UK & World News
The latest UK & World news stories from the Press Association.
PM quashes Lansley speculation
00:05, Feb 12 2012
David Cameron has sought to quash speculation over the survival of health secretary Andrew Lansley and his controversial NHS shake-up.
The Prime Minister insisted he was "at one" with Mr Lansley and the legislation going through parliament.
He also attacked Labour for "opportunism" on the issue - claiming the proposals were an "evolution" from changes introduced by the previous government.
The intervention comes amid growing pressure for the Health and Social Care Bill to be scrapped. Several Conservative Cabinet ministers are said to have privately condemned Mr Lansley's handling of the package, with one suggesting the problems were now on the scale of the Poll Tax in the 1980s.
A Downing Street source was also quoted last week saying that the health secretary should be "taken out and shot".
However, writing in The Sunday Times, Mr Cameron stressed that there was no alternative to reform.
The Prime Minister - whose disabled son Ivan died in 2009 - said: "As a parent, night after night, I've known what it is to have the NHS by your side. I've seen the dedication - the reassurance that if the worst happens, the NHS will be there for your family.
"That's why I so strongly support the founding principle of the NHS: health care for all, free at the point of use, unrelated to the ability to pay. That won't change. But while the values are right, the system isn't. It needs to change - and that is why I am at one with Andrew Lansley, the reform programme and the legislation going through Parliament. The shortcomings of the status quo are well known. There's too much bureaucracy - and too much decision-making is led by that bureaucracy rather than clinicians."
Mr Cameron said the Government was providing an extra £12.5 billion in this parliament to eradicate health inequalities and cope with cost pressures.
Mr Cameron insisted the Bill gave "power to doctors and nurses", and would lead to "more choice for patients and competition for treatment". The "staggering" £4.5 billion savings would be ploughed back into patient care, he added.
Pair set for child cruelty sentence 16:05, May 21 2012
A mother and stepfather who forced their 11-year-old son to live in a filthy converted coal-bunker have been put behind bars. more
Bomber kills 90 at military drill 15:05, May 21 2012
At least 90 soldiers were killed and dozens of others injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a military parade drill in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. more
Mandelson denies deal with Murdoch 15:05, May 21 2012
Lord Mandelson has denied there was any deal between Labour and Rupert Murdoch's newspaper empire ahead of the 1997 general election. more
MacAskill defends Megrahi release 15:05, May 21 2012
Scotland's Justice Secretary has defended his decision to release the Lockerbie bomber almost three years ago as the only man convicted of the tragedy is buried in Libya today. more
Bomber kills 60 at military drill 14:05, May 21 2012
At least 60 soldiers were killed and dozens of others injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a military parade drill in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. more
Olympic flame goes out during relay 13:05, May 21 2012
The Olympic torch went out for the first time during the London 2012 relay, organisers have confirmed. more
Missing children website relaunched 13:05, May 21 2012
An official website to help find missing and abducted children from the UK has been relaunched by the police's specialist child protection agency. more
Watchdog launches Hunt inquiry 13:05, May 21 2012
Westminster's sleaze watchdog has launched an inquiry into Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt following claims that he failed to register donations from media firms, it was revealed. more
38 soldiers killed in Yemen attack 12:05, May 21 2012
At least 38 soldiers were killed and dozens of others injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a military parade drill in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. more
Miliband attacks social inequality 12:05, May 21 2012
Ed Miliband has accused the Government of taking backward steps on social mobility by allowing inequality to grow and denying bright youngsters from poor backgrounds the chance to succeed. more
The latest UK & World news stories from the Press Association.
