Wes Streeting Joins Mail’s Life-Saving Campaign

Prostate (healthy prostate gland), visualized in ultrasound in frontal view.

Wes Streeting has declared his backing for a national prostate cancer screening programme in a major boost for the Mail’s campaign.

The health secretary told MPs he would like to see the NHS proactively offer men tests for the disease in a move that could prevent thousands of needless deaths.

He said he is ‘particularly sympathetic’ to the argument that this should initially be targeted at high-risk men.

Black people and those with a family history of prostate cancer are included in this.

His comments came a day after a landmark poll revealed 94 percent of GPs also back the Mail’s calls for such a scheme.

Analysis by Prostate Cancer Research indicates this would lead to an additional 775 cases being diagnosed early each year among men aged 45 to 69.

Later this year, the UK National Screening Committee, which advises the government on which screening programs to offer, is expected to report on its conclusions after taking into account recent advancements in the detection of prostate cancer.

Writing exclusively in the Mail today, Mr Streeting says: ‘I hope they can recommend a way forward that allows the NHS to seek out prostate cancer more proactively for those most at risk.’

Prostate cancer is the most diagnosed form of cancer in England, with 55,033 cases identified in 2023, the latest figures reveal.

Detecting prostate cancer early improves the probability of successfully treating the disease, which kills about 10,200 men in England each year.

There is presently a screening programme for breast, bowel and cervical cancer – but not for prostate.

In front of members of the Commons Health and Social Care Committee, Mr Streeting stated his support for prostate cancer screening.

Joe Robertson, Conservative MP for Isle of Wight East, asked Mr Streeting: ‘Can I finish by asking whether you would like to see a national prostate cancer screening programme for men at high risk of the disease?’

He replied: ‘I would, I would like to see that.

‘But, and this is such an important but, decisions in this area do need to be evidence-based and evidence-led, and that’s why we have a National Screening Committee.

‘So, I’ve asked the National Screening Committee to look at this, and they are.

‘I think there is an even more compelling case around groups that are at higher risk of prostate cancer.’

Speaking earlier in the day, Mr Streeting told BBC Breakfast: ‘I’m particularly sympathetic to the arguments that are being made about the need for screening for those men who are more susceptible to the risk of this type of cancer.’

LBC radio presenter Nick Ferrari told Mr Streeting he has been given the all-clear after having a test two weeks ago and asked his opinion of the Mail’s campaign.

He replied: ‘This is a really important campaign.

‘Awareness is really important, and making sure that people do go and get checked is important – if there are any worrying signs or symptoms – that people go and get checked and don’t feel awkward about talking about it.

‘There shouldn’t be a taboo around this any more than there should be a taboo around issues like breast cancer or anything else, frankly.’

Leading prostate cancer charities last night welcomed Mr Streeting’s support and urged the screening committee to follow suit.

Amy Rylance, assistant director of health improvement at Prostate Cancer UK, said: ‘It’s great to hear Wes Streeting express his support for a prostate cancer screening programme, and acknowledging that some men have a higher risk of getting the disease than others.

‘We are a data and evidence-based charity.

‘We know that diagnosing prostate cancer is safer and more accurate than ever before and that targeted screening of the most at-risk men will save thousands of men’s lives a year.

‘We submitted our evidence backing this up to the National Screening Committee over two years ago – it’s about time we got a decision.’

David James, director of patient projects and influencing at Prostate Cancer Research, said: ‘We enthusiastically welcome Wes Streeting’s personal support for introducing a national screening programme for men at highest risk of prostate cancer.

‘The evidence shows that targeted screening will save lives, deliver an economic boost to the country, ease long-term pressure on the NHS, and tackle unacceptable health inequalities.

‘The public is behind it, and healthcare professionals support it. We urge the National Screening Committee to formally recommend this change.’

Prostate cancer has claimed the lives of several people in recent years, including BBC News host Bill Turnbull, Strictly Come Dancing judge Len Goodman, and Formula One chairman Eddie Jordan.

Chef Ken Hom, comedian Sir Stephen Fry, and Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy have all discussed their diagnoses to help spread the word about the illness.

It’s about time because tens of thousands of men die of this disease in Britain each year. This disease has been neglected for funding for years, and it’s the biggest killer of men, yet it has gone under the radar.

What they should do is arrange for a person to see their nurse at their local GP practice so that they can have a PSA test every year from the age of 45 onward.

PSA testing (Prostrate-Specific Antigen) is a blood test that measures the amount of PSA, a protein produced by the prostate gland, in your blood, and can help detect possible prostate concerns, including prostate cancer.

