The latest strike action is set to run from 7am on 7 April to 6.59am on 13 April.

Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA's Resident Doctors Committee, said: 'As talks progressed it became clear that the money proposed for pay increases was now going to be spread over three years. This is combined with today's pay review body [DDRB] recommendation of a 3.5% uplift pointing to yet more years in which our pay, at best, barely treads water. 

'We have made abundantly clear throughout this dispute that our aim is pay restoration, and any deal that did not move us substantially in that direction was not going to fly.

'We also cannot ignore that, thanks to global events, economic indicators now point to years of greatly increased inflation. We are simply not going to put an offer to doctors that risks locking in further erosion of pay at a time when doctors continue to leave the UK for other countries.' 

He added: 'We are not closing the door on talks. We remain willing to negotiate and are eager to get a deal done if we can simply recapture the early positive spirit of negotiations. No strikes need to happen, but Government will need to act fast to prevent them.'