Streeting was speaking during an event held by Macmillan Cancer Care to mark World Cancer Day on 4 February.

The secretary of state's comments came when addressing racial inequalities in cancer care and outcomes where NHS staff face racial abuse and black men are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer than white men, with black women three times more likely to die in child birth than white women.

‘I could get quite a lot of plaudits from quite a lot of people across the country if I said NHS tough times I am going to scrap all of those EDI people and save loads of money and divert the money into actual patient care, except ask black nurses about their experiences of being bullied in the workplace in an organisation that has had black people in it since it was founded,' Streeting said.

Talking on a day when Reform UK overtook Labour in an opinion poll, Streeting said he was ready to champion EDI but needed ‘the profession to help'.

‘There are sometimes some really daft things being done in equality, diversity and inclusion that undermine the cause,' the secretary of state said.

Streeting cited the example of an NHS staff member who boasted of incorporating ‘anti-whiteness' practices into supervision and approaches to clinical work.

‘What the hell does that say to the bloke up in Wigan who is more likely to die earlier than his more affluent counterparts down in London?' he asked.

‘We have got real issues of inequality that effect white working class people.

‘The ideological hobby horses need to go. What's been lost, I think, with some well-meaning but misguided approaches to equality, diversity, inclusion, the clue is in the name – it's equality; it should be applicable to everyone.

‘Where we see health inequalities whether they affect men and women, black people and white people, rich and poor, we have got to make a much more evidence-based approach to those inequalities. If you are on the wrong end of the stats we were want to deal with that to make sure we get equality of outcome.

‘We have got to make a much better approach to this issue. Part of what I am doing is trying to win again the fundamental arguments for equality, diversity and inclusion when they are under attack.'

An NHS spokesperson said: ‘NHS trusts should be working to address inequalities to ensure the best possible outcomes for all patients and equal opportunities for staff – but equally should avoid making tokenistic gestures that don't ultimately improve patient care.'