Their recommended nationwide screening criteria are inadequate. In the UK, they will only check males who are Black or who have a family history of prostate cancer, which is a very small portion of the male population.

Also, Wes Streeting needs to get a move on because it shouldn’t take this long for something so important to get approval.

The problem is, there is no extra staff, no additional pools of cash, and that’s why these people have been left without testing. It takes a long time to train extra urologists, radiologists and pathologists, and there needs to be money to increase the capacity for this.

The NHS just can’t cope, what with the world and his wife using it for free. I mean, how much did they spend on interpreters in the last five years? Funny how that never gets published.

I could never comprehend why women were screened routinely but men were not – a tad discriminating, don’t you think? And not having this screening programme is a national disgrace. If a woman had a prostate things would have moved a lot quicker.

However, Wes Streeting needs an NHS that is able to cope. Urology departments will have their workloads at least doubled. He will thus need to double their budgets or screening will lead to lengthy waiting lists for treatment, which kind of defeats the objective of early detection.

I wonder whether Wes Streeting is simply wearing the emperor’s new clothes because he appears to talk a lot.

Honestly, I don’t think any of this will ever happen.

As a gender, men are useless at looking after themselves and getting tested for anything. Women are much more proactive and push for regular screening, and good for them, but men have to wake up too because it’s a lengthy process to get screened and that in itself is extremely scary.

It’s considerate of Wes to shift the blame on the screening committee, making them accountable if it is denied. I would instruct the NHS to screen and fire any non-compliant individuals.

These are more promises that probably won’t be kept. One step closer, but how many more years before it becomes a reality? Wes appears to be able to talk the talk but will he put all that talking into practice?

Chelmsford Prisoner Dies After Choking On Food

A resident at HMP Chelmsford died in hospital after having a choking episode. Peter Dickson, 66, was at the Category B prison when he was rushed to Broomfield Hospital last month.

Mr Dickson, whose reason for being a resident at the prison is not known, was said to have had a choking episode at the prison, on Springfield Road, Chelmsford, on March 13 this year. He was rushed to hospital but his condition deteriorated, Essex Coroner’s Court heard.

The prisoner’s demise was confirmed at the hospital. A provisional cause of death was recorded as hypoxic brain injury and choking on food.

Coroner Michelle Brown said: “Peter Dickson, from Basildon, died at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford. This 66-year-old man was at HMP Chelmsford.

“He was found to have had a choking episode. He was admitted to hospital and continued to deteriorate and died at 8.15 am on March 13.

“A provisional cause of death was hypoxic brain injury and choking on food. This will not be a documentary.”

HMP Chelmsford has a population largely made up by people on remand, meaning they either await their trial or sentencing. Coroner Michelle Brown said: “He was a resident of HMP Chelmsford so by nature of that it will go to the complex team for them to deal with.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Peter Dickson died at HMP Chelmsford on March 13th 2025. As with all deaths in custody, the Prison and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.”

But Facebook was filled with hateful remarks, and it’s startling how many people see those who are incarcerated. To go back to jail and have a place to sleep and eat, some homeless persons commit small-time offences.

There are not enough staff members to care for inmates in overcrowded prisons. Some of these locations have filthy conditions due to mould growth and moisture from sewage leaks.

Perhaps if our government stopped housing all these immigrants our people wouldn’t be in these situations.

There have also been people who have been accommodated there because of a mental breakdown and required urgent assistance because they were a threat to themselves, and the powers that be don’t have anywhere else to put them. People need to think before they articulate because some proper scummy human beings are commenting like little keyboard warriors following the stench of social media.

Labor-run Bin Strike Could Lead To Rat Plague In Birmingham

As the current rubbish situation worsens, experts have warned that warmer temperatures might be lethal for Birmingham citizens.

The city has been plagued by ongoing bin strikes, which have caused streets to pile high with an estimated 170,000 tons of rubbish.

Workers have been on strike for weeks after the Labour-run Birmingham City Council announced intentions to cut rubbish collection jobs and wages to strengthen its finances.

The strikes started on March 11 when members of the Unite union walked out over the long-running dispute.

The local authority in the city has since declared a ‘major incident’ amid rising concerns about public health.

Now, with highs of 21C forecast for the coming week, the increased heat could put residents at a tremendous threat of disease.

As rats continue to thrive in the city’s filth, with some reported being ‘the size of cats,’ concerns have been raised that they could begin to spread Weil’s disease.

The potentially deadly disease is a bacterial infection which is found in the urine of feral animals. It is known to spread quickly in warm weather.

