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Petition calling for vote of no confidence in Jeremy Hunt to be considered for debate in Parliament after reaching 100,000 signatures

The petition will be considered by a committee made up of 11 MPs and has the potential to end up as a debate in the House of Commons

Samuel Osborne
Friday 12 February 2016 20:07 GMT
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Junior Doctors protest outside the Department of Health at the Government's intention to impose new contracts on 11 February, 2016 in London, England
Junior Doctors protest outside the Department of Health at the Government's intention to impose new contracts on 11 February, 2016 in London, England (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

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A petition calling for a vote of no confidence in Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt will be considered for debate in Parliament after reaching more than 100,000 signatures in less than 24 hours.

The backlash follows the Health Secretary's controversial decision to impose the new junior doctor's contract without further negotiations with the medical profession.

The petition says: "Mr Hunt recently gave totally inappropriate advice to Google conditions before seeking medical opinion."

It adds: "He referred to Paramedics as Ambulance Drivers and has caused the first Doctors strike in years of the NHS. Mr Hunt is destroying all staff morale in the NHS & will cause recruitment issues."

Parliament considers all petitions which get more than 100,000 signatures for debate. It will be considered by a committee made up of 11 MPs and has the potential to end up as a debate in the House of Commons.

Yesterday, the Health Secretary said imposing the controversial new contract unilaterally would end "uncertainty" in the health service.

Doctors have been on strike over the new contract, which they argue will put patient safety at risk and leave medics working the longest hours worse off.

The new terms of employment re-define anti-social hours and make it cheaper for hospitals to roster doctors on weekends and evenings.

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