Failure to support long Covid sufferers could add billions to benefits bill, Rishi Sunak warned
Exclusive: Labour says worklessness due to people suffering from the virus long-term could be costing £3bn a year
The government’s failure to support people with long Covid could be adding billions of pounds a year pounds to the benefits bill, Labout has warned.
Sir Keir Starmer’s party said Rishi Sunak and his ministers had “no plan” to help those suffering from ongoing symptoms, including fatigue, headaches, muscle aches and palpitations
Worklessness due to long Covid could be costing £3bn a year in sickness benefits, according to Labour analysis shared with The Independent.
The party pointed to ONS data showing that 370,000 people whose ability to do day-to-day activities have been “limited a lot” by long Covid – saying they may be eligible for Universal Credit of up to £689.19 a month.
Shares gain in Asia after China relaxes more COVID rules
Shares gain in Asia after China relaxes more COVID rules
Opposition MPs and campaigners have urged the government to classify Long Covid as an occupational illness, provide formal guidance to employers and boost funding for research into treatment.
Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Covid, said the failure to “properly address it will continue to devastate lives, damage our economy and cripple public services”
Human rights laws ‘not stopping protest prosecutions’, CPS chief says after Braverman attacks
Exclusive: Max Hill KC says prosecutors ‘have the legal tools we need’ as new protest laws
human rights laws are not stopping environmental protesters being charged with crimes, the head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has said after Suella Braverman called for harsher enforcement.
Following a wave of disruptive protests on the M25 by Just Stop Oil, the home secretary told police they should take a “firmer line” and claimed a Supreme Court ruling on freedom of expression was being “misinterpreted”
Government refuses to publish economic benefits estimate of latest Brexit trade deal
Department for International Trade says releasing an estimate isn’t appropriate
The government has refused to publish an estimate of the economic benefits of its latest planned Brexit trade deal.
Ministers had faced mockery over the small benefits to the economy expected from previous free trade agreements – with most giving tiny boosts to GDP.
20 TV shows to look out for in 2023, from The Idol to Kaleidoscope
There’ll be plenty to feast your eyes on in the next 12 months, writes Ellie Harrison, from a new Stephen Graham drama and Ncuti Gatwa’s debut as the Doctor, to the return of ‘Big Brother’
Whether you’re looking for celebrity deep-dives, debauched dramas, cosy book adaptations or the return of old favourites, there is plenty of television to feast your eyes on in 2023.
Stephen Graham is starring in a new Netflix crime drama, Bodies, while Lily Rose-Depp and The Weeknd can be seen in the new show from Euphoria writer Sam Levinson, The Idol.
David Nicholls’s bestselling novel One Day is being adapted for TV, and shows from Big Brother to Succession are returning to telly.
There are also comedies starring familiar faces such as Simon Bird and Lily Allen, and tell-all documentaries from Robbie Williams and Pamela Anderson.
Here’s what we’re most looking forward to over the next 12 months…
Tory turmoil made UK ‘laughing stock’ in 2022, says Speaker Lindsay Hoyle
British democracy ‘still struggling to recover’, says Commons speakeThe “bizarre” turmoil which saw three Tory prime ministers in a matter of months made British democracy an international laughing stock, the Commons speaker has said
Sir Lindsay Hoyle said the country is still “struggling to recover” from the damage done by the collapse of two governments in 2022.
The Commons speaker told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme that the “revolving door” of changing ministers made him feel like the only point of “continuity” in parliament.
Asked if the upheaval had made the UK a laughing stock, Sir Lindsay said: “It did,” before adding that it left people wondering “what was happening to our democracy”.
The Commons speaker added: “I think we’re still struggling to recover.”
Referring to Liz Truss’s arrival at No 10 in September, Sir Lindsay said: “A new prime minister comes in with what was meant to be new hope, a new vision, all fell apart … When it went wrong, it certainly went wrong.”
Russian tycoon who appeared to criticise Ukraine war dies in fall from hotel window
His friend Vladimir Budanov died of a heart attack on the same trip two days earlier
A Russian businessman and rumoured critic of president Vladimir Putin has died after falling from a third-floor window of an Indian hotel just days after a friend died on the same trip.
Pavel Antov was visiting Odisha, an eastern state on the Bay of Bengal, and had just celebrated his 65th birthday at the hotel. His friend Vladimir Budanov died of a heart attack during the celebrations.
Miss Ukraine commended for ‘badass’ appearance at Miss Universe pageant
‘Warrior of Light’ costume symbolises Ukraine’s ‘fight against darkness’
Miss Ukraine’s outfit for the Miss Universe pageant’s national costume competition was a “Warrior of Light” ensemble commended worldwide for its symbolism.
Viktoria Apanasenko, representing the war-torn country at the Miss Universe pageant in New Orleans on 14 January, revealed a stunning multilayered motif with ornate, oversize blue and yellow wings. The outfit was complete with a weapon [sword] and body armour.
New blood test developed to detect signs of Alzheimer’s disease
‘A blood test is cheaper, safer and easier to administer, and it can improve clinical confidence in diagnosing Alzheimer’s’
Scientists have developed a new test to detect signs of Alzheimer’s disease based on markers in a blood sample, an advance that may lead to better risk prediction for the neurological condition.
Currently, diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease requires “expensive” and time-consuming neuroimaging tests, say researchers, including those from the University of Pittsburgh in the US.
New blood test developed to detect signs of Alzheimer’s disease
‘A blood test is cheaper, safer and easier to administer, and it can improve clinical confidence in diagnosing Alzheimer’s’
Scientists have developed a new test to detect signs of Alzheimer’s disease based on markers in a blood sample, an advance that may lead to better risk prediction for the neurological condition.
Currently, diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease requires “expensive” and time-consuming neuroimaging tests, say researchers, including those from the University of Pittsburgh in the US.
