The massively damaging walkouts by junior medical doctors have price the NHS round £1billion this yr.

Ministers urged the British Medical Association to halt its newest strike – the fifth to this point – amid rising acrimony over the long-standing pay dispute.

But Dr Robert Laurenson, co-chairman of the junior medical doctors’ committee at BMA, stated the Conservative authorities in Westminster was “hell-bent on using the rigged independent pay review bodies to suppress our pay”.

Junior medical doctors in Scotland referred to as off a deliberate strike final month after a brand new pay provide from the SNP-led authorities for a 12.4 per cent pay improve subsequent yr and a 4.5 per cent improve this yr.

Asked if he may settle for that form of deal in England, Dr Laurenson stated: “No, because the governments are very different.

“[With] the Scottish government, there’s a basis to work forwards and have a working relationship to negotiate in the future.”

A supply near Health Secretary Steve Barclay hit again: “Their mask has slipped.

“This is a clear admission from the BMA junior doctors’ leadership that their strikes are part of a politically-motivated campaign aimed at bringing down the Government.

“This action is not in the interests of ordinary doctors in training or of patients.

“We are delivering a fair pay award averaging 8.8 per cent for doctors in training with 10.3 per cent for the lowest earners. The BMA should end strikes immediately.”

Scores of placard-wielding junior medical doctors staged a rally exterior Downing Street as members of the BMA started their four-day ­walkout. A stage was arrange and the tune Vossi Bop by Stormzy – which options the lyrics “**** the Government and **** Boris” – was performed over the audio system.

Junior medical doctors are in search of a wage hike of 35 per cent.

It comes as nearly 835,000 appointments have been cancelled or postponed because of industrial motion since December in England, in keeping with NHS figures.

Sir Julian Hartley, chief government of NHS Providers, warned the determine may shut in on a million following this month’s strikes by junior medics and consultants and a possible additional two-day strike by consultants subsequent month.

Sir Julian warned trusts “could be close to a tipping point” after official knowledge confirmed the NHS ready checklist had climbed to a report excessive of seven.6 million in June.

Some of these taking to the picket line yesterday solely began working for the NHS 9 days in the past, having newly graduated.

Mr Barclay urged the BMA to finish the strike and settle for the pay deal. He stated: “I am concerned about the impact on patients. We have accepted in full the recommendations of the independent pay review body.”

Rishi Sunak stated the deal, introduced final month for 2023/24, was the Government’s “final offer”. Nurses, paramedics and different NHS employees obtained a 5 per cent rise and “backlog bonus’.

It means from 2023/24 junior doctors will earn from £32,000 and up to £63,000, for the most senior. But Dr Laurenson said: “He’s not at home, he’s in Disneyland, and he needs to come back to the real world.”

The BMA has greater than 180,000 members. The different medical doctors’ union is the Hospital Consultants & Specialists Association.

Dr Vivek Trivedi of the BMA stated to protesters: “For 15 years the Government has undervalued us, they’ve ignored us, they’ve abused us, they’ve exploited us and they’ve inflicted pay cut after pay cut after pay cut.”