Infectious disease expert Dr Elizabeth Sheridan told The Telegraph that Weil’s – can be spread by rats – is what she is most concerned about for residents.

She said the heat makes rats breed faster, creating a higher risk of people coming in contact with the creature’s urine.

She added: ‘Most people don’t know if they have been exposed to rat urine. You are at risk if you handle things that rats have been running over and that gets into your system.

‘For example, if you were handling bin bags and it got into your eyes or you put your hands in your mouth.

‘If anyone is handling stuff where rats have been, they should wear gloves and wash their hands.’

Dr Sheridan said that the disease can prove fatal in certain cases, but added that most people will have a fever that can be treated with antibiotics.

However, the severe symptoms are most likely to occur in older adults with weakened immune systems.

Between 2020 and 2023, there were on average 57 confirmed cases and 89 possible cases of Weil’s disease, according to the UK Health Secretary Agency.

Headaches, stomach aches, body pains, vomiting, and fever are some of the symptoms.

In 2010, Olympic gold medalist rower Andy Holmes died from the disease after a 26-mile sculling marathon.

Adam Kent, a Worcestershire councillor for the Wythall area, revealed the problem in a photo he posted on social media last month. He called the contrast ‘deeply concerning’.

To make matters worse for cash-strapped Birmingham City Council, which was declared virtually bankrupt in 2023, wants to raise the ‘rat tax’ – the charging for pest control – a service which was once free.

Outraged residents now have to pay £24 per call out but the council plans to hike costs once again to £26.40.

Rebel councillor Sam Forsyth has slammed the Labour-run council, telling BirminghamLive she had ‘no choice’ but to vote against their budget proposals as increased ‘rat tax’ would hit the city’s most impoverished the hardest.

But speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions on April 2, Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘In relation to the situation in Birmingham, it is completely unacceptable.

‘I fully support the council in declaring a major incident to resolve the situation and we will put in whatever additional support is needed.’

The rat infestation has become so dire the rodents have been dubbed the Squeaky Blinders because they seem to have the city in their grasp – much like the Peaky Blinders gang of the late nineteenth century which inspired the BBC drama series of the same name.

Mr Timms, who runs WJ Pest Solutions, says he caught a 22-inch rat last week – the same size as a ferret, some monkeys or a small dog – and has only had one day off in nearly three months.

He said: ‘The issue is getting out of control. There are bags piled 5ft high and 10-15ft across.

‘Rats the size of kittens are being seen daily. I had one last week that measured over 22 inches in length.’

Mr Timms said that ‘on the odd occasion’ West Midlands Police had been called out to help deal with the problem, but the force today denied that its firearms unit had been involved in tackling the rodent menace.

Other pest controllers across Birmingham say they have also seen business levels double since the strikes began and there’s also been a surge in cockroaches.

Mr Timms added: ‘Work increase has been 50 per cent more compared to previous years. Cockroach calls have also gone up too.

‘As a born and bred Brummie, I feel disgusting how the city looks.

‘On my street alone we have bins that haven’t been collected, with black sacks starting to pile up, I had a day off for the first time in two months as my wife and body were telling me it’s time for a break.’

There appears to be turmoil and unhappiness anywhere there is a council that is ruled by the Labour Party.

Labour doesn’t seem to be content with just bringing in third-world citizens, they’re even terraforming areas into natural habitats for them.

Unfortunately, despite being urged not to, individuals chose to vote for Labour. Now we have this vile mess, its entire corrupt administration, and a serious health risk.

I can see the return of the plague, and the silence from Starmer is deafening.

We need the bin guys, so just give them what they’re requesting before things go out of control.

A Hospital Writes Off £250 Million In Foreign Debt

Cash-strapped hospitals have written off £256.4 million owed by foreign patients because they forgot to check that they were properly entitled to free NHS treatment.

An investigation by The Mail on Sunday reveals escalating deficits from health tourists – who have had everything from spinal surgery to heart care and cancer treatment – is creating a growing black hole in NHS finances.

In the last year alone, £44 million has been lost – a 63 percent increase on the £26.9 million that hospitals had to write off in 2017-18.

Based on a thorough Freedom of Information request to trusts throughout England and an examination of healthcare finances during the last seven years, our research has made these shocking conclusions as follows:

  • Just a third of the £621 million owed by overseas visitors to hospitals has been repaid.
  • One Nigerian patient who had planned treatment at Barts Health NHS Trust in London ran up a near £500,000 bill, and a Romanian patient owes Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust in south London £71,000.
  • More than 400 overseas patients had non-urgent treatment last year at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust in east London – with 285 invoices still outstanding for a combined total of £1.3 million.
  • The number of healthcare tourists using the NHS for planned treatment has doubled in nine years, adding to growing waiting lists for taxpayers.

