Junior doctors have agreed to "escalate" strike action against the Government's proposed new contract, as the British Medical Association announces it is ramping up its opposition.

The chairman of the BMA’s junior doctor committee (JDC), Dr Johann Malawana, wrote to medics to confirm that the JDC had “voted to move towards an escalation of its planned action”.

He said the “exact nature” of the action would be confirmed next week and that the Government’s refusal to continue talks with junior doctors has left them with “no alternative but to consider all options open to them”.