Closing summary
Donald Trump has indicated that he and Sir Keir Starmer could “approve” the US-UK trade deal when they meet in Scotland. Speaking to reporters before he began his travel on Friday, the president said: “We’re going to be talking about the trade deal that we made and maybe even approve it.”
Resident doctors in England have begun strike action after the British Medical Association and government failed to reach an agreement over pay restoration. Up to 50,000 people went on strike at 7am, with the action intended to last for five days until 7am on Wednesday 30 July. The public have been urged to keep coming forward for NHS care during the strike. GP surgeries are open as usual and urgent care and A&E will continue to be available, alongside 111, NHS England said.
Dr Melissa Ryan, co-chairwoman of the BMA’s UK resident doctors committee, told the PA news agency that rising living costs are forcing many doctors into debt. She said a first-year doctor with £80,000-100,000 of student debt can expect to lose 9% of their salary for life repaying it.
Louise Stead, group chief executive of Ashford and St Peter’s and Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trusts, was asked about NHS trusts refusing catch-up shifts for striking doctors and fellow consultants, which enables them to earn extra cash. It has been suggested the NHS England move to keep as much pre-planned care going as possible means there will be fewer catch-up shifts needed, and therefore doctors will not be able to top up their pay.
Patients at St Thomas’ Hospital have voiced their support for junior doctors taking part in the latest round of strike action over pay and conditions. Jo Irwin, 72, who was attending the London hospital for a blood test before surgery for a hernia, said she had “no hesitation” in backing the walkout.
Around 30 doctors and supporters gathered outside Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) on Friday morning, waving placards and cheering as passing cars beeped horns in support. Cristina Costache, who is a paediatrics registrar at the LGI and a PhD student, said: “It’s a very difficult decision to make always, because I love my job and that’s the reason I went into it. I get depressed if I’m not in work. My heart is always at work. But I also care about my colleagues and my profession.”
Dave Bell, a retired nurse and member of the campaign group Keep Our NHS Public, stood in solidarity with striking doctors outside St Thomas’ Hospital. “Britain’s doctors are the backbone of our NHS,” he said. “If you ask anyone who’s been to a hospital, they’ll tell you those staff work their socks off.”
Zack Polanski, the Green party leadership candidate, has said he would be potentially willing to cooperate with a new leftwing party led by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, after calls for the two groups to form an alliance. Polanski stressed that any decision would be one for Green members, and would depend on the eventual form of a new party that does not as yet officially exist or have a name.
The Forth Road Bridge has been closed to traffic due to a Greenpeace protest. The group said 10 of its activists have suspended themselves from the bridge in order to block an Ineos tanker from passing underneath.
Peter Kyle also defended the government’s resistance to calls for immediate UK recognition of a Palestinian state, insisting Keir Starmer wants sovereignty “more than anyone else” as part of a political process. The technology secretary was repeatedly asked why Britain will not follow France in saying it will recognise a Palestinian state.
Former SNP MP Mhairi Black has confirmed she’s left the party, criticising its stance on trans rights and Palestine. Speaking to The Herald ahead of her Edinburgh fringe show Work in Progress, the former deputy leader at Westminster said the “capitulation on LGBT rights, trans rights in particular” had contributed to her decision.
Essex Police said a total of nine people have now been charged following the force’s continuing investigation into incidents of disorder in Epping last week. Assistant chief constable Stuart Hooper said on Friday: “I’m really grateful to the people of Epping who wanted to make their voices heard yesterday and did so peacefully.”
A Conservative peer has apologised for breaking the House of Lords rules by helping to secure a meeting with a minister for a Canadian company he advises. Ian Duncan, a deputy speaker of the Lords, was found to have breached the rules by providing a parliamentary service for Terrestrial Energy when he facilitated an introduction between its chief executive and a new energy minister.
The UK government’s ban on Palestine Action limits the rights and freedoms of people in the UK and is at odds with international law, the UN human rights chief has said. Volker Türk, the UN human rights commissioner, said ministers’ decision to designate the group a terrorist organisation was “disproportionate and unnecessary” and called on them to rescind it.
Dozens of councils have been targeted by campaigners calling for a four-day week after it that emerged one local authority had become Britain’s first to vote to adopt the pattern permanently. The move comes shortly after thousands of private-sector workers were also told they would be staying on shorter working weeks with the same pay after more than 200 businesses decided it worked for them – in some cases, after lengthy trials.
The International Monetary Fund has said the UK government risks being knocked off course in meeting its targets to repair the public finances and urged Rachel Reeves to give herself more leeway through tax or spending measures. In a final version of an annual report on the UK economy, the Washington-based organisation said changes introduced by the chancellor to the government’s deficit reduction plans had enhanced the credibility and effectiveness of fiscal policy.
The Unite general secretary Sharon Graham has accused the government of abandoning workers after it announced the Lindsey Oil Refinery is set to shut. It comes after more than 100 people gathered outside Grimsby Town Hall in protest on Thursday, demanding urgent government intervention to save the plant and protect jobs in north-east Lincolnshire.
A fresh wave of strikes has been announced by drivers at a train company in a long-running dispute over the sacking of a colleague, PA reported. Members of Aslef at Hull Trains have voted to continue taking industrial action after months of walkouts. Unions have to ballot members on industrial action every six months.
The Liberal Democrats have called for an ‘NHS Strike Resilience Plan’, using private hospitals for some treatments. A spokesperson said that the plan would ensure that the harmful impacts of the strike are kept to a minimum for patients.
The visit of US president Donald Trump to Scotland is in the “public interest”, chancellor Rachel Reeves has said. Trump is due to touch down in Scotland on Friday evening ahead of a four-day visit, during which he will meet prime minister Keir Starmer and first minister John Swinney.
Speaking during a visit to a bin strike picket line in Birmingham, Jeremy Corbyn said around 190,000 people had so far “signed up” for the new party launched with Coventry MP Zarah Sultana. Officials said Your Party was an interim name to kickstart a democratic process to decide on the new party’s eventual title.
Donald Trump has indicated that he and Sir Keir Starmer could “approve” the US-UK trade deal when they meet in Scotland.
Speaking to reporters before he began his travel on Friday, the president said: “We’re going to be talking about the trade deal that we made and maybe even approve it.”