Last night, after being confronted with the MoS’s investigation, Health Secretary Wes Streeting pledged he would act to ‘clean up this mess’.

Nevertheless, the figures are likely to be the tip of the iceberg as only patients who have been identified as having to pay are included – raising fears that many more millions of pounds are falling through the net.

Tory MP Joe Robertson, who is on the Commons Health and Social Care Committee, said: ‘Britain is not a healthcare charity for the world. NHS management needs to charge these people upfront before they receive any planned treatment. That way chancers can’t abscond without paying the bill.

‘The NHS can’t claim it needs more money while writing off millions of pounds of debt owed by foreign nationals for elective, non-urgent surgery.

‘If a tourist has an accident on holiday in the UK it is fair they receive emergency care, but the NHS seems to be providing planned, elective surgery to foreigners who fail to pay.

‘If NHS management won’t get a grip then the Health Secretary needs to force their hand. There is no point scrapping NHS England and taking the NHS back in-house if Wes Streeting won’t stamp out more of this gross waste.’

The Government has been forced to shore up the NHS’s budget by an additional £21 billion over the past two years while waiting lists for hospital treatment remain at a record high with just 59 percent receiving care within the 18-week target.

The £256.4 million written-off could have paid for 8,500 new nurses or almost 3,000 GPs. It would cover the expense of treating 27,000 breast cancer patients or financing 15,000 kidney transplants.

The fact many foreign patient bills are for treatment which is ‘elective’ – planned – has added to the anger.

While GP services and emergency care are free for anyone, regardless of residency status, hospitals are supposed to identify chargeable patients and bill them upfront – at 150 percent of NHS prices – before receiving any other care, such as specialist appointments and scheduled procedures.

But the figures show overstretched hospitals often fail to do this in time, and instead give invoices to the patient afterwards – allowing them to leave the country without paying.

In comparison, the health systems in France, Ireland, the United States, and Australia require upfront payment.

Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, said it was ‘outrageous’ that only a fraction of overseas patients’ costs were being recovered.

‘Wes Streeting must push trusts to stop relying entirely on the taxpayer to pay for non-emergency treatment to those not entitled to it,’ he said.

‘The founders of the National Health Service, like Nye Bevan, would be horrified to find it had become the International Health Service.’

The NHS has billed overseas patients £621 million over the past seven years. Just £233 million – about a third – has been repaid, while the amount being written off is increasing because patients can’t be traced, have died or because the hospital has decided not to pursue the debt.

This is despite the fact that in 2014, amid concern the NHS was ‘overly generous’ to overseas visitors, the Government pledged to recover up to £500 million a year.

John O’Connell, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, called on MPs to reform the system and ‘treat taxpayers’ money with the respect it deserves’.

He said: ‘The fact that the health service is unable to even ensure those who are not entitled to free healthcare are paying what they owe is indicative of a culture that doesn’t care about wasted money.’

Every hospital is required by law to identify patients who are not eligible for free NHS care and collect expenses; international visitor managers are in charge of this task.

This may involve the MESH system, an IT tool developed by NHS England which cross-references a patient’s data against other records, including those held by the Home Office.

Foreign patients should be informed what the cost is likely to be and how to pay, and hospitals must take ‘all reasonable measures’ to recover the cost before treatment starts.

But for compassionate grounds, official guidance states care which a doctor rules is urgent should not be withheld – even if a patient has indicated they cannot pay.

Withholding care may be harmful to both mothers and newborns, especially in maternity units.

In this case, an invoice is sent out and attempts are made to recoup the expenses at a later date, maybe through payment plans.

Hospitals can recover these expenses by using overseas debt collectors, but this is costly and does not ensure that the patient will be able or willing to pay, even if they are located.

One policy expert said: ‘The reality is that it’s often not worth the hospital trusts’ while as it can cost more to employ enough staff to check the status of every patient and to chase up the payments once an invoice has been issued. Some trusts are better than others.’

The figures include patients who have been treated in A&E and then admitted to a ward, where additional care becomes billable. Others are referred to hospital by GPs for an assessment or treatment which is elective.

Most hospitals were unable to separate bills for elective and non-elective care. But some, including Barking, Havering and Redbridge – whose £1.3 million unpaid debt in a year includes a Ghanaian who owes £18,000 for orthopaedic care – did supply figures.

