health service.
Strike action will take place from 07:00 BST on Tuesday, lasting until 07:00 BST on Saturday.
During last month's strike, hospitals drafted in consultants to provide cover but it is estimated a quarter of them are on leave due to the Easter holidays.
The British Medical Association (BMA) says it will not exempt any services but that there are plans to protect patients, which could involve pulling junior doctors off the picket line if individual hospitals report lives are in immediate danger.
The Department of Health and Social Care has said the government is working with NHS England to put contingency plans in place to protect patient safety during the strike.
"The NHS will prioritise resources to protect emergency treatment, critical care, maternity and neonatal care, and trauma," a spokesman said.
Ahead of the strikes which begin on Tuesday, Mr Barclay had been urged to meet union representatives over the bank holiday weekend to try to resolve the issue.
Speaking previously, Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-director of the junior doctors' committee at the BMA, said the union wanted to be sure Mr Barclay "is serious about pay erosion" - but added he is yet to put a credible offer on the table.
"All we're asking for is a credible offer that shows us he's serious, that we can start a path of negotiations to try to address the real-terms pay cut," he said.
Are you a junior doctor with a view on the strike? Are you a patient affected? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.
