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Junior doctors and the government are set to enter talks following a 72-hour-strike which saw more than 175,000 appointments reorganised.

The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents the clinicians, has pledged they will announce new strike dates if the government makes a “substandard” offer.

On Friday evening, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) released a statement which said: “We deeply regret that over 175,000 appointments and procedures were cancelled this week, despite our offer to start formal talks on the condition strikes were paused.

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Junior doctors start 3-day walkout

“However, we are pleased the BMA has now accepted our offer to enter talks based on the same terms as with the agenda for change unions – which concluded positively this week.

“We want to find a fair settlement which recognises the crucial role of junior doctors and the wider economic pressures facing the UK, as we have done with other unions.”

The government earlier this week announced they had made a pay offer of 5% plus a one-off payment to the rest of the NHS on the agenda for change pay scale.

This dictates pay for most NHS workers aside from doctors, dentists and senior managers.

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But questions remain over where the extra £4bn for this offer will come from.

Junior doctors are calling for complete “pay restoration” to bring them back in line with the equivalent of what they earned in 2008.

Analysis: Where will the money for a 5% pay deal come from in an underfunded NHS?

This is equivalent to a 35% pay rise, and would cost the government another £1bn according to the BMA.

It is not clear when talks between the government and junior doctors will take place, although in an open letter to Health Secretary Steve Barclay, the BMA said it was available on Monday and Tuesday next week, and again on the same days the week after.

The letter added: “As it stands there is no further strike action announced.

“We are willing to enter talks based on a pause in announcing further strike action and first-year non-consolidated payment with a second-year consolidated pay award.

“However, we expect you to come to the table in good faith and with a credible offer towards achieving full pay restoration that we can recommend to our members.”

A tweet from the BMA explained to its members that “in the event that any offer is substandard, or where the talks lack sincerity or progress, we are fully prepared to call for strike action to focus the minds of the government”.

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Easter travel warning with ’14 million’ holiday road journeys, record numbers at airports and major rail works planned

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Easter travel warning with '14 million' holiday road journeys, record numbers at airports and major rail works planned

Britons have been warned of long delays on their Easter getaways with more than 14 million journeys expected on the roads, airports prepared for a record number of passengers, and engineering works on key rail services.

The RAC warned that journeys on popular routes could take twice as long as usual, as the bank holiday weekend leads into a two-week holiday for many schools.

Trains are also set to be stopped as Network Rail carries out engineering works on the West Coast Main Line – which stretches from the capital to Scotland – between London Euston and Milton Keynes.

And at least three major airports have said that the coming days will be their busiest ever Easter weekend.

Bristol, Newcastle and Edinburgh have told The Independent they predict a record number of passengers from Good Friday to Easter Monday, with routes to Geneva tipped to be extremely busy.

Around two million Britons are expected to fly away over the holiday weekend, with Bristol predicting 30,000 holiday-goers on Easter Sunday alone.

Airports will stay busy over the school holidays, with Luton expecting to see around 38 passengers a minute on 5 April.

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On Sunday 7 April, Gatwick and Southampton are set to see their busiest days.

File pic: PA
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Around two million Britons are expected to fly away over the holiday weekend. File pic: PA

No ‘good time’ for rail works

The West Coast Main Line will be closed between Good Friday and Easter Monday, with disruption to rail services also expected in Glasgow and Huddersfield.

Laurence Bowman, Network Rail’s network strategy director, said earlier this week that there is “never a good time to do the work we need to do”, but explained that a lower number of commuters over the bank holiday weekend gives them “the opportunity to do major work we couldn’t do in a normal weekend”.

“We’ve got 493 different pieces of work taking place this Easter, most happening overnight,” he added, “including laying over 8,000 metres of new rail and putting down over 40,000 tonnes of new ballast to support the tracks.”

‘Carmageddon’

RAC spokesperson Alice Simpson warned it “could be carmageddon” over Easter and said heavy traffic and “lengthy queues can be expected along routes to the usual hotspots”.

Inrix transportation analyst Bob Pishue also said that “drivers should be prepared for longer journeys than normal throughout the entire weekend”.

Read more from Sky News:
Tube and rail strikes announced for April and May
Man dies in plane crash at war museum airfield
Two victims of Baltimore bridge collapse recovered

File pic: PA
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The West Coast Main Line will be closed between Good Friday and Easter Monday. File pic: PA

Worst day for driving

A survey commissioned by the RAC and Inrix found that 2.6 million journeys are planned on Good Friday, with around 2.3 million trips expected for both Easter Saturday and Sunday.