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust revealed it provided elective treatment to 531 overseas patients last year, which includes a £22,000 unpaid bill for spinal surgery.

Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust confirmed that 396 foreign patients had elective treatment last year, with 194 invoices worth almost £300,000 outstanding.

Other examples include a Hungarian who received kidney and heart treatment at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and owes £23,000 and several patients from India and Cameroon who received cancer treatment and owe tens of thousands of pounds.

Separate figures from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) show overseas patients seem to be increasingly seeking elective NHS procedures.

While statistics for those receiving emergency care have not substantially changed, the numbers admitted for day procedures have more than doubled in nine years from 3,885 to 8,585 in 2022-23. That dropped to 6,205 last year.

The Mail on Sunday’s data shows Nigerians had by far the most outstanding debts, followed by Romanians, Indians, Albanians and US citizens. Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust revealed that, in one year, 92 Nigerians had debts totalling £238,553 – around £2,600 each. It also billed 76 Romanians for a total of £178,936 and 33 Albanians for £106,959.

The Mail on Sunday asked several large hospital trusts to explain the hurdles to identifying chargeable patients and recouping these costs, but all refused.

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust did admit ‘capacity’ issues meant only about half of patients flagged by MESH as potentially chargeable could be further investigated by its staff. Of more than 8,000 patients flagged by MESH, 5,130 were prioritised for additional checks and 982 ended up being invoiced for treatment. Some were dismissed as they had a valid exemption or turned out not to be chargeable.

The DHSC said it has recouped £4.4 billion from overseas patients since 2015-16, but this includes all payments made via the Immigration Health Surcharge – which charges people with a student or working visa £776 a year to use the NHS – and income from countries within the European Economic Area to treat their patients.

Mr Streeting said last night: ‘Just as Brits abroad have to pay for healthcare, so should visitors to this country. At a time when patients are waiting unacceptably long for a GP appointment, an operation or even an ambulance, it is unacceptable for the NHS to be stuck with the bill for treatment that should be paid for.

‘We will act to clean up this mess. As we work to cut waiting lists, we’ll also work to cut freeloading at the British taxpayers’ expense.’

It’s relatively straightforward, if they need care, then they need to pay upfront. We have to do it in other countries, so why not in the UK? All of this silliness contributes to why British people are still waiting on the waiting list for appointments and surgery.

The NHS was set up to help the people of the UK, now it’s free to every Tom, Dick and Harry – we are expected to pay for the whole world and its wife and it needs to end.

What our government should do is bring in a bill that if you journey to the UK from another country, you have to show documentation of health insurance at passport control to gain entry to the UK. If they can’t, then they go back on the next flight or boat home.

Instead, our nation provides diversity and inclusion to these individuals at our expense, which is absurd, and they continue to use British taxpayer money to pay for translators for foreigners who do not understand English.

There are many issues here. Why are NHS managers not being held accountable for this? Why aren’t foreign patients automatically asked for their passport and insurance details? And why does the NHS think it’s okay to treat health tourists for free when they’re saying it can’t afford the treatment for those who are legitimately entitled?

As they prioritise foreign health tourists, they will soon be abandoning British residents on a stretcher in the gutter.

The majority of migrants get privileged access to treatment because they are on the NHS 987 inclusion list.

The NHS 987 Inclusion Health Scheme was aimed to manage healthcare inequalities by delivering priority access to urgent care for vulnerable groups, including people experiencing homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction, vulnerable migrants, and those with other problems that may ban them from quality healthcare. Now it seems that all migrants are welcome!

This country is being mugged daily. It’s like throwing money at strangers while your grandmother freezes and can’t get a hip replacement.

Laughing stock of the world!

While they have no issue with asking for massive salary increases to line their coffers, doctors consistently resist attempts to charge overseas patients, claiming it goes against their morality. Our taxes, however, continue to rise to pay for that black hole. I find it difficult to see the morality in it.

Big Brother Is Watching You!

People who conceal their faces to evade facial recognition monitoring are being stopped by UK police.

Covering your face while walking is not a crime and this Orwellian technology is turning our high streets into digital police lineups.

Quite frankly, this is just absurd, and does this include the hijab? Because if this is going to be a thing, then it must include everyone!

And maybe we could all start wearing one to protest the system if they aren’t included.

Ironically, though, the same police would have arrested people for breaking absurd facemask regulations five years ago.

It may not be apparent to everyone that this is only a massive psychological manipulation.

We are being accused of being criminals and our freedoms are being taken away.

