PMQs: Sir Keir Starmer calls on Rishi Sunak to apologise for ‘lethal chaos’ in NHS
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called on Rishi Sunak to apologise for the “lethal chaos” in the NHS.
He made the demand during Prime Minister’s Questions, saying Mr Sunak should “stop blaming others and take some responsibility”.
But the PM said Labour should get behind his anti-strike legislation to ensure minimum service levels when public sector workers take industrial action.
Sir Keir pushed Mr Sunak on delays in the ambulance service, listing average waiting times around England for people with chest pains of over two hours – the government target is 18 minutes.
“For the person suffering from chest pains, the clock started ticking straight away,” he said. “Every minute counts.”
The Labour leader added: “These are our constituents waiting for ambulances I’m talking about.
“So, for one week, will he stop blaming others, take some responsibility and just admit under his watch the NHS is in crisis, isn’t it?”
The PM said the government was “rapidly implementing measures to improve the delivery of ambulance times”.
He added: “Because of the extra funding we are putting in to relieve pressure in urgent and emergency care departments, because of the investment we are putting in in ambulance call handling, we will improve ambulance times as we are recovering from the pandemic and, indeed, the pressures of this winter.”
But Mr Sunak linked the delays to the broader issue of industrial action in the sector – less than an hour before ambulance workers announced a further six strikes across February and March.
“If he cares about ensuring that patients get access to life-saving emergency care when they need it, why won’t he support our minimum safety legislation?”
Ambulance workers have already taken part in industrial action in December and January.
Sir Keir accused him of “deflecting” from the questions, adding: “Just like last week, he won’t say when he is going to deliver the basic minimum service levels people need.
“Over the 40 minutes or so these sessions tend to last, 700 people will call an ambulance. Two will be reporting a heart attack, four will be reporting a stroke, but instead of the rapid help they need, many will wait and wait and wait.
“So if he won’t answer any questions, will he at least apologise for the lethal chaos under his watch?”
But the PM said the government would deliver on waiting times “as soon as we can pass” the anti-strike bill, adding: “We are delivering on the people’s priorities. As we have seen this week, the honourable gentleman will just say anything if the politics suits him.”
The bill was also raised by Labour MP Navendu Mishra, who said Mr Sunak had “showed his card” with the policy, adding: “He has literally gone from clapping nurses to sacking them.”
Meanwhile another Labour MP, Dawn Butler, described how when she had breast cancer both ambulance workers and nurses – who are staging a walkout across 55 trusts in England today – gave her “phenomenal” care.
“Unison and the GMB [unions] are on strike because no one is negotiating with them,” she said. “I have spoken to the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing and she is adamant she wants to end the disputes. She just needs a meeting with the prime minister.
“Will the prime minister show leadership and meet with the RCN, just a simple yes or no.”
Mr Sunak said the government wrote to all the unions to invite them for “frank, open, honest, two-way dialogue” with the relevant secretaries of state.
He added: “I am pleased that those meetings are happening in a range of sectors and I hope that we can find a constructive way through this.”
World
Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.
“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.
On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
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