doctors said that they would not re-enter negotiations, despite the independent doctors' and dentists' remuneration review body recommending the deal. the new contracts would extend "normal hours", for which doctors would not be paid a premium, from 7 am to 7 pm mondays to fridays to 7 am to 10 pm on every day except sunday while increasing their basic pay in a move that hunt said would be cost neutral. in response the bma balloted its members for industrial action, the first since the 1970s. they argued that the contract would include an increase in working hours with a relative pay cut of up to 40%, and refused to re-enter negotiations unless hunt dropped his threat to impose a new contract and extensive preconditions, which he had refused to do. many junior doctors said they would leave the nhs if the contract was forced through. hunt later tried to reassure the bma that no junior doctor would face a pay cut, before admitting that those who worked longer than 56 hours a week would face a fall in pay. he said that working these long hours was unsafe. in november 2015, he said he would offer a basic pay increase of 11%, but still removing compensation for longer hours. in response, the bma junior doctors committee chair, johann malawana, requested further details of the offer and said that "the increase in basic pay would be offset by changes to pay for unsocial hours, devaluing the vital work junior doctors do at evenings and weekends." in february 2016, hunt announced he would be unilaterally imposing the new junior doctors' contract without agreement or further negotiation, with nhs trusts instructed to introduce it in august. this followed david dalton, the chief negotiator for the government and nhs employers, reporting that junior doctors contract negotiations had ceased after his final offer to the bma had been declined. the decision to impose angered many junior doctors, with some indicating that they would quit the nhs. hunt acknowledged this by saying that there would be "considerable dismay", and also announced an urgent inquiry led by the chair of the academy of medical royal colleges susan bailey into junior doctors' morale and welfare. the academy trainee doctors' group (representatives for junior doctors from different royal colleges) voted unanimously not to participate in the review under the offered terms. junior doctors' strikes junior doctors support badges on 19 november 2015, the result of the bma strike ballot was announced, with 99.4% in favour of industrial action short of a strike, and 98% voting for full strike action on a turnout of 76%. after the results were announced, the bma council chair mark porter appealed to the health secretary to resume negotiations facilitated by acas. more than a week later, hunt agreed to discussions overseen by acas and withdrew his threat to impose a new contract without agreement, and the first day of strike action was called off hours before it was due to start, which was too late to avoid some disruption. an agreement was not reached by the junior doctors committee (jdc) 4 january 2016 deadline, so the bma announced that a strike would go ahead, blaming "the government's continued failure to address junior doctors' concerns about the need for robust contractual safeguards on safe working, and proper recognition for those working unsocial hours." the first day of strike action was in january 2016 and involved junior doctors only providing emergency care. this was the first junior doctors' strike for forty years. hunt said it was "unnecessary", that patients could be put at risk, and that many junior doctors had "ignored" the strike call and worked anyway, but the bma responded that many junior doctors were in work maintaining emergency care as planned. a second day of strike action occurred on 10 february where doctors again provided only emergency care. in february 2016, he was polled as the "most disliked" frontline british politician. in response to hunt's announcement in february of the imposition of the new junior doctors' contract, the bma announced three 48-hour long strikes where junior doctors would only provide emergency care. they also issued a legal challenge over the contract. further talks after the strikes resulted in an agreement, to be put to a referendum. hunt said he had lessons to learn, but continued to deny any personal responsibility for the dispute. the july referendum was open to bma members who were junior doctors or medical students in the final two years of their degree. 