Four men have been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass at the prime minister’s constituency home in Yorkshire, police have said.
The suspects were arrested on Tuesday in the grounds of Rishi Sunak’s home in Kirby Sigston, near Northallerton at about 12.40pm before being escorted off the property, North Yorkshire police said.
The force said the men included a 52-year-old from London, a 43-year-old from Bolton, a 21-year-old from Manchester, and a 20-year-old from Chichester.
They remain in police custody and inquiries are under way.
In a statement North Yorkshire police said: “We have arrested four people in the grounds of the prime minister’s constituency home this afternoon.
“Our officers were with the four men within one minute of them entering the grounds.
“They were detained at around 12.40pm before being escorted off the property and arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass.”
The arrests are connected to a protest by Youth Demand, which describes itself as a campaign group who want “the Tories and the Labour party [to] commit to a two-way arms embargo on Israel, and to stop all new oil and gas licences”.
It has staged a number of actions against the government and Labour’s proposed policies.
A spokesperson for the group said three of those arrested were taking part in the demonstration while a fourth was an independent photographer.
In a separate incident, a motorist crashed into the gates of Sunak’s official country residence, Chequers, in Buckinghamshire, police said.
The incident took place shortly after midday on Tuesday when a white Volkswagen Scirocco hit the barriers at the entrance.
Sunak was not at the property at the time and was attending events linked to the Japanese state visit in London.
Thames Valley police said the driver, a 44-year-old man from the county, was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and drink-driving, and was the only person in the car.
A spokesperson added that the driver “suffered serious injuries” and was taken to hospital, “where he remains”.
“While we are still in the very early stages of our investigation, there is currently no evidence to suggest there was any intention to harm anyone,” the force said.
At the weekend Pat McFadden, Labour’s national campaign coordinator, wrote a letter to the Gambling Commission asking it to name people under investigating in relation to the election date betting allegations. He said it was in the public interest for the names to be released.
Andrew Rhodes, chief executive of the commission, has replied to McFadden saying that “to protect the integrity of the investigation, and to ensure a fair and just outcome” it will not be naming the suspects.
He says the commission has asked the people it has been in contact with to treat the matter confidentially – which is cited by Rishi Sunak as the reason why he cannot say more about what happened, and about whether the candidates and officials accused of making suspect bets had advance knowledge about his decision to announce the election.
But Rhodes also says this confidentiality requirement “does not preclude other activity relating to the fact of an investigation taking place” – which implies that, if the Conservative party were to suspend the membership of people under suspicion, the commission would not object.
Two of the suspects are party candidates and, because nominations have closed, the party cannot do anything to stop them being listed on the ballot paper as official Conservative party candidates.
But some in the party have said that Rishi Sunak should disown them as candidates – as Labour did with its byelection candidate in Rochdale who, after nominations closed, was revealed to have suggested at a meeting that Israel allowed the 7 October Hamas massacre to happen. Yesterday Sunak argued that it would be wrong to do this while the investigation into what happened was still going on.
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Labour has received a significant boost in Scotland this morning with an endorsement from the Daily Record.
The Record, which estimates that it reaches 1.5 million readers every weekday along with its portfolio of local titles, has not backed one party at a general election in 14 years, but now splashes “kicking the vile and corrupt Tories out of office”.
It’s not a great surprise – Scottish Labour has developed an increasingly strong relationship with the tabloid under leader Anas Sarwar.
With a front page that appears to be a pastiche of the Tony Blair “demon eyes” attack ad from 1997, it says that “change is coming and Scotland can be a part of it”. Pointedly, it leads with the statement that “this election is not about independence”, chiming with polls which show independence supporters and former SNP voters are now attracted to Labour’s promise of change and the message from Sarwar that how people voted in the 2014 referendum is irrelevant to this election.
But the question remains: how much do newspaper endorsements like this one matter to voters? Jim Waterson, the Guardian’s political media editor, suggests that voters are still intrigued by who well known titles, like the Record in Scotland, or Mail across the UK, are backing even though this is potentially, as he wrote earlier this week, the first post-mainstream media election.
