Prime minister to express concern about ‘over-medicalising’ normal worries with diagnoses as mental health conditions Rishi Sunak will today claim Britain is suffering from a “sicknote culture”, as he warns there is a risk of “over-medicalising” normal worries by diagnosing them as mental health conditions. In a speech on how to reduce people being signed off sick from work, the prime minister will say the government is planning to trial getting “work and health professionals” to issue fit notes, shifting away from GPs carrying out this role ..read more

Rowaa Ahmar’s claims were made in the court papers of a discrimination case against the Cabinet Office A former senior civil servant has said in court papers that “a hostile racist working environment” in the Cabinet Office meant she was “forced to resign”. Rowaa Ahmar, who has now withdrawn a discrimination case against the Cabinet Office, said that “the racism within the Cabinet Office appeared to be unrelenting and systemic” and claimed that she was frozen out of ministerial meetings after complaining about it ..read more

Husband of Nicola Sturgeon was rearrested ‘in connection with the embezzlement of funds’ from party, say police Peter Murrell, the husband of the former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, has been charged in connection with embezzlement after being arrested for a second time by police investigating allegations regarding the funding and finances of the Scottish National party. Murrell, the former chief executive of the SNP, was first arrested and interviewed as a suspect by Police Scotland detectives in April 2023 at the home he shared with Sturgeon in Glasgow, but was released later that day pend ..read more

The anti-growth coalition, Bank of England and the OBR are among those under fire from Liz Truss Raw free-market economics is missing in action. Somewhere between its 1980s ascendancy and today, the media, politicians, civil service and even the corporate mainstream abandoned small government and low taxes. At the heart of Liz Truss’s new book, Ten Years to Save the West, the former prime minister reckons this is the reason for Britain’s economic drift, alongside “unelected technocrats” overruling the “wishes of the people ..read more

Fresh allegations against a backbench MP highlight an end-of-era atmosphere in the Conservative party The Conservative party and government seem to be falling apart in front of our eyes. As his legislative programme becomes ever more vestigial, and his ratings plummet to new depths, Rishi Sunak’s future is now being counted in weeks. His would-be successors are openly jockeying for advantage in the next leadership contest, with Kemi Badenoch, Penny Mordaunt and Priti Patel all but declared as likely candidates. Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, Liz Truss is raising her standard of ..read more

Mayor says ‘brand Andy’ move is utterly deliberate as people are ‘sick and tired of Westminster’ The West Midlands mayor, Andy Street, has said it is “utterly deliberate” to exclude reference to the Conservative party from his campaign material, as he believes he is fighting an individual campaign and “people are sick and tired of Westminster”. Street is hoping to be elected to a third term in office in May’s election in a vote that could be the strongest indicator yet as to how the two main parties will perform at the impending general election ..read more

Exclusive: Under Whitehall blueprint for water company some lenders could lose up to 40% of their money Thames Water could be renationalised, with the bulk of its £15.6bn debt added to the public purse, under radical plans being considered by the government, the Guardian can reveal. The blueprint, codenamed Project Timber, is being drawn up in Whitehall and would turn Britain’s biggest water company into a publicly owned arm’s-length body. Some lenders to its core operating company could lose up to 40% of their money under the plans ..read more

Former party chief executive and husband of Nicola Sturgeon taken into custody for further questioning Peter Murrell, the former Scottish National party chief executive and husband of the former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, has been rearrested in connection with Police Scotland’s investigation into the party’s finances. The 59-year-old, who was previously arrested in April last year in the same investigation, was taken into custody on Thursday morning ..read more

..read more

Labour leader says police ‘should be involved’ after Tory MP was alleged to have misused campaign funds to pay off ‘bad people’ UK politics – latest updates Keir Starmer has called for a police investigation into allegations that campaign funds were misused by the MP Mark Menzies, who has lost the Conservative whip. The Labour leader said there were “unanswered questions” in relation to the allegations against the MP for Fylde in Lancashire, who has also been suspended as a government trade envoy ..read more