The government withdrew 1,000 extra specialty training posts after the BMA refused to suspend a six-day resident doctors’ strike set for 7–13 April.
Labour has called on Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice to explain the tax arrangements of Quidnet REIT Ltd after a report alleged the company avoided nearly £600,000 in corporation tax between 2018 and 2021. Tice said he complied with all relevant rules and described the arrangements as entirely legitimate tax planning. Quidnet lost REIT status in August 2021 and then became subject to normal corporation tax.
Doctors, campaigners and human rights groups are urging NHS trusts and care systems to reconsider adopting the NHS Federated Data Platform, a £330m seven-year contract awarded in 2023 to a Palantir-led consortium. Critics including Medact and Amnesty International said they had privacy, ethics and supplier-conduct concerns, while Palantir said it can only process data under NHS instructions and NHS England said the platform is improving care and hospital operations.
New campaigning data and modelling, reported by GB News, suggest Labour could be left controlling as few as two of London’s 32 borough councils after the 7 May elections. Tony Travers of the LSE said the capital could be heading for a “political earthquake,” with the Greens targeting inner-London seats and Reform UK seeking gains in outer boroughs. The article also cites Labour’s third-place finish in February’s Gorton and Denton by-election.
Lebanon's National News Agency said Israeli forces shelled the border town of Naqoura with heavy artillery on Sunday and alleged some shells contained white phosphorus. The agency also reported clashes inside the town between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters and said fires broke out. The claims were not independently verified, and there was no immediate public comment from the Israeli military or an initial statement from UNIFIL.