This is George Orwell’s ‘1984’, to oppress and make people shut up and do as they are told. The elite is where the corruption is happening, and we the common people have to ‘put up and shut up’ while they rinse the system and lavish themselves without any comebacks or laws to harm them, making themselves untouchable, like power-mad monsters.

No law states you have to give the police your details unless they 100 percent suspect you have or are about to execute a crime. Even at the police station, you don’t have to give your details. They might keep you in their lock-up for a while, but that’s better than giving them what they want. I’m telling you, a revolution is coming.

People who have been brainwashed are unaware of and indifferent to the fact that their liberties are being undermined everywhere they look. Soap stars and reality TV are all that society cares about.

Next it will be ‘papers please’, which would be an unimaginable overreach and people are extremely deluded if they don’t believe what is going on or just don’t care.

Our government will ultimately pass a bill, which will give them access and use of everyone’s data. Every single personal conversation past, present and future. All banking and medical records – access to everything and they will fine or jail people for discrimination or anti-government chatter.

Additionally, it will be used to take penalties out of people’s bank accounts. In addition to tracking your purchases and activities, it will have access to your bank history and future financial information.

It will be linked with facial recognition. It will read all of your past messages, and posted conversations with impunity.

The personal carbon allowance, which has already been tested, will come next. It would set a cap on your personal carbon consumption and impose penalties if you exceed it.

Day 25 Of Birmingham Bin Strike: Rats Chase Workers Away

In Birmingham, terrified cleanup workers were shown on camera being frightened away by rats that sprung out of the rubbish bags they were meant to be hauled away.

Four employees are seen fleeing the facility in the CCTV clip as rats sprang out of the pile of rubbish on the ground.

The workers run towards the exit gate as the rats scurry towards them before making their way back into the pile of bin bags.

On Monday, a major incident was reported by Birmingham City Council after the continuous bin strike hit day 25 with 17,000 tonnes of uncollected rubbish piled high in the streets. 

Cash-strapped Birmingham City Council claimed the issue has been compounded by striking binmen blocking its depots with pickets – meaning vehicles struggle to exit to collect rubbish.

The rat infestation has become so dire the rodents have been dubbed the Squeaky Blinders because they seem to have the city in their grasp – much like the Peaky Blinders gang of the late nineteenth century which inspired the BBC drama series of the same name. 

The Unite union says its members face pay cuts after the scrapping of waste collection and recycling officer roles. But the Labour-run council has insisted its offer is ‘fair and reasonable’.

Birmingham City Council also argues Unite’s claims that 150 workers could lose £8,000 per year in pay and insists plans to restructure the service are a crucial part of the authority’s efforts to become financially sustainable.

In September 2023 the council effectively declared itself bankrupt after facing a £760 million equal pay bill and an £80 million overspend on an IT project, triggering a restructuring as it attempts to save £300 million over two years.

One road on a council boundary line is a stark example of the problem – with black sacks piled high on one pavement, but the other side clean and empty.

Unite has warned bin disruption in Birmingham could stretch into the summer after refuse workers voted in favour of extending their strike mandate over the council’s use of temporary labour to ‘undermine’ their industrial action.

The council has said 90 waste collection crews are still out collecting bins, out of a total of 200, with residents being urged still to put their bins out for crews to collect when they could.

Unite should focus on ‘negotiating in good faith, drop their opposition to changes needed to resolve long-standing pay issues and get round the table’ to bring the Birmingham bin strike to an end, Downing Street said.

Local government minister Jim McMahon visited Birmingham to meet council chiefs to end the bin strike which has left rubbish piling up on the city’s streets. 

A Number 10 spokesman said: ‘The residents of Birmingham are our first and foremost priority, and as you will have seen, the local government minister Jim McMahon was in Birmingham yesterday meeting council leaders and commissioners to discuss the council’s response and make sure this is being gripped.

‘Following that meeting, police have installed barriers at the picket line to prevent waste lorries being recklessly blocked from leaving the depots this morning to start dealing with the backlog.

‘Unite need to focus on negotiating in good faith, drop their opposition to changes needed to resolve long-standing equal pay issues, and get round the table with the council to bring this strike to an end.’ 

Desperate residents in strike-hit Birmingham swarmed a bin lorry yesterday morning as a pest controller warned rats the size of baby monkeys were now plaguing the rubbish-strewn suburbs. 

The monster rodents can be seen ‘on a daily basis’ scurrying among the mountains of uncollected waste which have been dumped by city roadsides, Britain’s busiest pest controller said. 

William Timms, known locally as Birmingham’s ‘rat man’, also claimed police had even been called out to shoot some of the rats due to the sheer magnitude of vermin invading the second city.

