NHS consultants have entered into a “formal dispute” with the Scottish Government, the union representing doctors has said.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said ministers had offered a date for pay talks to begin in August.

It said that while it welcomed the move, it “now regards itself in formal dispute with the government”.

The union said it would begin preparation to go ahead with a ballot on industrial action.

BMA Scotland said its members are “angry and frustrated over lack of progress on pay talks” and claimed that recent pay deals in England and Wales mean Scottish consultants “risk being the worst-paid in Britain”.

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