Wes Streeting says striking doctors ‘will lose a war with this government’

The doctors union “will lose a war with this government”, Wes Streeting has said, adding that the NHS is ready to tough out a prolonged series of strikes by the British Medical Association (BMA).In his most outspoken comments so far about the dispute involving resident doctors in England, the health secretary vowed that Labour would never give in to their demand for a 29% pay rise.However, in a plea to the BMA, he urged it to agree a deal based on tackling other frustrations those doctors have, separate to their salaries, in which both sides would “win the peace”.Fresh talks are planned next week. For these to have any chance of success, Streeting said, the BMA should agree it will not call any more strikes and accept that other NHS staff deserve decent pay increases too, not just medics, who are already paid more than many colleagues

An ethics record that this Labour government can be proud of | Letter

Re your editorial (The Guardian view on standards in politics: a golden reform opportunity squandered, 25 July), before being elected to parliament for the first time last year, I dedicated nearly 15 years of my life to tackling bribery and corruption. And I am pleased that the government is implementing its manifesto commitments to improve standards.Let us not forget the steady work of Margaret Hodge, who is progressing a comprehensive, cross-government anti-corruption strategy to be published later this year, and the Covid counter-fraud commissioner, Tom Hayhoe, whose work is so vital to restoring trust in government. And let us not forget what the government has already committed to in its first 12 months: replacing the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, increasing the frequency of ministerial hospitality disclosures, scrapping hereditary peers, votes at 16, rolling out automatic voter registration, tightening up political party financing and empowering the Electoral Commission.That’s a track record to be proud of and a clear change of course from the political indifference to ethics, integrity and democratic participation exhibited by recent Conservative governments

Labour pays estimated £2m to settle claims by 20 people over leaked antisemitism dossier

Labour has settled claims brought by 20 people, mainly former staffers, who featured in a leaked internal document about antisemitism in the party, with the costs estimated to be close to £2m.The settlements include a payout to Labour’s former elections chief Patrick Heneghan, who was falsely accused in the dossier of having tried to sabotage Jeremy Corbyn’s chances of winning the 2017 general election.It is understood the payouts will total just under £1m, but with Labour paying both sides’ legal fees the cost to the party will be near to £2m.This puts the total legal costs for Labour connected to the dossier at more than £4m, with court documents released last year showing the party spent £2.4m on its own eventually abandoned lawsuit pursuing five separate staffers it accused of being behind the leak

Zack Polanski’s ‘eco-populism’ could put voters off Greens, opponents say

The Green party risks going into reverse if they elect Zack Polanski as leader, his two opponents have said, arguing that his promised brand of “eco-populism” would prove polarising, divisive and likely to put off more moderate voters.Speaking to the Guardian before the opening of the month-long leadership vote, which begins on Friday, Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns said the party in England and Wales was at “a crossroads”, and could miss the chance to hold the balance of power at the next election.“I strongly believe that most British people have had enough with populist approaches to politics that seek to simplify everything, that are all about chasing the next headline, the next set of likes, rather than real substance,” said Ramsay, who has co-led the party with Carla Denyer since 2021.“There’s no point in just speaking to a certain section of the public that already backs you. You have to communicate in a way that has a broad appeal

Family of British couple held in Iran urge UK to raise case in talks with Tehran

The son of a British woman who has been held in Iran since January on espionage charges along with her husband has called on the UK government to raise their case during talks with Iran reportedly taking place in Istanbul later this week.Lindsay and Craig Foreman, both 52, were arrested on 3 January in Kervan, southern Iran, while travelling through the country from Armenia to Pakistan on a motorcycle journey to Australia.The family, who have not had direct contact with the couple since their incarceration, have said promises from the Foreign Office in the past fortnight to arrange conversations with the couple had not materialised.Six weeks ago, the Foreign Office said it did not know the couple’s whereabouts, despite initially having said they were being transferred to Evin prison in Tehran.Lindsay’s eldest son, Joe Bennett, said the family were past breaking point

UK to recognise state of Palestine in September unless Israel holds to ceasefire

The UK will formally recognise the state of Palestine this September as a result of the “increasingly intolerable” situation on the ground in Gaza, unless Israel abides by a ceasefire and commits to a two-state solution in the Middle East.Keir Starmer’s cabinet has agreed a roadmap for peace in the region after coming under intense domestic pressure over the mounting humanitarian crisis in the territory, and calls to follow France in acknowledging statehood.The prime minister recalled his cabinet from their summer break to approve the plan after holding talks with Donald Trump in Scotland. The US president said the issue had not come up, but that he did “not mind” the UK taking a position, even if he would not.Starmer told his ministers that, because of the catastrophic situation on the ground in Gaza and the diminishing prospect of reaching a two-state solution, now was the right time to finally move