58% of voters rejected the offer, with a 68% turnout. following this, malawana resigned, and hunt rejected holding any further talks with the bma and announced the imposition of the new contract on junior doctors starting from october. in the lead up to his imposition of the contract, hunt had repeatedly stated publicly and in parliament his intention to do so. even when challenged, he reiterated this intent and also confirmed that he had the power to do so. this matter was challenged in the high court by a group of doctors, "justice for health". in order to successfully defend the case against him, lawyers acting on his behalf conceded that he did not actually have the power to impose the contract, and asserted that hunt was not to be held accountable for things he had said in parliament. they also argued the high court did not have the authority to rule over whether he had misled parliament. hospital closures in 2012, hunt attempted to downgrade casualty and maternity units in lewisham. hunt stated that the cuts were necessary because neighbouring south london healthcare nhs trust had been losing more than £1m every week. but a campaign led by gp dr louise irvine defeated hunt in court in 2012 on this issue, with the judge ruling that hunt acted outside his powers when he announced casualty and maternity units at lewisham hospital would be downgraded. meningitis controversy hunt drew condemnation from medical professionals when it was reported in january 2016 he had suggested that parents should go online to look at photos of rashes if worried that a child may have meningitis. specific disapproval was drawn to the fact that a rash caused by deadly meningitis can look very similar to other conditions, as well as professionals pointing out the time-critical nature of meningitis. the charity meningitis now said his advice was "potentially fatal". nhs funding in july 2016 a cross-party committee of mp's ascertained that hunt had 'broken his pledges on nhs funding and is misleading the public about health service reforms'. specifically, it found that 'contrary to government claims to be injecting an extra £8.4bn into the nhs on top of inflation by 2020/21, the real figure was more likely to be £4.5bn'. the committee claimed the 'government has used a different definition of spending to calculate the figures which made it appear that a larger increase in spending had occurred than was actually they case'. in october 2016 hunt was pressed on the issue of nhs funding by the health select committee. specifically, on the fact that in the previous november hunt promised the nhs would receive an extra £10 billion a year above inflation, in the five years to 2020. but when questioned he conceded that in the accounts offered for spending had been stretched to include the previous year. this would therefore act to misleadingly inflate the spending figure by £1.5bn, according to a recent report. when challenged by the health select committee, hunt admitted "this amount of cash is being handed to the nhs... over the six years." he confirmed the period "includes the spending review period and an extra year". it is this use of an 'extra year' in the accounts which added further fuel to the claim that hunt has knowingly misled the public on public health funding. during 2017, stephen hawking publicly criticised hunt's management of the nhs and supported legal action against further reforms, including accountable care organisations (acos). at a royal society of medicine speech, hawking accused hunt of using studies that were not properly peer reviewed, and ignoring other papers. in january 2018, hawking won a case to take hunt to court for alleged "back door privatisation of the nhs". however, the high court ultimately ruled in jeremy hunt's favour, that acos are lawful. moreover, the think tank king's fund has noted that contrary to campaigners' concerns "there is nothing to suggest that accountable care will lead to private providers playing a bigger role in delivering clinical services than they do now". patient safety hunt devoted considerable attention to questions of patient safety, insisting on seeing for himself letters of complaints from patients, and meeting with some of them, including james titcombe and subsequently establishing the healthcare safety investigation branch. may cabinet when theresa may became leader of the conservative party and prime minister in july 2016, hunt retained his post of health secretary. prior to may's 2018 cabinet reshuffle, it was reported he was to be moved to become secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy and business secretary greg clark be moved to replace him. however, in an hour-long meeting with may, hunt defended his position as health secretary and convinced may to allow him to remain in post, add social care in england to his brief and have the department for health be renamed the department of health and social care. in june 2018, hunt became the longest-serving health secretary in british political history. in july, boris johnson resigned as secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs over disagreements with theresa may's negotiated brexit withdrawal agreement. hunt was appointed by may to replace him, while matt hancock succeeded hunt as health secretary. as foreign secretary, hunt said in april 2019 he hoped to champion nhs reform upon his retirement from frontbench politics: "to do for patient safety what al gore has done for climate change". brexit in 2016, hunt called for a reduction in the number of foreign doctors working in the nhs after the uk left the eu. at the conservative party conference later in the month, hunt pledged that by 2025, the nhs would be "self-sufficient in doctors". he announced an increase of up to 1,500 extra places at medical schools in the uk in 2018, with it being partly funded by an increase in international medical student fees. hunt also stated uk medical students would be forced to work in the nhs for at least four years or have to repay the cost of their training, around £220,000.