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Keir Starmer has come under scrutiny over how he will fund the vast reforms he is planning to secure the future of the NHS.

The Labour leader gave a news briefing in Essex where he laid out his vision for the health service, as well as specific policy proposals and pledges for what his government would do if it wins power at the next election.

The NHS formed one of the five missions Sir Keir laid out in February that will be the core of his election manifesto heading into 2024.

They are:

  • Secure the highest sustained growth in the G7
  • Build an NHS fit for the future
  • Make Britain’s streets safe
  • Break down the barriers to opportunity at every stage
  • Make Britain a clean energy superpower

In his speech, Sir Keir set out three goals for the NHS, including that it would be “fit for purpose” with ambulances arriving within seven minutes for cardiac arrest, that four-hour waiting targets will be met in A&E and that GPs will have the highest satisfaction rate on record under a Labour government.

The second focused on inequalities, with Sir Keir promising to “improve healthy life expectancy for all” and to halt the inequality gap between different regions of England.

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And the third was centred on the “three killers”, with pledges to get heart attacks, cardiovascular disease and strokes down by a quarter in a decade and that 75% of all cancer will be diagnosed at stage one or two.

Finally, he promised to reverse current rates of suicide – the biggest cause of death in men in England under the age of 50.

“Suicide is the biggest killer of young lives in this country, the biggest killer,” he said. “That statistic should haunt us. And the rate is going up. Our mission must be and will be to get it down”.

Shortly after he outlined his ambitions, Sir Keir faced questions from journalists on how his NHS targets and reforms would be funded.

Asked whether whether more money would go into the NHS under his leadership, Sir Keir replied that money was “part of the solution” but added: “It’s not all about money.”

He was also asked about pay for NHS staff, to which he said there will be the “biggest increase in training” in the history of the health service, which the party would pay for by scrapping the non-dom tax status.

Sky’s political correspondent Liz Bates challenged the Labour leader on funding, suggesting that he was trying to “kick the issue into the long grass”.

Asked whether voters could trust his plans if he “wasn’t prepared to say how much they will cost”, Sir Keir replied: “Let’s just call a spade a spade – where we’ve made a proposal about the change we’re going to make, we’ve said how it’s going be funded. So this challenge you put to me that we’ve not said where the money is coming from, it’s just wrong.”

But asked to give an overall estimate for how much the plans would cost, Sir Keir did not provide a specific figure, saying only that the party had set out the costing for “specific proposals in terms” and that technology, research and development would be “the game changers that reduce costs”.

Read more:
Keir Starmer’s struggled for visionary policy – a distinct approach to the NHS could change that
Sir Keir Starmer is seeking to channel Tony Blair – but the Tories could exploit a vulnerability in his plan

How have the plans been received?

Chris Thomas, head of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) commission on health and prosperity, welcomed the plans but said investment would be crucial.

“The NHS was created at a time when conditions like tuberculosis remained among the biggest killers. But today’s challenges are different. A shift to more preventative care – and more care in the community – is long overdue.

“Labour is right in its ambition to create a 21st century plan for a 21st century NHS. But there also needs to be a plan for investment alongside these bold reforms to help make such an aspirational target believable.

“Investing in the things that drive healthier lives, like good housing, a healthy diet and lower smoking rates will be critical for delivering healthier people and a healthier economy.”

But Minister of State for Health and Social Care, Will Quince, accused Sir Keir of shouting “from the sidelines”.

“The truth is Labour in Wales are currently missing all the targets Sir Keir Starmer has just set out for England.

“Labour have been running the health service in Wales for 25 years and haven’t met these targets. Sir Keir has a record of changing his mind – we can’t trust these will be Labour’s targets next week let alone in five years’ time.

“This Conservative government has already reduced 18 month waits by 91% from their peak, and two-year waits are virtually eliminated. We are delivering on our priorities to cut waiting lists and to improve the lives of everyone across the country.”

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Spanish defence minister’s jet suffers GPS disturbance near Russian enclave

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Spanish defence minister's jet suffers GPS disturbance near Russian enclave

A Spanish military jet with a defence minister on board suffered a GPS “disturbance” while on the way to Lithuania, according to Spanish officials.

The military aircraft was flying near Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave on Wednesday morning when the incident is reported to have happened.

Margarita Robles was the minister on the flight, according to Spanish officials.

A commander onboard the Spanish plane said such incidents are common when flying near Kaliningrad, both for civil and military aircraft – and military satellites could also be used to navigate.

A Spanish defence ministry spokesperson said: “There has been an attempt to disrupt the GPS signal, but as our aircraft has an encrypted system, it was not affected.

“It must be common on this route and also with commercial flights. It is not because it is our aircraft.”

Read more: Who is messing with GPS signals – and why?

