Asked if ministers are ready to impose a new contract on junior doctors a Downing Street spokesman said: "We want to get a deal. This has been a long process with four years of talks. It is very unfortunate there's a strike today." 

He said the government had put a "very reasonable deal on the table". 

With regards to the question of imposing the new contract, the spokesman said: "We're not going to remove that option from the table." 

He added: "We've certainly gone the extra mile to try to get a deal on this." 

The BBC's Norman Smith tweeted: 

Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, says the BMA have not been prepared to compromise their position "at all". He dismissed proposals the organisation had put forward to sacrifice some of the pay rise to fund extra Saturday payments. 

The BBC understands the BMA made an offer that would have seen doctors' basic pay increase by about half of the 11% rise offered by ministers, in return for Saturday not being treated as a normal working day.

But Mr Mortimer told BBC Radio 4's World At One programme: "The proposal the BMA made wasn't cost-neutral." 

He said Saturdays "need to be treated differently to Sundays". 

"We are prepared to find a compromise on that. They haven't, to date, been prepared to find that compromise." 

Click here to read a BBC blog about some of the messages from doctors which are being posted on Twitter using the hastag #IAmTheDoctorWho.

More than 8,000 messages have been posted so far and the hashtag has been set up to try to highlight how doctors save lives.

This clip was tweeted by Dr Johann Malawana, who is the chairman of the BMA's junior doctors' committee.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has been interviewed as junior doctors continue to strike across England.

He said: "The job of health secretary is to do the right thing for patients and we have now had eight studies in the last five years that have shown that mortality rates at weekends are higher than they should be. And my job is to do something about that."

He said pay rates on Saturdays were the one outstanding issue in the dispute.

"I think it's a good deal, it's a fair deal," he added. 

He was asked if the government had rejected a cost-neutral BMA offer that would have seen doctors' basic pay rise by about half the 11% offered by ministers in return for Saturday not being treated as a normal working day.

Mr Hunt replied: "There has been no rejection of any proposals and plans that would deal with this weekend effect that is of such concern to patients and the public."

He went on to describe the industrial action as "very damaging" and said it was "important" to say that 43% of junior doctors had today turned up to work.

"So the turnout for the strike has been slightly lower than before."

Christopher Hix is a trustee of the Patients' Association.

He told BBC News the second doctors' strike was "bad for everyone" - doctors, patients and the government.

"You have to resolve this through agreement in the long-term benefit of patients.

"You need an agreement, you can't have an arbitrary decision imposed on an absolutely critical part of your workforce."

Shadow health secretary Heidi Alexander,said today's industrial action was "deeply disappointing, particularly for the patients who have had hospital treatment delayed because of it". 

"The sad truth is that it didn't have to come to this," she added. 

"Jeremy Hunt's handling of these negotiations has been a complete and utter shambles. 

"His comments over the past few weeks and months have caused widespread anger among junior doctors and left staff morale at rock bottom. 

"We urgently need to see a resolution to this dispute, which doesn't involve imposing a new contract."

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt previously told the Commons that the "only reason" no solution on the junior doctors row has so far been reached is that the BMA would not negotiate.

"In December on the one outstanding issue which is about pay on Saturdays the BMA said they would negotiate but last month they said they refused to negotiate," he said.

"If they are prepared to negotiate on that so are we."

Mr Hunt was answering a question from Labour about whether the government had previously rejected a "cost-neutral" proposal from BMA.

"I already work one in three weekends," says this junior doctor in video released by the British Medical Association. 

Danny Mortimer - who is the chief executive of NHS Employers - has been involved in the negotiations for the new contract for junior doctors. 

He says there's "a profound misunderstanding" of what the new contract would involve.

"We have sought over the last month to make a set of compromises in terms of our position, particularly around Saturdays, where we've said to the BMA that for the doctors who work the most Saturdays - they should be paid for all the Saturdays they work. 

"But we need the BMA now to budge from the kind of position they've said, which is an absolute no. 

"And if they can come and meet us, and compromise themselves, then I'm confident we can do a deal."

Junior doctor Holly Cooper is a member of the NHS Choir that sings about the proposed contracts for junior doctors.

She said: "The choir was started in October by a couple of junior doctors. They had the idea to form a choir and write original songs about what is going on. 

"In a studio, 50 of us got together to record "Yours" which is about keeping the NHS yours.

"Today there are about 30 of us including nurses and scientists who will be singing. 

"We are in St Paul's and will be heading to the Royal London Hospital and then on to Hackney Town Hall."

Meanwhile, Peter Fleming from Spalding has had his appointment cancelled today but still supports the doctors' strike.

He told the BBC: "I was due to attend an appointment at Johnson Hospital, Spalding at 11.40am today.

"It was cancelled this morning, but the hospital had pre-warned me a few days ago.

"Although this is not ideal, I accept that the doctors have a genuine grievance and I wholeheartedly support their right to strike.

"The government should abandon this strategy, because if it is imposed it will result in doctors becoming overworked and then resentful. This could have a very detrimental effect on patient care."

In an effort to highlight how important their work is some junior doctors have been using the hashtag #IAmTheDoctorWho on social-networking site Twitter to demonstrate how they save lives.

Here are some of the tweets:

John Fitzgerald's 15-year-old son, James, has had his dental surgery cancelled as a result of the strike.

"It's had an impact on him. My concern primarily has been that we haven't been able to find out from the hospital how much longer we're going to have to wait. 

"They've told us, with the backlog from previous strikes and current circumstances at the hospital, that they're not in a position to rearrange the surgery."

Danny Mortimer, the chief executive of NHS Employers, said it was "extremely disappointing" that industrial action was taking place. 

"We have listened and worked hard to address the BMA's concerns. 

"Patients should not suffer over a dispute about pay. We will continue to want to talk with the BMA to agree a contract that is fair and safe for doctors and patients."   

- The British Medical Association (BMA) wants Saturday working to attract an unsociable hours premium but ministers say the hours between 07:00 and 17:00 should be paid at the basic rate

- The BMA proposed accepting half of the 11% basic pay rise offered by the government in return for retaining extra payments for working Saturdays - but the move was rejected by the government

- Labour has written to Mr Hunt asking if he personally blocked that offer

- The government says change is needed to ensure a genuinely 24/7 NHS

- A new poll by Ipsos MORI shows two-thirds of the public support junior doctors - the same as it was ahead of the first strike