Junior doctors are to go on strike again on three dates, each taking place over 48 hours, the British Medical Association (BMA) said.

The doctors' union also announced that it is to seek a judicial review into the Government's plans to impose new contracts.

The dates planned for industrial action are from 8am on Wednesday, March 9 to 8am on Friday, March 11, from 8am on Wednesday, April 6 to 8am on Friday, April 8, and from 8am on Tuesday, April 26 to 8am on Thursday, April 28.

Over each of these 48-hour periods, junior doctors will offer emergency care only.

Commenting on the announcement, Norman Lamb, the MP for North Norfolk, said: 'Jeremy Hunt was wrong to impose new contracts on junior doctors, when there is clearly still huge opposition to its terms. These planned strikes heighten the risk junior doctors will leave the NHS in their droves and work abroad decimating our health service. Both sides need to get back round the negotiating table and hammer out a contract which works for patient safety.

'The bottom line is that the NHS is operating under unsustainable pressure and this dispute is yet another symptom of that. The Government has to recognise that there is something badly wrong when the vast majority of junior doctors support continue strike action. They can't all be dismissed as militants and the claim that they have been misled won't wash. It provides yet more evidence of the case for a cross party commission aimed at achieving a long term settlement for the NHS and the care system.'