The chief executives of two Kent hospitals trusts have backed a controversial new contract set to be imposed on junior doctors.

East Kent’s Matthew Kershaw and Dartford and Gravesham chief Susan Acott were among 20 trust bosses who signed to say they supported the changes.

Their names were released on Thursday by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt as he announced he will impose the contract on doctors after the British Medical Association rejected his final offer on pay rates for working on Saturdays.

The 20 chief executives gave their backing to a letter written by NHS chief negotiator Sir David Dalton, calling on Mr Hunt to do "whatever necessary" to end the deadlock in the dispute.

Mt Hunt did just that, but sweetened the pill by offering a 13.5% rise in basic pay to make up for the cuts in pay rates at weekends.

But the backlash was swift, with the BMA declaring it “cannot and will not accept” a contract it says is bad for patients and the NHS and warned it would "consider all options open to us" - a hint of a rolling programme of strikes.

The showdown came just hours after junior doctors across Kent finished a second 24-hour strike at 8am in their long-running dispute about pay and conditions.

Mr Kershaw, said he signed the letter after considering whether the offer was "fair and reasonable" but stopped short of supporting Mr Hunt should he decide to impose the new contract.

He said: “A huge amount of work on both sides has gone into these negotiations, and I understand fully the strong feelings of junior doctors and the challenges faced by all parties over the years in trying to reach a resolution.

“In signing this letter, I was asked whether I consider that this best and final offer from NHS Employers is ‘fair and reasonable’.

"I agreed to sign the letter, considering the progress which has been made and the importance of reaching a solution.

“However, I was not asked whether I think this contract should now be imposed. That is a matter for the Secretary of State for Health.

“My first priority is and will always be patient care, therefore my interest in this is to reach a solution in order to ensure the continuity of NHS services, the highest quality of care for our patients and the right environment for all our staff.”

Mrs Acott said: “I believe that we were all aiming to arrive at a contract that would result in better services for patients and an equitable deal for junior doctors.

"The contract offer is an improvement on the position of six weeks ago and in fact a lot of agreement existed between the BMA and employers. We all hoped a negotiated deal could be reached, even at this late stage.

"It is regrettable that the final points of disagreement could not be negotiated. Junior doctors are a valued and essential part of any acute hospital’s team.

"In my hospital, they lead a lot of the service improvement, are part of the safety work we do and are part of the life and soul of the organisation.

"It saddens me that the contract is being imposed but we will work locally to ensure that our doctors have rotas that are mindful of family, safe for doctors and patients and are suitably remunerated.”