Hunt offers to meet BMA chair to try to avert all-out strike by junior doctors

England’s health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has offered to meet with the BMA’s chairman of council, Mark Porter, in a last ditch attempt to avert this week’s plan for an all-out strike by junior doctors.

In a letter to Porter sent on Saturday 23 April,1 Hunt said that he would be willing to meet to discuss “a range of issues that can improve the terms and conditions for junior doctors” if the BMA agreed to call off the full withdrawal of labour by junior doctors on Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 April.

But Porter said that talks could take place only if the health secretary removed his threat to impose the new contract on junior doctors.

Against this backdrop, the heads of 13 medical royal colleges wrote to the prime minister, David Cameron, on Monday 25 …