Another two million trips are expected on Thursday and Easter Monday, and a further 3.3 million journeys are due with no clear starting date, making for a total of around 14.5 million journeys.

Inrix predicted that the worst of the traffic is expected between 2pm and 7pm on Thursday when holiday journeys mix with regular commutes.

It added that the busiest route is set to be the western section of the M25 between the M23 for Gatwick and the M1 for Hertfordshire where journeys from 4pm are tipped to take more than two hours, more than twice as long as usual.

The M5 southbound between Bristol and Taunton, and the M3 between the M25 and the south coast are also likely to be congested, according to Inrix, with estimated journey times more than double what they normally are.

The survey, from research company Find Out Now, polled 2,136 UK adults.

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The RAC and Inrix say around 2.3 million trips expected for both Easter Saturday and Sunday. File pic: PA

A yellow weather warning for strong winds is also in effect on Thursday, with unsettled conditions from Storm Nelson likely to further disrupt travel.

The Met Office said the alert applies from 7am until 6pm on Thursday and extends in a band from locations such as St Ives and Penzance in the South West across to Brighton.

Sky News weather producer Christopher England also said: “It’ll stay mostly unsettled into next week, with further heavy showers or longer spells of rain, and 70mph gusts near Channel coasts, thanks to the Spanish-named Storm Nelson.”

More delays in Dover

Meanwhile, Britons taking ferries should be able to embark without much issue, with the exception of the Port of Dover where French border staff check passports before leaving the UK.

In a statement, the port pointed to France’s heightened terror alert after the attack in Moscow, saying: “These measures may increase border processing times at the port.

“Please be mindful of this when travelling to the port and check with your ferry operator for arrival times.”

Last year saw severe delays and long queues at the port with wait times stretching up to two hours.

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From 2023: ‘Severe’ delays for Easter travel

Around 20,000 cars are expected to travel through Dover’s port between Thursday and Easter. A Coach Processing Facility has been set up in the Western Docks for Thursday and Saturday in a bid to ease travel.

Coach passengers and motorists will be processed away from the main port, and then moved to the Eastern Port for a quick passport check, before embarking on their ferry journey.

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Scotland’s new hate crime law could be used to ‘settle scores’, say critics

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Scotland's new hate crime law could be used to 'settle scores', say critics

There are fears innocent people could end up on police databases with controversial new hate crime laws in Scotland being weaponised to “settle scores”.

Legislation is being introduced on 1 April criminalising threatening or abusive behaviour which is intended to stir up hatred based on certain characteristics including age, disability, sexual orientation, and transgender identity.

The rules will apply in people’s private homes and online.

Women’s groups, which have been vocal in the transgender debate in Scotland, fear social media posts could be used to target opponents.

Susan Smith, director at the For Women Scotland campaign group, said: “It’s a mess.

“Much of this is very vague as stirring up offences seems to be based on someone’s perception that someone is being hateful towards them, and they can make a complaint and the police are saying they will investigate everything.”

“There will be a lot of malicious reports,” added Ms Smith.

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“We know that there are people out there who have lists of people they are looking to target. They are seeing this as an opportunity to settle scores and make political points.”

Susan Smith, director at the For Women Scotland campaign group,
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Susan Smith says people will use the new law maliciously

JK Rowling and Elon Musk have publicly criticised the change, suggesting it erodes free speech.

Those who support the law insist it will make Scotland more tolerant.

Rebecca Crowther, chief executive of Equality Network in Scotland, told Sky News: “This legislation is not going to catch people online saying things that I might disagree with, that you might disagree with, things that might upset me, things that might upset others in the community.

“Freedom of expression is really important, and there’s a defence for that within the legislation.

“People are free to say what they like, even if it might cause offence or it might cause shock or disturb people, that’s just what we live with when we live with the freedom of speech.

“What it does legislate against is when that freedom of speech strays into something that is abusive, that could cause fear and alarm, and that also incites hatred or incites people to act on that hatred.”

Dr Rebecca Crowther
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Dr Crowther insists the law won’t degrade free speech

Police Scotland, the second largest force in the UK, has committed to investigating every single hate complaint it receives.

It comes amid a backdrop of major changes to policing that mean some minor crimes will no longer be investigated due to budget cuts.