At the weekend Pat McFadden, Labour’s national campaign coordinator, wrote a letter to the Gambling Commission asking it to name people under investigating in relation to the election date betting allegations. He said it was in the public interest for the names to be released.
Andrew Rhodes, chief executive of the commission, has replied to McFadden saying that “to protect the integrity of the investigation, and to ensure a fair and just outcome” it will not be naming the suspects.
He says the commission has asked the people it has been in contact with to treat the matter confidentially – which is cited by Rishi Sunak as the reason why he cannot say more about what happened, and about whether the candidates and officials accused of making suspect bets had advance knowledge about his decision to announce the election.
But Rhodes also says this confidentiality requirement “does not preclude other activity relating to the fact of an investigation taking place” – which implies that, if the Conservative party were to suspend the membership of people under suspicion, the commission would not object.
Two of the suspects are party candidates and, because nominations have closed, the party cannot do anything to stop them being listed on the ballot paper as official Conservative party candidates.
But some in the party have said that Rishi Sunak should disown them as candidates – as Labour did with its byelection candidate in Rochdale who, after nominations closed, was revealed to have suggested at a meeting that Israel allowed the 7 October Hamas massacre to happen. Yesterday Sunak argued that it would be wrong to do this while the investigation into what happened was still going on.
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Helen Sullivan.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, a shadow Cabinet Office minister, has been giving interviews for Labour this morning and on Times Radio he said that if the party got into government, it might discover the public finances to be in an “even worse” situation than anticipated.
Asked about the Institute for Fiscal Studies report yesterday saying both main parties were not being honest about the choices they would face after the election, he replied:
Obviously the government is in a very different position from us, because, as the Institute for Fiscal Studies set out, there are no specific departmental spending plans beyond March of 2025 that’s because the government hasn’t conducted a spending review.
We obviously can’t do that from opposition, and we’ve also been open, always that we may open the books and discover the situation is even worse than it is at the moment. We’ve never hidden from that.
Opposition parties sometimes suggest that, when they get into office and have a chance to “look at the books”, they will discover hidden horrors that will require tax measures not previously planned. In a recent Guardian story,Anna Isaac and Kiran Stacey reported on Labour sources who think that might happen this year. They said:
Labour is planning a major package of measures this autumn, according to party sources, and [Rachel] Reeves is looking for a “doctor’s mandate”: the state of the public finances is so bad, she will argue, that they will need major surgery to correct.
But in reality, particularly since the creation of the Office for Budget Responsibility, which publishes an independent and extremely detailed analysis of the public finances twice a year, most of the key information about the state of the public finances is already in the public domain.
In his Times Radio interview, when asked about the IFS claim that the next government would either have to put up taxes or cut public services, Thomas-Symonds claimed Labour’s focus on growth would make a difference. He said:
We will put that plan on the table, of stability, of investment and of reform. The Office of Budget Responsibility will then look at it so it will be robust, and the snapshot in the autumn will be different. It will then be about growth.
If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line (BTL) or message me on X (Twitter). I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word. If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use X; I’ll see something addressed to @AndrewSparrow very quickly. I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos (no error is too small to correct). And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
A senior druid and parliamentary candidate named King Arthur Pendragon has called on the public to choose him as their “champion” in Westminster, PA reports.
Pendragon is running for a fifth time in Salisbury, Wiltshire, and hopes to bring “spirituality” and the virtues of “truth, honour and justice” to politics.
Previously John Rothwell, the candidate changed his name in 1986 to match that of the mythical King Arthur – whom he claims to have a spiritual lineage with.
Pendragon is also a pagan priest and, since the 1990s, has been head of the Loyal Arthurian Warband.
Under his leadership, the group, which he refers to as the warrior or political arm of the modern druid movement, has been involved in several environmental protests and campaigns such as fighting against English Heritage’s £15 parking charges at Stonehenge.
