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Health unions have offered to pause strikes later this month if the government will enter serious pay talks.

But the offer appeared to have gone unheeded late on Saturday, with the health secretary going on attack, saying the industrial action would cause “significant risks” to patients.

In a piece for The Sun On Sunday, he said: “In a winter when we’re worrying about COVID, flu and Strep A – on top of the COVID backlogs – I am deeply concerned about the risks of strike action to patients.

“We are working hard to make sure patients experience as little disruption as possible. But with the NHS already under pressure due to the COVID pandemic and coming winter, the risks to patients will be significant.”

Nurses are due to strike in many parts of England, Wales and Northern Ireland on 15 and 20 December, claiming they are 20% worse off in real terms, due to successive below-inflation awards since 2010.

But the strike will cause major disruption, with thousands of operations expected to be postponed at a time when waiting lists are already at record levels.

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Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen said during the weekend that she was willing to pause the walkouts if Mr Barclay would agree to talk about the nurses’ pay demands.

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“Negotiate with nurses and avoid this strike,” she said.

“Five times my offer to negotiate has been turned down.

“I will press pause on it when the health secretary says he will negotiate seriously on our dispute this year.

“That means each of us giving some ground.

“He gains nothing by ignoring the representatives of the NHS workforce.”

Read more:
‘I don’t know if the NHS are overwhelmed, or they’ve just stopped caring’: Patients left behind
NHS waiting list hits record high of 7.2 million people – as almost third of patients wait four hours in A&E
NHS tracker postcode search: See how your local trust is performing throughout the winter

Ms Cullen had earlier accused Mr Barclay of using “bullyboy” tactics and refusing to negotiate properly because she was a woman representing a largely female workforce.

The Department of Health on Saturday night said that the health secretary’s “door remains open for further talks”, but did not say whether pay would now be on the table.

A spokesperson said: “…We have accepted the recommendations of the independent NHS Pay Review Body in full.

“This means newly qualified nurses have had a 5.5% increase and those on the lowest salaries, such as porters and cleaners, have received a pay rise of up to 9.3%.”

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The RCN wants a rise of 5% above the Retail Price Index measure of inflation, which is currently 14%.

A similar offer – to suspend strikes – was made by Unison, which represents paramedics, emergency care assistants, ambulance technicians and other 999 crew members, who are planning to walk out on 21 December.

Read more:
Plans to cut backlog for NHS treatment and cancer care at ‘serious risk’
How the NHS is using ‘virtual wards’ and smartphones to clear beds at hospitals operating at near capacity

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Rather than scare the public about the consequences of strikes, the health secretary should table genuine plans for improving wages.

“Sitting down with health unions and improving the pay on offer has put strikes on hold across Scotland.

“If Steve Barclay were to mirror Holyrood’s approach and commit to boosting wages this year, the threat of pre-Christmas strikes could well be lifted.

“But the ball sits firmly in the government’s court. Ministers know what they must do to prevent disruption later this month.”

Nurses and ambulance workers are among the many workers striking this month – others include rail workers, postal workers, bus drivers, highway workers, Border Force, and Heathrow baggage handlers.

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Jaguar Land Rover to ‘pause’ US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

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Jaguar Land Rover to 'pause' US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The US president has introduced a 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into the country, which came into force on Thursday.

JLR, one of the country’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.

Follow live updates: Trump’s baseline 10% tariff kicks in

In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company behind the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover brands said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.

“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”

The company released a statement last week before Mr Trump announced a “baseline” 10% tariff on goods from around the world, which kicked in on Saturday morning, on what he called “liberation day”.

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JLR reassured customers its business was “resilient” and “accustomed to changing market conditions”.

“Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms,” the firm said.

Trading across the world has been hit by Mr Trump’s tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.

All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell on Friday – with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.

Read more: A red wall on Wall Street – but Trump seems to believe it will work out

Cars are the top product exported from the UK to the US, with exports worth £8.3bn in the year to the end of September 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

For UK carmakers, the US is the second largest export market behind the European Union.

Industry groups have previously warned the tariffs will force firms to rethink where they trade, while a report by thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said more than 25,000 car manufacturing jobs in the UK could be at risk.

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

Two people have died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness, Lincolnshire Police have said.

In a statement, officers said they were called at 3.53am on Saturday to a report of a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park in the village of Ingoldmells.

Fire and rescue crews attended the scene, and two people were found to have died.

They were reported to be a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.

The force said the victims’ next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specially trained officers.

Officers are trying to establish the exact cause of the blaze.

“We are at the very early stages of our investigation and as such we are keeping an open mind,” the force said.

Two fire crews remain at the scene.

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Boy dies after ‘getting into difficulty’ in lake in southeast London

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Boy dies after 'getting into difficulty' in lake in southeast London

A 15-year-old boy has died after “getting into difficulty” in a lake in southeast London, police say.

Officers and paramedics were called shortly after 3pm on Friday to Beckenham Place Park in Lewisham.

The Metropolitan Police said a boy “was recovered from the lake” at around 10.42pm the same day.

“He was taken to hospital where he was sadly pronounced dead. His death is being treated as unexpected but not believed to be suspicious,” according to the force.

The boy’s family has been told and are being supported by specialist officers.

The force originally said the child was 16 years old, but has since confirmed his age as 15.

In the earlier statement, officers said emergency services carried out a search and the park was evacuated.

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google street view inside Beckenham Place park, Lewisham where a 16 y/o boy is missing after getting into difficulty in a lake
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Emergency teams were called to Beckenham Place Park on Friday afternoon

Beckenham Place Park, which borders the London borough of Bromley, covers around 240 acres, according to the park’s website.

The lake is described as 285 metres long, reaching depths of up to 3.5 metres.

It is designed as a swimming lake for open-water swimming and paddle boarding.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said on Friday: “We were called at 3.02pm this afternoon to reports of a person in the water.

“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team.”

Emergency teams have not explained how the boy entered the water, or whether he was accompanied by others.

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