Mr Lansley says he will draw the review team's attention to the work of the Surgical Materials Testing Laboratory based in Bridgend, after Ms Griffiths suggested the English NHS might wish to use it.

BBC: Andrew Lansley

But the NUT said candidates who needed several resits to pass the tests were dyslexic, had English as an additional language, or were less familiar with the on-line testing system.

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The full 37-man squad -- comprised of 15 Welsh, 10 Irish, nine English and three Scottish players --only came together last week and have been training in testing conditions for the past two days.

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Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said new tests would be brought in to ensure that healthcare workers from other EU countries can speak English to a satisfactory level, an issue which is complicated by rules which prevent systemic language testing.

BBC: The Record: Europe