Doctors called for greater transparency in pharmaceutical companies' dealings with the NHS after the government insisted the health service should co-operate more extensively with the industry. New guidelines, issued by the Department of Health, call for more partnerships between the NHS and drug companies, stressing they should be "of mutual benefit with the principal beneficiary being the patient".

The move is likely to spark fresh concerns over potential conflicts of interest. "If there are clear, transparent guidelines so that the clinical freedom of doctors is not compromised, the BMA [British Medical Association] does not see why there cannot be closer co-operation between the NHS and the pharma industry," the BMA said.