‘Disaster waiting to happen’

Lanarkshire shopkeeper Abdul Majid says he has lost thousands of pounds a year in petty shoplifting that the authorities have not fully investigated.

He reckons the cumulative impact on his business is £10,000 a year and is “frustrated” at the contrast in policing priorities as the new hate crime regime begins.

Lanarkshire shopkeeper Abdul Majid
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Abdul Majid has lost thousands to shoplifters and says all crime should be investigated

He describes taking matters in to his own hands: “Because of the lack of prosecution, we have made a rogues’ gallery in the shop.

“We have the date and time of the shoplift and a bit of background about what they’ve taken and what they look like.

“All crime in my opinion should be investigated, whether it be hate crime or retail crime.”

Read more:
First minister: ‘Disinformation’ being spread about hate crime law

Those representing thousands of rank-and-file police officers say the two-hour online training course provided in preparation for enforcement is not good enough.

David Kennedy, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, described it as a disaster waiting to happen.

He said: “I have real concerns that mistakes could be made. Officers are drained. We are not getting any extra resources to deal with this.

“Officers on night shift have a mandatory two-hour online training.”

The Hate Monster. Pic: Police Scotland
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The ‘Hate Monster’ being used to advertise the law change. Pic: Police Scotland

Police Scotland refused to be questioned by Sky News on camera about the new law.

A statement from a spokesman said: “Our training package has been developed in close consultation with diversity staff associations to ensure all protected characteristics under the new Act are clearly represented and articulated, and that officers are best prepared when they respond to hate crimes and incidents.

“In addition to the training package, an extensive programme of workshops is taking place to allow officers to gain more understanding and ask any questions they may have.”

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This family’s terrifying journey across the Channel wasn’t their first choice – it was their last hope

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This family's terrifying journey across the Channel wasn't their first choice - it was their last hope

In a hostel in northern France, the atmosphere was tense.

A father and his family were waiting for a call, a sign sea conditions were right and it is finally time to go.

After fleeing from Kurdistan, they’ve paid around €8000 (£6,850) to cross the Channel on a dinghy provided by smugglers who value money over life.

“We don’t have any other option except this dinghy. The surveillance for the trucks [crossing the Channel] is very strong and that is why we have to take this journey. We will either die or succeed,” Mohammed said ahead of the journey.

The family now await to hear their fate in the UK
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The family now await to hear their fate in the UK

To tell their story safely, all the family’s names have been changed.

The UK wasn’t their destination of choice; for years Germany was their home but then, after a failed asylum bid and threatened with deportation last month, they ran.

If they stayed, Mohammed says they would have been sent back home where he fears he could be killed.

But after years of making friends and plans, overnight his family’s lives changed.

His teenage daughter Sara says when she was told they were leaving at first she didn’t believe it.

“I was like, no, this is going to be a bad joke,” she explains, “Then the day we left, I looked at my friends… they didn’t know that I was leaving and we will never see each other again.”

Despite promises by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to “stop the boats”, a record numbers of migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year.

Last week the family was among them, cramming into a rickety vessel with around 60 others.

“It was a difficult and dangerous journey that no one was expecting to survive. We were all thinking that our lives would end in a matter of seconds,” Mohammed says.

The boat left a French beach near Dunkirk at 10pm.

After around an hour into the journey they ran out of fuel and then drifted for hours.

The conditions meant children were screaming and crying.

Many onboard were being sick and everyone was soaked with freezing water.

When the French coastguard arrived, 25 people asked to be rescued but the other 36 refused, determined to keep pushing ahead.

Desperate to reach UK waters, they paddled with their hands and then used the dregs of the fuel to give them one last boost until they were picked up by the UK coastguard.

Read more:
Children among migrants rescued in Channel
More than 500 migrants cross Channel in one day

Migrants boat in The Channel
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A migrant boat seen crossing the Channel earlier this year

After hours of being “scared to die”, Sara said the relief was overwhelming.

They’re now waiting to hear their fate in temporary accommodation in the UK after applying for asylum.

Like many other asylum seekers I’ve spoken to, fresh threats of deportation or being sent to Rwanda weren’t a deterrent.

“What will stop people coming on that route?” I ask Mohammed.

“You can’t stop it. This is smuggling and it will continue,” he replies.

The family hopes they can stay but it isn’t guaranteed. While the UK wasn’t their first choice, they say it’s their last hope.

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