The 70-year-old told the PA news agency:
The only message I’d like to share to all the voters out there is vote with your heart, not your head.
Vote for who you want to send to Westminster as your champion.
I think it’s about time we brought a bit of spirituality to politics - I am sworn to the ancient virtues as a senior druid of truth, honour and justice.”
And I, Helen Sullivan, am sworn to the ancient virtues of handing this blog over to Andrew Sparrow.
Liberal Democrat Layla Moran will visit Oxfordshire to launch the party’s six-page mini-manifesto on care, highlighting pledges already made in the party’s main manifesto.
The Lib Dems leader Ed Davey is not expected to be on the campaign trail.
Davey was a carer as a teenager for his mother, and more recently for his disabled son, said:
We are putting forward a bold and ambitious plan to make sure everyone can get the support they need - people who need care, the amazing care workers who provide it, and the unpaid family carers who provide it too.
Home Office minister Michael Tomlinson has said he agrees with the frustration expressed by former Olympic rower and Tory candidate James Cracknell, PA reports.
Referring to the gambling scandal engulfing the Tory campaign, Cracknell said in a social media video: “And if one of my teammates got caught for cheating, they’d be dead to me” and also described the party as a “shower of shit”.
Asked about the “frustration” expressed by the electorate and Cracknell, Tomlinson told Sky News: “That’s right, and I share his frustration. I agree with the frustration that’s being expressed, more than frustration, the anger as well.”
Earlier when asked about the investigations into Tory members and aides, Tomlinson said:
The lawyer in me knows that there is a process, there’s the independent Gambling Commission. That’s the first thing, and as the Prime Minister said yesterday, there is also an internal process.
But this is important, and it’s important that this happens swiftly. And as you say, anyone who is found to have broken the law or even to have fallen short of the high standards that the Prime Minister and all of us expect, that they should be dealt with severely as well.”
It is just before 8am. Let’s take a look at today’s top stories.
The Times headline is Conversion therapy to be banned by Labour
The Daily Telegraph reports that Scotland yard was ‘leaked names’ in the Tory betting scandal:
The FT: Tory and Labour pledges to improve public services ‘essentially unfunded’:
The I: Tories and Labour refuse to rule out 10 tax rises – as IFS urges leaders to come clean
Scottish Daily Mail: Labour will resurrect SNP’s toxic gender law warns PM
The Daily Record says that it is backing Labour:
Britons are the most likely of seven European nations to say their country is in a sorry state, but the French are the most likely to think things will get worse over the next 12 months, according to a poll weeks before high-stakes elections in both countries.
With the exception of Denmark, however, none of the European countries surveyed by YouGov in late May and early June revealed themselves to be particularly happy with the the way things were going, or overly optimistic for the future.
Asked whether they thought their country was in a bad way at the moment, 80% of respondents in the UK replied “very bad” or “fairly bad” – compared with 71% in France, 70% in Germany, 68% in Italy, 67% in Spain, 49% in Sweden and 25% in Denmark:
A record number of people seeking asylum in small boats have crossed the Channel in the first six months of this year.
Home Office figures show that 257 people made the journey in four boats on Sunday, taking the provisional total for the year so far to 12,901. The previous record for arrivals in the six months from January to June was 12,747 in 2022. In the first half of 2023, arrivals stood at 11,433.
The 2024 total to date is 17% higher than the number of arrivals recorded this time last year (11,058) and up 8% on the same period in 2022 (11,975).
Last year a total of 29,437 people arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel in small boats, down 36% on a record 45,774 in 2022.
The record figure emerged as Rishi Sunak claimed that Labour would make the UK the “soft-touch illegal migration capital of the world”.
The prime minister stepped up attacks on Keir Starmer’s proposals to curb migration, which the Conservatives claimed would let thousands more into the UK each year.
The Metropolitan Police has responded to a report in the Daily Telegraph claiming that it revealed the names of people being investigated by the Gambling Commission.
In a statement the Met Police denied the allegations, saying: “The allegations that the Met has leaked information are simply untrue.”
