I suspect that this was one of the first years that reports from that conference were made available in a digital format, and that the way that issues like this

I suspect that this was one of the first years that reports from that conference were made available in a digital format, and that the way that issues like this have been dealt with subsequently has taken into account the likely impact of similar documents coming to wider public attention. I don't think it's something that people have stopped talking about in their professional circles, and I imagine senior figures would be able to tell ministers exactly what people think and what would happen. Part of the difference is probably that the 2021 article is a press release aimed at the public, rather than an internal discussion that lead to a vote. With enough money I imagine you could make everyone happy, and doctors' standard of living is at just as much risk of being inflated away as anyone else's, so it's no surprise that the professional body would support training more doctors subject to guaranteed funding including for medical educators and clinical placements (all of which will have a direct impact on their members' salaries, bonuses and allowances). How exactly that will work out, and how's it's going to play to the public, we'll have to wait and see.