Russian ambassador – We haven’t ‘started yet to act very seriously’
In an extraordinary interview with Laura Kuenssberg, the Russian ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin repeatedly deflected questions about Russian war crimes, instead suggesting Ukraine posed a threat to Russia. He said Russia had the power to massively escalate the conflict, and claimed it was a ‘big idealistic mistake to think that Ukraine may prevail’:
Is the government really building 40 new hospitals?
Kuenssberg questioned whether the government’s manifesto pledge to build 40 new hospitals was as extensive as they claimed it to be. Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the government was sticking with the proposals made in 2020, but Kuenssberg pointed out that many of the projects are just refurbishments or repairs:
Steve Barclay – junior doctor pay demands are ‘not reasonable’
NHS pay disputes rumble on, with junior doctor strikes planned for June. Steve Barclay told Kuenssberg that the junior doctors’ refusal to budge from their demands of a 35 per cent pay increase was not fair, although he conceded that there needed to be ‘movement on all sides’.
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