Non-urgent services will be cancelled on three days in December, after 98% of junior doctors backed strike action in a British Medical Association ballot. Dr Mark Porter, chair of the BMA council, said, ‘We regret the inevitable disruption that this will cause, but it is the Government’s adamant insistence on imposing a contract that is unsafe for patients in the future, and unfair for doctors now and in the future, that has brought us to this point. Patients are doctors’ first priority, which is why, even with such a resounding mandate, we are keen to avert the need for industrial action. That is why we have approached ACAS to offer conciliatory talks with the health secretary, and NHS employers to clarify the conflicting information coming from the Government over the past weeks.’