What the papers say – December 21

Britons have been warned to ‘avoid taking risks’ as strike action continues to escalate.

What the papers say – December 21 (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Archive)

Concerns over patient safety amid Wednesday’s ambulance strikes are front and centre across most of the front pages.

The Times, Metro, The Independent and the Financial Times all lead with the public being told to “avoid taking risks” after health bosses warned they will be unable to guarantee patient safety as paramedics join widespread strike action.

The story is also carried by The Sun and the Daily Star.

It comes as the i reports “critical incidents” have been declared in hospital trusts around the country.

The Daily Telegraph says ambulance unions have been accused by the Health Secretary of making a “conscious choice to inflict harm” on patients, while The Guardian says NHS bosses have urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to help avoid a “war of attrition” on the strike action.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail says those involved in Wednesday’s strike action “need to take a long, hard look into their consciences”.

Elsewhere, the Daily Mirror reports Tory peer Baroness Michelle Mone, who denies suggestions she may have profited from a firm winning contracts worth more than £200 million to supply PPE in the early days of the pandemic, is on holidays while “nurses and 999 crews fight to earn enough to pay their bills”.

And the Daily Express leads with an investigation into the Royal Mail’s Christmas struggles.