He spoke out as a mobile collection – a bin lorry in a static location allowing locals whose bins aren’t being collected to drop their rubbish off – was plagued by householders in inner-city Tyseley yesterday morning. 

The scenes, which saw locals hauling full wheelie bins through a small park, reflected a similarly chaotic situation at another static collection a fortnight ago in nearby Moseley.

Yesterday morning, a pile of bin bags the length of six cars was stacked up beside the green space, where the entrance play park was also littered with discarded rubbish. 

Mountains of rubbish reached four to five feet high in areas along nearby roadsides. 

Tyseley resident Danny Carter, 33, said: ‘It just makes you ashamed to be a Brummie right now, to be honest.

‘It looks like those giant rubbish mountains they get in places like Mumbai. People have just seen the lorries were coming and used it as a chance to flytip.

‘People are fed up but this is just disgusting. I think it’s a public health emergency, we can’t go on like this. It is utter carnage.’

Another resident described how her friend had had to ‘drag the bin down the road with the baby in the pram’. 

One binman who was out collecting the rubbish said: ‘I’ve never seen anything like this in my entire career. It is the worst I have ever seen in my life.’ 

A bin bag mountain also appeared next to the park last night after word circulated locally that a static collection was due to take place and residents started dumping their rubbish at the collection point.

Ironically, one of the municipal recycling and rubbish disposal facilities in the Labour-run city is located in Tyseley.

Kevin Hollinrake, the Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, visited the suburb this morning and posed in front of a waste mountain.

The Tory MP for Thirsk and Malton also posted a drive-by video of the rubbish-strewn streets on social media platform X, before highlighting a line of traffic which he said was queuing for the nearby tip.

Mr Timms, who runs WJ Pest Solutions, says he caught a 22-inch rat last week – the same size as a ferret, some monkeys or a small dog – and has only had one day off in nearly three months.

He said: ‘The issue is getting out of control. There are bags piled 5ft high and 10-15ft across.

‘Rats the size of kittens are being seen daily. I had one last week that measured over 22 inches in length.’

Mr Timms said that ‘on the odd occasion’ West Midlands Police had been called out to help deal with the problem, but the force today denied that its firearms unit had been involved in tackling the rodent menace. 

Other pest controllers across Birmingham say they have also seen business levels double since the strikes began and there’s also been a surge in cockroaches.

Almost 400 council bin workers in Birmingham began indefinite strike action last month as part of a row over jobs and pay. 

Mr Timms added: ‘Work increase has been 50 percent more compared to previous years. Cockroach calls have also gone up too.

‘As a born and bred Brummie, I feel disgusting how the city looks.

‘On my street alone we have bins that haven’t been collected, with black sacks starting to pile up, I had a day off for the first time in two months as my wife and body were telling me it’s time for a break.

Stuart Howes, managing director of Greenlab Pest control in Birmingham, said they were getting 30-50 per cent more callouts.

He said: ‘On average we are currently experiencing 30-50 percent more call-outs due to the bin strikes, this applies to both business and residential properties across Birmingham as a whole.

‘We serve around 700 business customers in the West Midlands and the high ratio of callouts within Birmingham itself compared to other regions is evident.

‘Bearing in mind that our peak season for rat callouts is usually October – February during the cooler months, this is out of the normal range and is significant.

‘We are mainly experiencing call-outs to gardens and driveways where rats are now being sighted on a regular basis as they scavenge for the abundance of food that has now kindly been left out for them by Birmingham Council.

‘Rats are certainly gaining size, again due the ongoing supply of food that has been left on the doorsteps. 

‘The rapid reduction rates coupled with a never-ending food source has left a vastly overpopulated rat population literally on Birmingham residents’ doorsteps.’

Sharon Nicol, director of Birmingham Pest Control Ltd, said: ‘We’ve had to order three times as many bait stations in because we’re so busy.

‘The demand has definitely increased since the strikes began.’

One road on a council boundary line is a stark example of the problem – with black bags stacked high on one pavement, but the other side completely clean and empty.

Chelworth Road in the Walkers Heath area of the city sits right on the city’s boundary with Bromsgrove District Council.  Piles of rubbish were pictured stacked up on the Birmingham side of the road, while the other side, serviced by bin lorries from the Worcestershire local authority, was clean. 

Adam Kent, a Worcestershire councillor for the Wythall area, revealed the problem in a photo he posted on social media on March 21 which was later widely shared.

In Tyseley, agency worker Mohammed said he was woken up in the early hours to queuing cars and people loudly dumping their rubbish at the spot.

