More than 7,500 girls aged 15 or under have been given contraceptive implants or injections at family planning clinics in the last two years, according to research done by the Daily Telegraph.

Under patient confidentiality rules nurses cannot inform parents that their daughters have had the procedure.

Speaking to the Today programme, Anthony Seldon, headmaster of Wellington College, said: "What's damaging is the idea that sexual intercourse is just the latest teenage app and children as young as 13 can have sex with impunity.

"Anything that trivialises sexual intercourse is medically risky and emotionally damaging," he added.

Simon Blake, chief executive of sexual health charity Brook, said: "We want young people to have healthy and happy relationships.

"This isn't handing out contraception without any thought for their wider care and safety."

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