BRITAIN will lead the fightback against antibiotic-resistant superbugs threatening to send ­medicine "back into the dark ages", David Cameron has said.

The Prime Minister said resistance to antibiotics could lead to a future in which currently treatable injuries and ailments prove fatal.

As part of the effort to address the issue, an international group of experts led by former Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O'Neill will aim to stimulate the development of a "new generation of antibiotics".

"This is not some distant threat, but something happening right now," Mr Cameron said.

"If we fail, we are looking at an almost unthinkable scenario where antibiotics no longer work and we are cast back into the dark ages of medicine where treatable infections and injuries will kill once again."