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Pet insurance payouts reached a record high in 2022 with insurers dishing out more than £1 billion as veterinary costs soared, new figures show. Some 1.3 million claims were made in total during the year, 28% more than in 2021, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) revealed. Dogs make up the majority of pet insurance claims, followed by cats. Claims for more expensive treatment like spinal surgery can be up

Patients’ access to healthcare when they are in urgent need is “worsening” and improving services will be a “significant challenge” for the NHS, according to a new report. It comes at a time when more people than ever are seeking unplanned and urgent NHS care, according to the National Audit Office (NAO) study. The report sets out a number of struggles which patients face when trying to access urgent and

Nurse Lucy Letby was “completely out of control” when she attacked three babies on her return from a holiday in Ibiza, a court has heard. Prosecutor Nick Johnson KC said Letby, 33, had “got away with so much” at that point it gave her the “misplaced confidence that she could pretty much do whatever she wanted” at the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit. Letby is alleged to have murdered seven babies and attempted

US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter has been charged with failing to pay federal income tax and illegally possessing a weapon and has reached an agreement with the Justice Department, according to letter filed in the US District Court in Delaware. As part of the agreement, made public on Tuesday, the 53-year-old will plead guilty to misdemeanour tax offences and is expected to reach an agreement with prosecutors on the felony charge of illegally

Arsenal and England forward Bukayo Saka has funded accommodation for Turkish families displaced by February’s earthquake. The 21-year-old, who scored his first professional hat-trick as England thrashed North Macedonia 7-0 in a Euro 2024 qualifier at Old Trafford on Monday night, has been working with charity organisation Big Shoe to help people in need in Turkey. Over 50,000 people were killed after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria earlier this

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said “the thing that sustains me right now is the certainty that I have done nothing wrong”, as she spoke at the Scottish Parliament for the first time since being arrested in a probe into the SNP’s finances. Ms Sturgeon spent nearly seven hours in custody after being arrested on Sunday June 11, before she was released without charge pending further investigation. Speaking to

The Home Secretary’s call to ramp up the use of stop and search would “further alienate and isolate” people, a former police chief and safeguarding expert has said. Jim Gamble said police must make “sensible and sensitive judgments” rather than being “driven by a political agenda about being tough on crime”. Earlier this week, Suella Braverman called on police to “ramp up” the use of controversial stop and search powers “to prevent