Wes Streeting offers striking doctors fresh packet of financial perks in last-ditch bid to call off strikes

The Health Secretary and his teams have been locked in talks with the British Medical Association this week as they attempted to beg doctors not to walk out on Friday.

It's understood he put a string of financial perks on the table - including cash help with paying for medical equipment, extra assistance for when they need to move trusts and can be at risk of losing money, and paying for their exams upfront.

But resident doctors confirmed on Tuesday they would still go ahead with their strike action.

The Union said last night their five days of industrial action would still go ahead, despite five days of talks.

The offer of improved working conditions was seen as not enough of a move for doctors who want to see another pay rise.

Mr Streeting's said the nation can't afford to give them another big pay bump - and it wouldn't be fair to do so either.

He wrote to BMA chiefs on Tuesday promising to continue talks if the walkouts were called off.

However, they insisted that it wasn't enough for them to call off the action - and that pay remains their main sticking point.

Mr Streeting accused the BMA of acting "recklessly and needlessly" with their action.

And he said it would put waiting lists and the wider recovery of the NHS at risk again.

The BMA co-chairs said on Tuesday: "We came to talks in good faith, keen to explore real solutions to the problems facing resident doctors today.

"Unfortunately, we did not receive an offer that would meet the scale of these challenges... we have always been upfront that this is at its core, a pay dispute."

Medical exam fees can run to several thousands of pounds, as well as forking out for their own medical kits.

Mr Streeting had also looked into other conditions, such as giving doctors more control over where they do their placement years.

And he told LBC last week that he would also be willing to look at pension contributions and whether it could be possible to use some of that money for pay instead.