“We continue to liaise with the Gambling Commission and are assessing information they have provided.”
The Conservatives have launched their own inquiry into whether politicians or officials gambled on the timing of the election, Rishi Sunak has said, as the prime minister denied that he had placed any bets himself.
Sunak told reporters he was not aware of any further candidates being looked into and was not himself being investigated, saying he had never bet on a political event:
Home secretary James Cleverly and shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper will go head-to-head in a debate on immigration on LBC at 9am.
Ahead of the debate, Cleverly has claimed that Labour will turn the UK into the “asylum capital of the world” and offer an “amnesty” to people who crossed the Channel in small boats.
Meanwhile, Cooper writes in the Daily Telegraph that Sunak’s policies “are clearly not working”.
Rishi Sunak is unlikely to be campaigning on Tuesday, as he is attending a ceremonial welcome for the Emperor and Empress of Japan, in addition to a state banquet at Buckingham Palace in the evening.
Labour will be talking about knife crime today.
Keir Starmer has pledged to make reducing knife crime a “moral mission” ahead of a visit in central London today, where he will meet with families of victims.
The Labour leader said he wants ministers, victims and tech giants to work together to tackle the sale of weapons online and cut crime on the streets.
Starmer has pledged to chair an annual summit to track progress in meeting the goal of halving knife crime incidents within a decade.
He said:
For the parents grieving sons and daughters who never came home, action to end this scourge cannot wait.
Far too often we hear the same stories from grieving families who have been subject to these brutal murders carried out by children.”
An adventurer and mountaineer says "being a decent human" has motivated him to travel to Tenerife to help the search for missing teenager Jay Slater.
Paul Arnott, 29, from Flitwick in Bedfordshire, cancelled a charity fundraiser to fly to the island and join the search and rescue operation on Saturday.
Mr Arnott said: "I know these environments, I know how harsh they are and how scary they are without experience."
"You have to be the best person you can be," he added.
"I spend all my time in the mountains, I've assisted search and rescue in Scotland before, it's what I do."
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The climber says he has joined the search each day since arriving and will not leave until the teenager is found.
"Drones and helicopters are good but they don't pick up everything," he added.
"You're going to be looking at the most hazardous areas such as ravines and areas [where] there's potential for rock falls."
PA Media
Mr Arnott was due to take part in a 500-mile fundraising walk for Scottish Mountain Rescue before he heard the call for help in the search.
When asked why he flew to the island to join the operation, he said: "It's just being a decent human person, somebody needs help you go help them. I like to think somebody would do the same for me".
"I do not cope well in hot countries, it makes me sick, but it's got to be done.
Senior Conservatives and campaigners are calling for a ban on political bets by MPs, as the Gambling Commission was urged to look into another £500 wager connected with the growing election gambling scandal.
The former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said parties should examine the rules when parliament returns amid growing outrage over Tory candidates and aides allegedly staking money on politics. The former defence minister Tobias Ellwood also said there should be new restrictions.
The Conservatives have launched their own inquiry into whether politicians or officials gambled on the timing of the election. Rishi Sunak was forced to deny having placed any bets himself and told reporters he was not aware of any further candidates under scrutiny.
“We’ve been conducting our own internal inquiries and of course will act on any relevant findings or information from that and pass it on to the Gambling Commission,” he said.
The Gambling Commission has been urged to investigate a flurry of unusual activity around the time Sunak called the election, an industry source told the Guardian.
It includes a bet of £504, placed on the Sunday before the election was called, that Sunak would still be PM before the 2024 election. The implication is that the punter may have known that the election call was imminent, thus giving the Tory party no time to replace Sunak.
Marginal odds meant the punter stood to gain only £35 from the bet. Details of the bet have been provided to the commission by a professional gambler.
Earlier this month the Guardian revealed that the gambling watchdog had written to all licensed bookmakers requesting information on anyone who stood to gain more than £199 by betting on the timing of the election. The scope of the investigation is understood to include bets placed against an autumn election as well as those placed on a summer one.
