Professor Peter Rubin said the GMC has met with the BMA to discuss its draft response to the GMC's consultation on revalidation.

He said there was much that the BMA and GMC agreed on, but highlighted one current area of disagreement was over how best to introduce revalidation.

Professor Rubin said: ‘We have been of the feeling that we start where the systems are [already] in place, and that we incrementally move forward from there over the next three to four years.

‘An argument made by the BMA in its draft response is that actually be should be starting in areas where we think we are going to identify more problems.'

Professor Rubin said he committed to the BMA that the GMC would ‘carefully reflect' on its point of view.

He added: ‘I don't know what the final response from the BMA will be, but there is much with which we agreed, and I think there are all the makings of a constructive dialogue between us and the BMA.'

A spokeswoman for the BMA said this was just one of the options the BMA was looking at, and was keen to highlight the BMA is still at the draft stage.

She said: ‘The response is being redrafted at the moment, and going out to comment. We are going to complete response by the end of the next week.'

Alongside this, Professor Rubin also said the GMC ‘had every reason' to think the new government will be supportive of revalidation.

He said: ‘They will see appraisal as integral part of the quality agenda, and of course appraisal is a major part of revalidation. We have no reason to think anything other than proceeding as planned.'