THE Government will impose its new contract on junior doctors after talks failed to reach agreement, Jeremy Hunt has said.

The Health Secretary said the process had created "considerable dismay" among junior doctors but he felt that given time, the contract would be accepted as a good thing.

In a statement to the Commons he said no health secretary could ignore the fact that standards in NHS hospitals are "too low" at weekends and more patients die than during the week.

It is unclear whether the British Medical Association (BMA) will now stage further strikes in protest at the new contract.

Mr Hunt told MPs that if just one doctor works one hour over the maximum shift rate, it can trigger a 66% pay rise for all doctors on that rota.

He said there was a "patent unfairness" to the existing contract but progress in reforming it had been "slow".

He said the Government's chief negotiator Sir David Dalton - who was drafted in to broker a deal - had told him a "negotiated solution is not realistically possible" with the BMA.

Mr Hunt added that with the backing of major NHS groups including NHS Employers and NHS England, Sir David "has asked me to end the uncertainty for the service by proceeding with the introduction of a new contract that he and his colleagues consider both safer for patients and reasonable for junior doctors.

"I have therefore today decided to do that."