Another gambling industry source said more junior figures may emerge as the commission conducts background checks on the hundreds of people who placed bets on the timing of the poll in the days before Sunak announced the date.
Four Tory candidates and officials are under investigation by the Gambling Commission: Sunak’s top parliamentary aide, Craig Williams, the candidate for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr; the Tory candidate in Bristol West, Laura Saunders; her husband and the party’s director of campaigning, Tony Lee; and the party’s chief data officer, Nick Mason, who has denied wrongdoing.
An unnamed Metropolitan police officer who is part of Sunak’s close protection security team has been arrested in connection with the inquiry.
On Monday evening Steve Baker, the Northern Ireland minister, said he would have suspended anybody who admitted to placing a bet. “I would call them up and ask them ‘did you do it?’ And if they did it then they are suspended,” he told ITV’s Peston.
“But the prime minister would have to answer why he hasn’t done it. I haven’t got inside information on why the prime minister hasn’t done it.”
Duncan Smith said the public took a “dim view” of politicians who gambled on politics. “I am opposed to people associated with politics betting on political outcomes in general because they’re too close to it,” he said. “It also looks casual if you’re betting on stuff that affects people’s quality of life.
“You can either do it by the party saying it won’t be tolerated, or you could do it by legislation. If you start relying on legislation, it would be a complex process. Parties are capable of saying that anyone who does this shouldn’t be in the party. They can move quicker than governments.
“But one way or the other, it needs to be made clear that the public takes a dim view of it and it shouldn’t happen. It’s a matter for the next parliament.”
Ellwood told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme it was comparable to the rules placed on the stock market. “Let’s introduce clear rules, as you have in the City in connection to the purchase of stocks and shares, for example. Let’s prevent any current politician or party professional from placing any bets in the future,” he said.
It is understood that Labour is not planning any action on restricting political betting by its candidates or staff, as long as the bets are not placed with any insider information.
Speaking at a school in Kettering, Keir Starmer said: “I’m not sure we need to start changing the rules. The rules actually aren’t the problem here; there’s a problem with the politicians. The moment the election was called, they didn’t say, ‘Give me a microphone and let me make my case,’; they said, ‘Let me head down to bookies.’”
Other senior politicians and campaigners have joined calls for bets to be restricted. Don Foster, the Liberal Democrat peer and chair of Peers for Gambling Reform, said all betting on elections should be banned.
“The current rules are incredibly opaque and this farrago is a good illustration,” he said. “My personal view is that after the election, we should clarify the rules, including saying that gambling companies should not be allowed to take bets on the outcome of, or anything relating to, elections at any level within the UK.”
Will Prochaska, of the Coalition Against Gambling Ads, said: “Political betting should be banned, along with betting on anything other than sports or horse racing. It’s totally inappropriate for the gambling industry to offer a market for political betting, not least because it tempts those with inside information to try and make a few quid, but also because it normalises the idea that we should bet on anything and everything, which is not normal.
“In the absence of a complete ban, clearly, politicians and their staff should not be able to gamble on political events. We need to protect politics from people who view it as chance to make a quick buck.”
Rishi Sunak should suspend any Tories who placed bets on the general election date, a Government minister has suggested.
Steve Baker, the Northern Ireland minister, said if it were up to him, anyone who admitted to gambling on the timing of the ballot would be temporarily kicked out of the party.
He said it was for the Prime Minister to explain why he hadn’t taken any action to date, adding he had “no inside information” on Mr Sunak’s reasoning.
It will pile further pressure on the Prime Minister to suspend those caught up in the scandal, with Craig Williams, a Tory candidate and one of his closest aides, having already admitted to putting “a flutter” on the general election some weeks ago. He now faces an inquiry by the Gambling Commission.
Laura Saunders, another Conservative candidate, and her husband Tony Lee, the party’s director of campaigning, are also being investigated by the watchdog over alleged betting on the election date.
