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Government spending on storing personal protective equipment (PPE) in China increased by £2.35m in the year to January – as households struggle to make ends meet amid the cost of living crisis.

According to data revealed by the Labour Party, the taxpayer paid £23.5m to store life-saving protective equipment from February 2021 to January 2022 – but in the same period the following year, that had risen to £25.9m.

Sky News can also reveal that – according to exclusive data from the TaxPayers’ Alliance – the government spent a total of £312m on storing PPE between January 2022 and January 2023.

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In January 2023 alone, the total cost of PPE storage amounted to £18m, down from £35m in the same month of 2022, meaning PPE storage is still costing the taxpayer £580,000 a day.

And if this cost per day was replicated for the rest of 2023, we could expect PPE storage to cost £211m in 2023 alone, down from £294m in 2022.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “While costs are falling, the COVID hangover is still placing an enormous burden on taxpayers.

“While ministers had to work quickly during unprecedented times, households are still facing an eye-watering bill for mistakes made.

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“Ministers must get a grip on this spending once and for all.”

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “The British public will be understandably sickened by this eye-watering waste of taxpayers’ money.

“With families in Britain set to pay yet another council tax hike forced upon them, they’ll be justly outraged to learn yet more of their hard-earned taxes are still being shipped to China every day to meet eye-watering storage costs for useless PPE they’d already stumped up billions for. It’s adding insult to injury.

“A Labour government will get tough on waste, with an Office of Value for Money to ensure every penny of taxpayers’ money is treated with respect.”

According to the party’s analysis, the amount the government spends on PPE storage in China could be used to pay for 512 tanks of petrol a day – or the annual energy bill for almost 18,000 one-bedroom flats in the UK.

PPE storage costs have fallen since the pandemic and the government has vowed to reduce the sum it spends on storing the 5.8 billion items of excess PPE that the UK still has.

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COVID no longer top cause of death

In response, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Since the height of the pandemic, PPE storage costs have reduced significantly, and we continue to prioritise efforts to minimise them. We have already reduced storage costs by 78% since the first three months of 2021.

“We continue to sell, donate, repurpose and recycle excess PPE in the most cost-effective way, as well as seeking to recover costs from suppliers wherever possible to ensure taxpayer value for money.”

As the UK continues to grapple with the cost of living crisis and ongoing strikes contribute to economic stagnation, government spending continue to come under heavy scrutiny as the tax burden remains the highest in 50 years.

According to the Office for National Statistics, inflation remains at 10.4% and food inflation stands at 18.2% – making everyday essentials more difficult to afford for many families.

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Woman arrested on suspicion of murder after death of two children in Stafford

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Woman arrested on suspicion of murder after death of two children in Stafford

A 43-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the death of two children in Stafford.

Police were called to a home on Corporation Street at around 7.30am on Sunday by West Midlands Ambulance Service.

Two children were pronounced dead at the scene, Staffordshire Police said.

Detective Inspector Kirsty Oldfield said: “We are working hard to understand more about what happened leading up to these two children tragically losing their lives.

“We ask that people do not speculate at this stage as it is distressing for family and friends and could hinder our inquiries.

“We understand that this incident may cause concern in the local community. We don’t believe there is wider threat to the public at this time.”

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The 43-year-old woman, who is from the Stafford area, remains in custody.

The force has not confirmed the ages of the two children. Their next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially-trained officers, police said.

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Man charged with stalking after allegedly targeting Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey and his family

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Man charged with stalking after allegedly targeting Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey and his family

A man has been charged with stalking and possession of a flick knife after allegedly targeting Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey and his family.

Inigo Rowland, 58, of Surbiton, south London, was arrested last Monday, but it was only made public on Sunday.

He appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday and was remanded in custody, the Met Police said.

The offences are alleged to have taken place between June and October.

Sir Ed, the MP for Kingston and Surbiton, lives in southwest London with his wife, Emily, their 17-year-old son John, and his younger sister Ellie.

A spokesperson for the Met Police said: “Inigo Rowland, 58, of Surbiton has been charged with stalking and possession of a flick knife.

“He appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 7 October and was remanded into custody. He will next appear at the same court on Tuesday, 14 October.

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“He was arrested on Monday, 6 October in relation to the offences, which are alleged to have taken place between June and October.”

A Lib Dem spokesperson said: “We cannot provide any details at this time, Ed’s number one priority is the safety of his family.”

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Paedophile Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins dies after attack in prison

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Paedophile Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins dies after attack in prison

Paedophile Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins has died after being attacked in prison.

Watkins, 48, was serving a 29-year jail term for multiple sexual offences, including serious crimes against young children and babies at HMP Wakefield, in West Yorkshire.

He was attacked with a knife by another inmate on Saturday morning, sources have confirmed.

West Yorkshire Police said two men, aged 25 and 43, have been arrested on suspicion of murder.

A police van outside Wakefield prison. Pic: YappApp
Image:
A police van outside Wakefield prison. Pic: YappApp

Watkins was pronounced dead at the scene after prison staff reported the assault to police.

The prison went into lockdown in the immediate aftermath of the incident, sources added.

A Prison Service spokesperson said they could not comment while the police investigate.

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Watkins was previously stabbed in an incident at the same prison in 2023, suffering non life-threatening injuries after he was reportedly taken hostage by three other inmates before being freed by prison officers six hours later.

He was sentenced in December 2013 to 29 years in prison, with a further six years on licence, after admitting 13 sex offences, including the attempted rape of a fan’s baby.

Watkins performing in 2004. Pic: PA
Image:
Watkins performing in 2004. Pic: PA

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He also encouraged a second fan to abuse her child during a webcam chat and secretly stashed child sexual abuse videos, some of which he had made himself.

At the time, police described him as a “committed, organised paedophile”.

Having found fame in Welsh rock band Lostprophets, Watkins was arrested after his Pontypridd home was searched on orders of a drug warrant in September 2012.

A large number of computers, mobile phones and storage devices were seized during the search.

When sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court, the singer was told he was being given an extended sentence – and a judge said his crimes “plumbed new depths of depravity”.

After being caught with a mobile phone behind bars in 2019, he told a court that he was locked up with “murderers, mass murderers, rapists, paedophiles, serial killers – the worst of the worst”.

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