The junior doctors’ union has revoked its offer for members to cross the picket line at one hospital after claiming they were “misled” over staffing issues.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said it had agreed that seven junior doctors could volunteer to work at Weston General Hospital, North Somerset, due to staff shortages which left patients at risk.

The union blamed “poor planning” by bosses for leaving the emergency and acute departments “exposed”.

It was the first and only exemption agreed during the junior doctors’ industrial action, including during their first strike last month.

But in a significant U-turn on Wednesday the BMA said it had “revoked” the exemption, known as a derogation, claiming both they and NHS England had been “misled”.

In a statement the union said: “We have revoked the derogation granted to Weston General Hospital. It has become apparent that both the BMA and NHS England were misled over the level of staffing cover. 

“Either local management were unaware they had sufficient senior cover, or they deliberately misled us. We will be asking NHSE to explore any potential probity issues. 

“We granted a derogation in good faith and it is incredibly disappointing to see this abused in this way. We are grateful to our consultant and [speciality and specialist doctor] colleagues for their hard work providing cover during the strikes.”

NHS England and Weston General Hospital have been approached for comment.

More to follow.