Speaking to ITV’s Peston on Monday night, Mr Baker said: “If they placed bets it was disreputable and I would call them up and ask them, did you do it? And if they did it, then they are suspended.”
He added: “But the Prime Minister would have to answer why he hasn’t done it, I haven’t got inside information on why the Prime Minister hasn’t done it.”
Tobias Ellwood, the former Tory defence minister, also argued on Monday that Mr Sunak should have suspended the Conservative candidates caught up in the betting scandal.
Asked if the Prime Minister should have taken that action, he told the BBC: “Given the scale of this as we see now and the potential for this story to continue to eclipse, to overshadow the election, I would now agree.
“I am not sure anyone, including the Prime Minister, could have predicted the number of people involved when this story first broke. The public want to see clear, robust action now.
“The practical dilemma you face, though, is were individuals responding to the whirlwind of the rumour mill around Westminster at the time… about a pending election announcement, or were they in the room when the decision was made?
“If it was the latter, the party can take immediate action. Otherwise it is for the Gambling Commission to rightly make that judgement.”
On Monday, Mr Sunak, who has ordered an internal inquiry to run separately to the Gambling Commission’s investigation, said he was “incredibly angry when I learned about the allegations, as everybody would be when they would hear about something like that”.
He said he was not aware of any other Tory candidates being investigated but stressed that any internal inquiries by the Conservative Party must not “compromise the integrity of… police and other investigations”.
Meanwhile, Sir Iain Duncan-Smith said that he was “opposed to people associated with politics betting on political outcomes in general”.
The former Tory leader told The Guardian: “You can either do it by the party saying it won’t be tolerated, or you could do it by legislation. If you start relying on legislation, it would be a complex process.
“Parties are capable of saying that anyone who does this shouldn’t be in the party. They can move quicker than governments.”
He added: “But one way or the other, it needs to be made clear that the public takes a dim view of it and it shouldn’t happen. It’s a matter for the next parliament.”
A yellow heat health alert comes into force for most of England today, as temperatures are set to hit 31C in parts of the country.
The notification, covering all but one region of the country, highlights the risk of increased pressure on healthcare services as a result of the forecast mini-heatwave.
The alert, issued jointly by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Met Office, comes into force from 8am and remains in place until 5pm on Thursday.
Temperatures are expected to spike at 31C (87F) in parts over the coming days, with "many places" due to see the thermometer reach the mid-20Cs (77F).
Image:The yellow alert covers most of England. Pic: UKHSA
The strongest warnings have been given for the East Midlands, the East of England, East Anglia and the South East with the "potential for significant impacts to be observed across the health and social care sector due to the high temperatures".
These include an "observed increase in mortality across the population likely, particularly in the 65+ age group or those with health conditions, but impacts may also be seen in younger age groups", the UKHSA said.
Image:A high-pressure system will see a hike in temperatures. Pic: iStock
For the North West and North East of England, the West of England, the South West and London, there is an "increase in risk of mortality amongst vulnerable individuals and increased potential for indoor environments to become very warm", the alerts warn.
The heat health alert service covers England only, with colours including green (meaning no alert is issued); yellow (meaning a response is required); amber (an enhanced response is required); and red (an emergency response) which would indicate a significant risk to life.
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What are the different types of alerts?
Green - An alert is not issued during these conditions as it is likely to have minimal impact on health.
Yellow - Issued during periods of heat which would mainly impact people who are vulnerable. People can still continue with their daily routine, but there may be some minor impacts such as travel disruptions.
Amber - Issued when a situation is likely to impact the whole health service, with potential risk to lives and properties, as well as travel delays and rail closures.
Red - A red alert would indicate that there is a huge risk to life across the population. People are advised to take action in order to stay safe. There may be disruption to travel, energy supplies, damage to property and risk of life.
Liam Eslick, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said Monday would see mostly dry weather with "plenty of sunny spells" and a maximum temperature of 28C (82F).
