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Theresa May is being urged by Tory MPs to punish junior doctors by banning their right to strike.

Backbench Conservatives want the Prime Minister to put medics in the same category as the armed forces and police, with a bar on industrial action.

It comes after the doctors announced a series of five-day walkouts in the bitter dispute over seven-day contracts.

Former Tory Minister Nick Boles insisted a strike ban should be considered if the British Medical Association pressed ahead with action.

He said: “Bluntly, the British public will expect us to look at it.”

“If a public service on which people rely for matters of life, death and wellbeing are going to behave unreasonably, there will be growing public concern we need more than ballot thresholds.

“If they proceed with these five-day strikes, it would absolutely be a logical step for the Government to look at what sort of no-strike arrangement could be brought in.”

(Image: WENN)

Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns, whose dad died of an infection acquired in hospital, backed his call.

She said: “As someone who has seen how patient safety can be affected with my own father I would be completely in favour.”

The General Medical Council warned “patients will suffer” due to the strikes.

Its guidance adds: “The right option may be not to take action that results in the withdrawal of services.”

GMC chief Niall Dickson said it was a doctor’s responsibility to “protect patients from harm”. He added: “This is a matter of professional duty and we expect each doctor to comply with it.”

But Dr Kailash Chand, ex-deputy BMA chair, said: “The Government should be trying to resolve this dispute, not angering doctors by removing their legitimate right to strike.”

Junior medics will walk out from September 12 to 16, then October 5, 6, 7, 10 and 11, November 14 to 18 and December 5 to 9, from 8am to 5pm.

In April, ahead of previous walkouts, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt signalled he would back banning doctors from industrial action.

He said: “When you are paid a high salary, that comes with the responsibilities of a profession.

“It is totally inappropriate to withdraw emergency care.”

But a No10 source said the PM did not plan to curb medics further, adding: “We don’t want to get them even more wound up.”