Under-fire Health Secretary Steve Barclay and his ministerial team should be docked pay for failing to negotiate for striking junior doctors, Tories have been told.
The Lib Dems have proposed the move after accusing the Government of "risking the safety" of millions of patients.
The party said Parliament should be recalled and said it plans to put forward a motion calling for Health Ministers to be suspended until there is a resolution to the 96-hour strike.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader and health spokesperson Daisy Cooper fumed: “The Conservative Government is risking the safety of millions of patients right across the country by refusing to negotiate with junior doctors and bring an end to the strikes.
"Steve Barclay and his Ministerial team should have their pay suspended until they resolve these strikes."
She accused "out of touch" Tory ministers of being "happy to see the NHS on its knees".
Downing Street has insisted there will be no talks unless junior doctors abandon their starting position of a 35% pay rise and call off the strikes.
But the British Medical Association (BMA) said the Government should "get into the room and discuss pay restoration - whether that means 35% or not".
Professor Philip Banfield, chairman of council at the BMA, told Times Radio: "The fundamental issue here is that we have a Secretary of State that doesn't seem to appreciate that pay for junior doctors has gone down in real terms.
"We've also got a Government that says on the one hand that it respects the independent pay review body but then doesn't honour its recommendation with the other hand, so we do need someone to start brokering realistic talks."
Prof Banfield added: "They haven't even discussed with us what pay restoration means, get into the room and discuss pay restoration - whether that means 35% or not - let's get into that negotiation.
"You are saying we're not prepared to shift from 35%, it is a misleading assumption that this is a figure that cannot be discussed within a negotiation and how one can get to that figure."
He continued: "The reality is that one in three junior doctors now is heading abroad, we've already got 10,000 vacancies for doctors in this country. This is a health service that's in crisis.
"We are materially trying to sort out this crisis by suggesting paying someone £19 an hour instead of £14 an hour. I pay people who helped me at home more than that, and they don't have £100,000 of debt going into work as they start."
Mr Barclay said the timing of the strike was "regrettable", telling broadcasters yesterday: "The Government has shown that it is willing to listen and to engage in meaningful and constructive talks.
"My door is open and we remain willing to engage constructively with the junior doctors but clearly a demand of 35% which would involve some junior doctors receiving over £20,000 more in terms of their basic pay, is not reasonable to your viewers, to those who have to balance the wider issues of the economy and getting inflation down alongside recognising the very real pressures that the NHS and junior doctors have been under, not least from the pandemic."
The Lib Dem motion that they plan to table to Commons calls on ministers to be censured for "putting patients at risk by failing to negotiate with junior doctors and prevent the strikes taking place this week".
It also calls on them to start "good-faith talks immediately" and says "all Ministerial salaries for the Department of Health and Social Care should be suspended until a resolution has been achieved."
A Conservative Party spokesman said: “The Government wants to see a solution to the strikes, but the BMA's demand of a 35% pay rise - equivalent to a £20,000 annual pay rise for some junior doctors - would be unaffordable for the taxpayer and unfair on other public sector workers.
"We have been clear that if the BMA agrees to cancel future strike action and move significantly from their current position of 35% then we will get around the negotiation table.
"The Government has shown we can achieve sensible resolutions with other unions. We want to do the same here.”
