Jim Reed,Health reporter, BBC News and Yaya Egwaikhide,Health producer, BBC News BBC Dame Ruth May was England’s chief nurse from 2019 until she retired in July 2024 Nurses bore the brunt of the pandemic, with low staffing levels and difficulties accessing protective equipment, according to England’s former chief nurse. Dame Ruth May told the Covid […]
Nick Triggle, Jim Reed, Dom Hughes and Michelle Roberts Getty Images The long-awaited independent report into how well or badly the government handled the Covid pandemic has been published. Chairwoman of the inquiry, former judge Baroness Hallett, said the UK’s response could be summarised as “too little, too late”. The report looks at whether lockdowns […]
Trans people could be asked about whether they should be accessing single-sex services based on their physical appearance or behaviour, new guidance seen by the BBC has said. A code of practice, produced by the equalities watchdog and awaiting ministerial approval, says it may be legitimate for businesses or services to ask individuals to provide […]
Getty Images The government ignored an early warning by two Nobel prize-winning scientists that all healthcare workers should be routinely tested for coronavirus in the pandemic, the Covid inquiry has heard. The advice came in a strongly-worded letter sent in April 2020 by the chief executive of the Francis Crick Institute, Sir Paul Nurse, and […]
Vanessa ClarkeEducation reporter Closing schools in Covid ‘a nightmare idea’, former PM Boris Johnson says Papers in hand, Boris Johnson arrived at the Covid Inquiry before the sun came up. He was there to answer questions on decisions he made during the pandemic that directly impacted children. And what an impact they had. School attendance, […]
BBC It was the most momentous event in UK history since World War Two. As a new virus took hold, millions of us were told to stay at home and billions of pounds were spent propping up the country’s economy. The Covid inquiry will publish its second set of findings on Thursday, looking in detail […]
Sakshi Venkatraman and David Willis,North America correspondent Watch: “I’m all for it”, Trump says on calls to release Epstein files US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he signed a bill ordering the release of all files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The bill requires the justice department to release […]
Matt McGrathEnvironment correspondent, at COP30 in Belém, Brazil Chris McGrath/Getty Images Turkey has proposed holding the 2026 climate talks in Antalya The COP31 climate meeting is now expected to be held in Turkey after Australia dropped its bid to host the annual event. Under the UN rules, the right to host the COP in 2026 […]
Marie-Louise ConnollyHealth correspondent, BBC News NI BBC Dr Jilly O’Hagan says patients are facing traumatic waits for diagnosis and treatment A County Antrim GP has said she is “hugely concerned” for women who need breast cancer treatment in Northern Ireland after three patients in her surgery received late cancer diagnoses. The patients are among 32 […]
Jessica Parker,Berlin correspondent, Baltic Sea and Ned Davies,BBC Verify Getty Images The BBC joined coastguards on the front line of Europe’s uneasy standoff with Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” Out on the western Baltic, a coastguard officer radios a nearby, sanctioned oil tanker. “Swedish Coastguard calling… Do you consent to answer a few questions for us? […]