Five-day strike planned by resident doctors this month

Resident doctors in England will strike for five days this month in their campaign for a 29% pay rise. Wes Streeting, the health secretary, denounced the move as "completely unreasonable".

- Denis Campbell Health policy editor

Resident doctors - formerly known as junior doctors - working in the NHS will withdraw their labour from 7am on Friday 25 July and not return until 7am the following Wednesday.

Streeting and the doctors' union, the British Medical Association (BMA), blamed each other for the looming walkout amid a hardening of attitudes on both sides of the dispute.

Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, the co-chairs of the BMA's resident doctors committee, insisted that they had "made every effort to avoid strike action" when they met Streeting for talks on Tuesday.

But they blamed ministers' refusal to consider increasing a 5.4% pay rise for their decision to strike for five days.

"Unfortunately the government has stated that it will not negotiate on pay, wanting to focus on non-pay elements, without suggesting what these might be," they said.