Ms Robles was due to have a bilateral meeting with her Lithuanian counterpart Dovile Sakaliene during a visit to the Siauliai airbase on Wednesday, according to the Spanish government’s agenda.

The plane was also carrying relatives of Spanish airmen forming part of the new NATO air defence mission on Europe’s eastern flank.

It was launched earlier this month after Poland shot down drones that had violated its airspace.

The Spanish contingent last week intercepted eight Russian aircraft operating over the Baltic Sea, Spain’s defence ministry added in a statement.

Ms Robles, 68, has been Spain’s defence minister since 2018.

In June, she said Spain was “absolutely committed” to NATO and the European Union.

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Ursula von der Leyen speaks in Lithuania on 1 September. Pic: AP
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Ursula von der Leyen speaks in Lithuania on 1 September. Pic: AP

Then in August, the minister said Spain would work to “invigorate” the European fighter jet project, known as FCAS.

It came after Spain revealed it was no longer considering the option of buying US-made F-35 fighter jets and would refocus its defence spending on buying European-made equipment.

At the end of August, a plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suffered GPS jamming as a result of suspected Russian interference, an EU spokesperson told Sky News.

Estonia and neighbouring Finland have also previously blamed Russia for jamming GPS navigation devices in the region’s airspace.

Russia has denied interfering with communication and satellite networks.

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Israel kills 22 people including 9 children in ‘horrific massacre’ in Gaza, Palestinian officials say

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Israel kills 22 people including 9 children in 'horrific massacre' in Gaza, Palestinian officials say

Israel killed 22 people – including nine children – in strikes on Gaza City today, Palestinian officials say.

Gaza civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Bassal described the killings as a “horrific massacre”.

Video purportedly from the scene of the attack on the Souq Firas area of the city showed the bodies of children being pulled from the rubble.

A total of 51 people have been killed across Gaza today, according to hospital medics in the Hamas-run territory.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, said the oxygen station at Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza had stopped operating “due to Israeli occupation forces firing at it”.

“Operations are currently being conducted using pre-filled oxygen cylinders, which are sufficient for only three days,” the group said.

“Occupation forces are currently stationed at the southern gate of the society’s Al-Quds Hospital in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood of Gaza City, preventing anyone from entering or leaving the hospital.”

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China and Hong Kong brace for super typhoon after 14 killed in Taiwan – with 129 missing

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China and Hong Kong brace for super typhoon after 14 killed in Taiwan - with 129 missing

At least 14 people have been killed in an area of Taiwan popular with tourists after Super Typhoon Ragasa lashed the island nation, with Hong Kong and mainland China braced for impact.

The powerful storm – the strongest in years – has forced thousands to flee their homes, with flights cancelled and schools and businesses shuttered as about 70cm (28 inches) of rain has fallen on eastern areas.

At least four more people were reported to have been killed in the Philippines, where nearly 700,000 people were affected by the super typhoon in the main northern region of Luzon.

The deaths in Taiwan were reported in the eastern Taiwanese county of Hualien, which is popular with tourists.

At least 129 people are missing after a town, Guangfu, was flooded by a deluge from a barrier lake which burst its banks on Tuesday afternoon.

Around 60 million tonnes of water was released, the Taiwanese government said, the equivalent of a major reservoir in southern Taiwan.

A man stands near a military vehicle on a road filled with mud brought by flooding in Hualien, Taiwan. Pic: Reuters
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A man stands near a military vehicle on a road filled with mud brought by flooding in Hualien, Taiwan. Pic: Reuters

Taiwan’s fire department said all the fatalities and missing people are from Guangfu.

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One resident, a postman who gave his family name as Hsieh, told Reuters news agency the water hit like a “tsunami” which swept his car into his living room.

Late on Wednesday morning, a new flood warning sounded in Guangfu, where shouts were heard from residents and rescuers of “the flood waters are coming, run fast”.

Elsewhere, Dama, a village of around 1,000 people, has been completely flooded.

Its chieftain, Wang Tse-an, told Reuters many locals are still stranded there, adding: “It’s chaotic now. There are mud and rocks everywhere.”

Regions across Taiwan have sent at least 340 soldiers to Hualien to help rescue efforts.

In Guangfu, troops operating from an armoured personnel carrier to avoid the thick mud on the streets went door-to-door
handing out water and instant noodles.

Ragasa is set to hit China’s Guangdong province, where more than 370,000 residents have been evacuated, on Wednesday.

Hong Kong’s storm level is at its highest level of 10 as people reported being woken by fierce winds in the early hours.

Parts of a pedestrian bridge’s roof were blown away, hundreds of trees were knocked down across the city and more than 30 injured people were treated at hospitals.

A video that showed waves of water crashing through the doors of a hotel and flooding its interiors went viral in the financial hub, where warnings of hurricane-force winds of well over 120mph have been issued.

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