Britain’s National Health Service is “undeniably under enormous pressure”, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has admitted, as he refused to say whether he used private health care amid record waiting times for treatment.
Speaking on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC, Mr Sunak said the health service was struggling but insisted “we can get to grips” with the problem.
He said he had met NHS leaders and now had a “renewed sense of confidence and optimism”.
Mr Sunak has made reducing the NHS waiting lists one of his key priorities over the next two years and has held emergency talks with health leaders to alleviate the crisis.
But unlike Conservative former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who spoke of exercising her "right as a free citizen to spend my own money in my own way" to seek private health care, Mr Sunak refused to say whether he has paid to avoid waiting lists himself.
Mr Sunak refused to say, despite repeated questioning, whether he used a private GP, after claims earlier emerged he was registered with a private practice in west London that guarantees patients with urgent concerns will be seen "on the day".
He said he “grew up in an NHS family” with a father who was a doctor and a mother who worked as a pharmacist.
"As a general policy, I wouldn't ever talk about me or my family's healthcare situation.
"But it's not really relevant, what's relevant is the difference I can make to the country."
The nursing union told him to "come clean" on the issue, while Labour said Mr Sunak gave the impression of being a leader who "not only doesn't use the NHS but doesn't understand the scale of the challenges".
Royal College of Nursing General Secretary, Pat Cullen, who has been leading strikes in an attempt to secure nurses a better pay deal, told Ms Kuenssberg: "I think as a public servant, you ought to be clear with the public whether or not you are using private health cover.
"That's about being open, it's about being transparent and it's about honesty.
"I think he needed to come clean. As a public servant he is elected by the public, so he is accountable to the public and when you're accountable to the public, you have to be honest with them."
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting told the programme he did not use private health care, as he sought to paint Mr Sunak as being out of touch.
"I thought the Prime Minister in that interview gave the impression of someone who not only doesn't use the NHS but doesn't understand the scale of the challenges or have a plan to deal with the fundamental problems," the Labour MP said.
"Because, yes, you can get people around the table in No 10 for a photo op, yes, you can do more sticking plasters to get through this winter ... but we need fundamental change in the NHS to deal with what is the biggest crisis in its history and that's what Labour is looking to do."
Mr Sunak questioned figures from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, which claims at least 300 people a week are dying because of delays in accident and emergency departments.
“The NHS themselves have said that they don’t recognise those numbers and would be careful about bandying them around,” he said.
But he admitted there had been unacceptable delays in ambulance handovers.
Mr Sunak said the problem was "not going to be solved overnight” but that ensuring patients were discharged from hospital to social care, home settings and virtual wards would help ease the situation.
He said he was confident patients would no longer have to wait 18 months for treatment.
He said he would be meeting the nurses’ union on Monday after strikes by the profession.
“It’s important they recognise the work they do is appreciated and I’m grateful and the government is grateful for it,” he said.
“And that’s why we want to have a reasonable, honest, two-way conversation about pay and everything else that is relevant”.
Nurses strike in the UK - in pictures
He said the “door has always been open” to “talk about things that are reasonable, affordable and responsible for the country”.
“When it comes to pay, as I’ve said, it’s not appropriate for those conversations to happen in public but the most important thing is that we are talking,” he said.
Ms Cullen said she heard “a chink of optimism” in his comments.
She said Monday's meeting was "not addressing the issues that are at dispute, and that is addressing pay for 2022/23".
She added: “What the government wants to talk about tomorrow is pay moving forward and in the broadest terms. And that is not going to avert the strike action that’s planned for 10 days’ time.”
Prof Clive Kay, chief executive of King’s College Hospital, who was also on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, said the past year was the worst he had experienced “by far” in his 40 years working in the NHS.
After listening to Mr Sunak’s comments, he said he did not think the Prime Minister had grasped the difficulty of the situation.
“This is not just a winter 2022/2023 problem," he said. "[It’s going to take] quite a time to fix this. We need some realistic conversations about the situation we are in, how difficult it is, what the public can expect.
"And I think the suggestion that there's going to be a quick fix is not a reality."
In his BBC interview, Mr Sunak also spoke about inflation, saying it was vital to many issues facing the UK, including nurses’ salary demands.
"We can't help anybody, whether it’s nurses or everyone else, unless we get inflation down and that’s why it’s one of our five priorities.”
He repeated those priorities, which are "to halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists and stop the [migrant] boats."
Mr Sunak also addressed the crisis in the country’s immigration system, which is suffering from a large backlog in asylum applications.
He said: “My view is if you come here illegally you should not have the right to stay and you will be detained and then swiftly removed, either to your home … or indeed to a safe third alternative.”
He said new laws would be passed early this year and should apply to everyone who arrives in the UK illegally.
He pointed out that Albania, “a safe country”, accounted for almost a third of illegal migrant arrivals last year.
“Other European countries return illegal migrants to Albania, we were not doing that sufficiently,” he said.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Match info:
Burnley 0
Manchester United 2
Lukaku (22', 44')
Red card: Marcus Rashford (Man United)
Man of the match: Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United)
Super Bowl LIII schedule
What Super Bowl LIII
Who is playing New England Patriots v Los Angeles Rams
Where Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, United States
When Sunday (start time is 3.30am on Monday UAE time)
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
6.30pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes Group Three US$200,000 (Turf) 2,000m; Winner: Ghaiyyath, William Buick (jockey), Charlie Appleby (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Cliffs Of Capri, Tadhg O’Shea, Jamie Osborne.
7.40pm: UAE Oaks Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.15pm: Zabeel Mile Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Zakouski, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
8.50pm: Meydan Sprint Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,000m; Winner: Waady, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
