So little money has been set aside by the NHS for the rollout of the Mounjaro weight-loss jab in GP surgeries that as few as one in five people with life-threatening obesity is likely to get treatment, new research shows.

The NHS estimates that around 220,000 people living with obesity will be eligible for treatment through their GP over the next three years.

But Freedom of Information requests by the British Medical Journal revealed that funding from NHS England has fallen well short of what is needed for the rollout.

Just nine out of 40 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in England said they had enough funding to treat the 70% of eligible patients who are expected to come forward.

Four ICBs – which plan health services in local areas – said NHS funding covered just 25% or fewer of their eligible patients.

Coventry and Warwickshire ICB said funding would only stretch to treat 21% of its patients.

The findings confirm an investigation by Sky News earlier this summer that access to Mounjaro is a postcode lottery for people living with obesity.

Ellen Welch, Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) co-chair, told the BMJ: “These figures confirm the fear that the rollout is not fit for purpose.

“There is a huge discrepancy between national messaging and what patients are actually being delivered on a local level.”

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Five ICBs admitted they are already considering further tightening the prescribing criteria or rationing the treatment beyond the plan agreed by the NHS.

Any change would effectively move the goalposts for people who thought they qualified for NHS treatment.

Birmingham and Solihull ICB received funding to cover just 52% of its eligible patients. It admitted: “Difficult decisions are having to be made to ensure money is spent in the most effective and efficient way possible and for the greatest patient benefit.”

Dr Jonathan Hazlehurst, an obesity specialist and researcher at the University of Birmingham, said NHS England has only provided funding for just over 22,000 patients in the first year of the rollout.

“It shows that there’s a lack of political will to fund this adequately,” he told Sky News.

“NHS England says that obesity costs the NHS £11.4bn per annum as a pure NHS cost.

“Yet we can’t even afford to properly fund the rollout of a life-changing drug in year one. That just doesn’t make any sense.”

An NHS spokesperson said: “The NHS is fully supporting the phased rollout of tirzepatide for eligible patients, having issued guidance in line with the NICE guidance, and provided funding to local ICBs to support patient care in March 2025.

“These represent brand-new services in primary care that are being established and scaled up over time, starting with those who are in the most need – and in the meantime, eligible patients can get weight loss support from a range of other services, including the NHS Digital Weight Management programme.”

A man whose arrest sparked a series of protests outside an Essex hotel housing asylum seekers, has been found guilty of sexual assault.

The Bell Hotel in Epping became the focal point of demonstrations after Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was arrested, and later charged, on 13 July with the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl.

Ethiopian national Kebatu, 41, was alleged to have attempted to kiss the teenager, put his hand on her thigh and brushed her hair in July after she offered him pizza.

An adult member of the public also accused Kebatu of trying to kiss her, putting his hand on her leg and telling her she was pretty, days after he arrived in the UK on a small boat.

Kebatu, who was a “teacher of sports” in his home country, had denied two counts of sexual assault, one count of attempted sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, and one count of harassment without violence near the Bell Hotel.

But at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, he was found guilty of all charges. District judge Christopher Williams took just 30 minutes to return the verdicts and his reasoning.

The three-day trial heard Kebatu had also told two teenagers he wanted to “have a baby with each of them” – but Kebatu had previously told the trial he was “not a wild animal”.

Mr Williams said he was not persuaded there was “any evidence to suggest the children fabricated any of the evidence they gave”.

The defendant, wearing a grey tracksuit and sitting with a translator, gave no visible reaction as Mr Williams told him he was guilty.

Kebatu is due to be sentenced at the same court on 23 September.

The judge told the defendant that he should expect an “immediate custodial sentence”.

Essex Police Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Hooper paid tribute to the victims for ensuring the evidence put before the court was strong and true.

“It is because of their accounts of what happened, and the close co-operation with our Crown Prosecution Service colleagues, that we have been able to secure this conviction.

“We’re acutely aware that this incident has attracted widespread public interest.

“We have always said that we treat and investigate every report made to us without fear or favour.”

‘It must never happen again’

Conservative shadow Home Office minister Katie Lam said the guilty verdict showed the risks of allowing asylum seekers “to roam around communities freely”.

“The crimes of this illegal migrant are shocking and heart-breaking and the victims have shown incredible bravery.

“This must never be allowed to happen again. Every illegal migrant should be detained immediately and swiftly deported.”

The incidents sparked protests and counter-protests outside the former Bell Hotel – as well as at hotels housing asylum seekers across the country.

Rebecca Mundy, deputy chief crown prosecutor with CPS East of England, said: “This was an incident which became a cause of deep concern for the local community.

“Our prosecutors worked carefully and impartially to bring this case to justice according to the law.”

A total of 17 people have been injured, with most taken to hospital, after a bus struck pedestrians on a busy London street.

The driver of the Route 24 bus was among those hurt after the bus mounted the pavement on Victoria Street, near Victoria Station.

It took place at around 8.20am on Thursday, according to the Metropolitan Police.

“Two people were treated at the scene, while 15 were taken to and remain in hospital. This includes the driver of the bus. There were no life-threatening injuries reported,” police said in a statement.

A number of emergency vehicles, including police cars, ambulances and a fire engine, were called to the scene, with bus passengers also understood to be among those injured.

The road remains closed, with all vehicles being diverted from the area, police said.

Images from the scene show the front of the bus with visible damage and the windscreen smashed.

‘People were screaming’

Emit Suker, 47, told PA news agency: “It (the bus) was coming from Westminster. There were about 15, 16 people inside the bus. People were screaming – it was terrible.”

Another eyewitness said: “I heard a massive crash – came outside and there was a woman on the floor with loads of people around her.

“Lots of people from the gym had run out to help her.”

A trail of diesel running down Allington Street forced police to ban smoking in the area over fears of an incident.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson confirmed it was called at 8.20am to reports of a road traffic collision.

They added: “We have sent resources to the scene, including ambulance crews, advanced paramedics, a paramedic in a fast response car, a clinical team manager, an incident response officer and a command support vehicle. We’ve also dispatched London’s Air Ambulance.

‘Distressing incident’

Rosie Trew, Transport for London’s (TfL) head of bus service delivery, said: “Our thoughts are with the people who have been injured following a bus incident at Victoria Street.

“We are working with the police and the operator, Transport UK, to urgently investigate this incident.

“This must have been a distressing incident for everyone involved and we have support available for anyone affected.”

Dashcam footage appeal

Detective Chief Superintendent Christina Jessah said the crash would have been “very distressing” and, as part of the police investigation, they were asking for people to send in any footage of the incident.

“We are appealing for any witnesses or anyone with information to please contact us. We welcome any dashcam or mobile phone footage.

“We are working closely with our partners to clear the scene, but the road will remain closed for the next few hours, so please seek alternative routes,” she said.

Two pedestrians have been killed in bus crashes in the Victoria area in recent years.

Catherine Finnegan, 56, from County Galway, Ireland, died after she was hit by a double-decker bus at Victoria bus station in January last year.

In August 2021, Melissa Burr, 32, from Rainham, Kent, was killed at the station after bus driver Olusofa Popoola accidentally accelerated into the back of a stationary bus, shunting it into her.