“I’ve written to BMA inviting them for formal pay talks on the same basis other health unions accepted, including calling off next week’s strike”, Barclay said in a tweet.

Last month, BMA said tens of thousands of junior doctors in England would take strike action for three days from March 13 in a dispute over pay, adding to a series of walkouts by other staff in a strained health system.

BMA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The strikes heap more pressure on Britain’s state-funded National Health Service which is already stretched by staff shortages and record backlogs, and is experiencing waves of disruptive strike action by health workers.