On Tuesday, conditions are expected to become cloudy and murky in western Scotland and Northern Ireland. Some showers will be seen across northern England which could turn thundery, but the rest of the country will see "more sunshine" and temperatures up in the mid to high 20Cs.
Image:People took to Bournemouth beach over the weekend. Pic: PA
The forecaster said Wednesday is likely to be the warmest of the days so far with highs of 30C (86F) in the South East.
Temperatures on Thursday are expected to remain "widely warm" with some areas seeing highs of up to 31C.
Hotter spells will be fleeting
The upcoming hot spell marks a break from the rainy spring, which saw 32% more rainfall than the average in England and Wales, making it the fifth wettest for England and the eighth wettest recorded for Wales, according to the Met Office.
However, the heat is only expected to last until midweek, giving way to showers, thunderstorms and persistent rain.
The wet weather has been coming from the Atlantic and a high-pressure system is expected to halt it for a few days.
Met Office operational meteorologist Honor Criswick said: "As we're pushing into next week, we're starting to see the hotter spells, but it is going to be quite brief."
Despite the wet weather, it has been the warmest May and spring ever recorded in the UK.
The average temperature has been 13.1C, beating the previous 2008 record of 12.1C.
Dan Rudman, Met Office deputy chief meteorologist, said: "Whether or not everyone experiences heatwave thresholds, the majority of the UK will experience the highest temperatures so far this year.
"Confidence in the forecast reduces markedly from Wednesday onwards, with uncertainty in both how long the heat will last and how it will break down, which we will be keeping an eye on for the coming days.
"However, by next weekend, cooler, changeable conditions become more likely."
Almost 19,000 NHS patients were left waiting in A&E for three days over a 12-month period, an investigation has revealed.
Between April 2023 and March 2024, nearly 400,000 people were left waiting more than 24 hours across A&E departments, a 5% rise on the previous year. Channel 4’s Dispatches programme also found that 54,000 people had to wait more than two days, a freedom of information request to NHS England found.
The investigation exposed “suffering and indignity faced by patients on a daily basis”, after an undercover reporter secretly filmed himself working as a trainee healthcare assistant inside the emergency department of the Royal Shrewsbury hospital for two months.
The “harrowing” scenes from the hospital’s A&E department came as an analyst from a thinktank said people were dying in emergency care in England “who don’t need to be dying”.
Footage shows one patient waiting for 30 hours in a “fit to sit” area while a suspected stroke sufferer was there for 24 hours, the broadcaster said.
Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “I don’t think this is unique to this hospital by any stretch of the imagination. The things we’ve seen here today are clearly not just confined to winter. It was a year-round crisis in emergency care.
“Spending two days in an emergency department is worse than spending two days in an airport lounge. These are people who are sitting in uncomfortable seats where the lights never go off. There’s constant noise, there’s constant stress. There’s no end in sight.”
Clips from the investigation showed an elderly man forced to urinate in a trolley on the corridor in full view of staff and other patients while in another, a woman is left crying in agony for hours, Channel 4 said.
A total of 18,638 people waited more than three days in A&E over the period, a 60% increase on the previous 12 months. A spokesperson for the hospital trust said: “As with other hospitals, our trust is facing significant challenges with urgent and emergency care.
“We understand our challenges and are investing in our services and making steady improvements as a trust, as noted in our recent CQC report. However, there is still much more to do; we do not want to be in a position where we are caring for patients in corridors.
“We are very sorry that our patients have experienced anything less than the quality care we strive for and we are determined, working with partners, to improve the care and experience for everyone.”
The spokesperson added that although the trust disputed some of the claims made in the Dispatches programme, it would “fully investigate all of the claims to identify and embed any learning into our continuous improvement work”.
The latest figures show that more than one in four people waited longer than the target of four hours in A&E, according to the King’s Fund. Patients are waiting 33 minutes on average for an ambulance in emergency cases such as strokes and heart attacks, when the target is 18 minutes, the thinktank added.
Undercover A&E: NHS in Crisis – Dispatches - is due to air on Channel 4 at 9pm on Monday.
