Royal College of Surgeons president Bernard Ribeiro announced he had quit a review group in a stinging letter to its leader Professor Neil Douglas.

He said the Government was guilty of "a scandalous failure of duty to address this issue", which has led to demands for the resignation of Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt.

Almost two years after alerting her to growing problems "there is still no recognition whatsoever by the Department of Health of the scale of this problem or its profound implications, far less the prospect of an acceptable solution", he complained.

"We have all, as taxpayers, rightly invested in training this talented generation of young surgeons. It is my duty to ensure that this is not squandered."

He said the Government had "failed to accept unequivocal professional advice" over the selection of junior doctors to become surgeons - potentially putting patients at risk.

Ms Hewitt - who survived a Tory no-confidence vote on Wednesday in the Commons - has conceded the Government must "learn the lessons" from the much-criticised Medical Training Application Service (MTAS).

The British Medical Association (BMA) estimates that 12,000 doctors will not get a post as a result of the system. She has effectively shelved MTAS - which has been beset by a catalogue of IT and organisational failures - following an unsuccessful legal bid by medics to have it scrapped.

Health Minister Lord Hunt said he regretted Mr Ribeiro's resignation but remained open to discussions with the RCS.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb said: "This is another hammer blow to the credibility of the Government's handling of the recruitment crisis."