Junior doctors are striking for five days to demand an increase in pay (Pictures: Rex/PA)

The longest strike in NHS history begins today as junior doctors take to the picket lines in an ongoing dispute over pay.

Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) in England started their five-day protest outside hospitals at 7am this morning.

Those part of the Unite union at Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital Trust in London are also walking out today.

BMA leaders Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi said: ‘Today marks the start of the longest single walkout by doctors in the NHS’s history, but this is still not a record that needs to go into the history books.

‘We can call this strike off today if the UK Government will simply follow the example of the government in Scotland and drop their nonsensical precondition of not talking whilst strikes are announced and produce an offer which is credible to the doctors they are speaking with.

‘The pay offer on the table to junior doctors in Scotland and how it was reached throws into sharp relief the obstinate approach being taken by the prime minister and the health secretary, Steve Barclay.

‘The health secretary has said there can be no talks while strikes are planned – Scotland has proved him wrong. He said above 5% wasn’t realistic – Scotland proved him wrong. He refused to even acknowledge the concept of pay restoration – Scotland proved this is not only possible but essential.’

A picket line outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London (Picture: Shutterstock)

Rebecca Lissmann, 29, joins striking members of the British Medical Association (Picture: PA)

Junior doctors in England want a pay increase in line with Scotland (Picture: Shutterstock)

Last week, junior doctors in Scotland called off their strike after first minister Humza Yousaf said he was prepared to offer the biggest pay rise ‘in the history of devolution’.

BMA Scotland recommended its members accept an offer to receive a 4.5% increase for 2022/23 and a total hike of 17.5% over two years.

This happened despite the Scottish government saying its previous offer of 14.5% over two years was the ‘best and final’ deal that would be put on the table.

Mr Barclay said: ‘It is disappointing that the BMA is going ahead with further strike action. This five-day walkout by junior doctors will have an impact on thousands of patients, put patient safety at risk and hamper efforts to cut NHS waiting lists.

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‘We were in discussions about pay and a range of other measures to improve the working lives of junior doctors until their representatives collapsed the negotiations by announcing further strikes. A pay demand of 35% or more is unreasonable and risks fuelling inflation, which makes everyone poorer.

‘Earlier this week I held a round table with doctors in training to talk about other key issues that affect them so we can work together to make the NHS a better place for all. We recently published the first-ever NHS Long Term Workforce Plan which includes measures to better support staff, improve training and double the number of medical school places by 2031.

‘If the BMA shows willingness to move significantly from their current pay demands and cancels these damaging and disruptive strikes, we can get around the table to find a fair deal to resolve this dispute.’

The BMA has criticised the Government’s policy of refusing to negotiate with striking workers, saying it is ‘out of keeping with all norms of industrial action’ and shows ‘complete inflexibility’.

It is ‘baffling, frustrating and ultimately destructive for everyone who wants waiting lists to go down and NHS staffing numbers to go up,’ they added.

The Government is yet to say whether it will accept recommendations from pay review bodies affecting public sector workers including teachers, civil servants and NHS workers.

It has been speculated they have recommended an increase of between 6% and 6.5%.

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Polling by YouGov showed public support for strikes has remained consistent since the beginning of the year.

Nurses have the strongest public backing, with three in five Britons supporting them and three in 10 opposed.

Ambulance workers have similar levels of support, with 58% in favour and 33% opposed.

Hospital consultants and radiographers will take industrial action later this month.

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Union leaders said: ‘This is still not a record that needs to go into the history books, we can call this strike off today.’