Junior doctors accused of trying to use all-out strike to topple the Government and Jeremy Hunt

Junior doctors' leaders have been accused of trying to topple the Government ahead of the most significant all-out strike in the history of the NHS.

As tensions between unions, doctors and the Health Secretary intensified on the eve of the walkout, Jeremy Hunt appealed to junior doctors not to withdraw emergency cover during the strike but said the Government would not compromise on imposing a new contract on NHS staff.

Ruling out a last-minute compromise to avert the strike, Mr Hunt said the action set to be taken by medics was "extreme" and "deeply worrying for patients".

The breakdown in relations was highlighted when a government source told the BBC that the British Medical Association was trying to bring down the Government, saying it had radicalised a "generation of junior doctors".

If the Government backed down, it would face similar industrial action by other unions, which were watching this dispute "like a hawk".

The BMA has branded the accusations "ridiculous".

Later, in a defiant statement to the House of Commons, Mr Hunt said that, while he understood some doctors objected to the new contract, it still offered medics more premium pay than "police officers, fire fighters and nearly every other worker in the public and private sectors".

The strike will run from 8am to 5pm on Tuesday and Wednesday.

More than 125,000 appointments and operations have been cancelled and will need to be rearranged, according to figures from NHS England.

The BMA has defended the walkout, repeating its stance that it will call off the strike if Mr Hunt agrees to lift his threat to impose the contract.

Mr Hunt has rejected this offer but wrote to the head of the BMA, Dr Mark Porter, over the weekend calling for an urgent meeting to discuss some parts of the deal.

Speaking to MPs, Mr Hunt said the new contract was needed to create safer services at weekends.

"No trade union has the right to veto a manifesto promise voted for by the British people,” he said.

"We are proud of the NHS as one of our greatest institutions but we must turn that pride into actions and a seven-day service will help us turn the NHS into one of the highest quality healthcare systems in the world."

He added: "I wish to appeal directly to all junior doctors not to withdraw emergency cover, which creates particular risks for A&Es, maternity units and intensive care units."

Mr Hunt said that there were plans in place to provide safe care, particular in maternity, A&E and crisis mental health services.

But he admitted the disruption over the next two days was "unprecedented".

Earlier in the day, more than a dozen presidents of royal colleges and faculties urged David Cameron to step in "at the 11th hour" to break the stalemate between junior doctors and the Government.

In a letter they said: "You have spoken many times about your commitment to the NHS. In our view, as leaders of the medical profession, the ongoing impasse in the dispute between Government and junior doctors poses a significant threat to our whole healthcare system by demoralising a group of staff on whom the future of the NHS depends.

"At this 11th hour, we call upon you to intervene, bring both parties back to the negotiating table, end this damaging stand-off, and initiate an honest debate about the serious difficulties facing UK health services."

Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, also pleaded for an end to the dispute.

"On behalf of the patients of this country, we plead with the Government and the BMA at this late stage to talk and reach an amicable solution," she said.

Dr Porter told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the Government had "distorted" weekend death statistics.

Responding to Mr Hunt's claim that lives are being put at risk by the strike, he said: "The Health Secretary is trying to find some way to throw mud at the junior doctors of this country who have been providing weekend and night emergency cover since the NHS started."

Dr Porter added: "The reality is we have advised our members to take part in contingency planning and the NHS has put in place a magnificent effort of contingency planning to make sure that safe emergency care will be delivered on Tuesday and Wednesday. It will be delivered by consultants and staff and associate specialty doctors.

"If the Government will call off the imposition, we will call off the strikes."

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Mr Hunt should "back off" in the junior doctors' dispute, adding: "We must stand up and defend the NHS."

He asked if there was a "deeper agenda" to reduce the efficiency of the NHS while promoting private industry.