The 55-year-old said: ‘There’s been people dumping rubbish there since 4 am this morning.

‘People have been wheeling their bins down all night long, throwing the rubbish in the car park.’

John Davis, 70, said while the collection spots are a good idea they just act as a breeding ground for rats and other pests.

He said: ‘I’m not happy. As you can see this is ridiculous now. Something has got to be done about it.

‘I’ve lived here all my life. This is a good idea, it has to happen. It’s got to happen in most areas now.

‘It can’t carry on like this with rats and the lot coming, I’m guessing there’s more rats now.

‘You’ve got to get rid of waste, that’s the bare minimum. I’m moving out of Birmingham, over to Solihull, because of the area. Things have changed.’

These bin walkouts could turn Birmingham into a third-world country because things are not going to improve that much. Although, saying that, aren’t we a third-world country already?

Immigrants are turning our cities into a third-world state – these rats haven’t just materialised overnight, but then this is what diversity and multiculturalism bring.

Rats are generally not aggressive and will try to avoid humans, but if they’re cornered or feel threatened, they may bite in self-defence and there lies the problem. Rats are known carriers of various diseases that can be transmitted to humans, including leptospirosis, hantavirus and rat bite fever.

Large illegal immigrants are taking over our country and bringing their diseases with them, and then there are the striking bin men bringing in the dregs of the dregs. ‘We hate being surrounded by dirty vermin, said one rat to the other.’

Sometimes I do worry more about illegal immigrants than the rats because illegals bring in diseases that we have no idea about, at least with rats we know what they harbour.

Perhaps they should leave their rubbish in council offices instead, that might accomplish something. But wait! Until they announce the plague is back, then getting everyone to wear face masks again. There will probably be an emergency rat vaccination for added protection, and not for just us, but for the rats as well.

A £10,000 Reward Is Offered For Information On A Missing Boy

Police have offered £10,000 for anyone with information about a teenage boy who went missing 17 years ago.

Alexander Sloley, from Islington, north London, was 16 when he vanished in August 2008 and his family and friends have had no contact with him since then.

Police previously said the accountancy student at City and Islington College had little cash, no wallet, no bag, and extra garments to demonstrate he was preparing to run away.

He was described as a light-skinned black male, 5ft 5ins tall, of medium build, with striking blue eyes.

Detective Chief Inspector Sarb Kaur, who is leading the investigation, said, ‘Alex was reported missing to police on August 8, 2008. Since then, extensive enquiries have been made by police, but sadly, Alex has not yet been found.

‘We are now offering a reward of up to £10,000 for anyone who has information relating to Alex’s whereabouts.

‘This remains an active missing person investigation, subject to regular review by senior officers, with the aim of locating Alex and bringing some comfort to his family.

‘We have recently met with Alex’s mother to outline how we intend to progress our investigation to find him.

‘I would ask anyone with information who could help to please get in contact immediately, no matter how insignificant you think this could be.’

In 2019, police released an e-fit of what Alex may have looked like at age 27 as part of a reopening of the inquiry.

At the time, his mother, Nerissa Tivy, said it was emotional to see the e-fit of her son as an adult.

She said: ‘It’s a great picture of Alex and of how he might possibly look like now. Then you try to put a body to it and how he might be dressed and looking.

‘He was quite a slick dresser, my son, he wasn’t scruffy.

‘There’s no closure to this and, with all the appeals and knowing your child would not just run away, you start thinking something terrible has happened to him.

‘I would love to see him walk through the door.’

People quizzed previously in connection with Alex’s disappearance were re-interviewed in 2019.

At the time detectives said there was no proof Alex had been harmed and there was no evidence that it was linked to any other cases.

Detective Constable Tom Boon said in 2019: ‘The hope is he is safe and well and somehow has managed to stay off the radar in terms of using bank accounts, passports, that sort of thing.

‘As time goes on it becomes more and more concerning, although there’s no proof of harm.’

Police have asked anyone with information about Alexander’s disappearance to get in touch with them on 07860 369603 or through Crimestoppers.

If the police had any information, it would be beneficial to disclose it.

For the family to have closure, every missing person deserves a second inquiry in the hopes of discovering them, even if it is only their remains, although the chances of finding him alive are extremely small.

However, with improved databases and forensic capabilities, this cold case will be solved.

Cold cases are frequently reopened by the police; possibly they have fresh information.

Emergency System Fails Woman Punched On Tube

A woman who was attacked on a Tube train in central London has said she was then left standing on a platform for a “harrowing” 30 minutes because no one responded to the emergency calls she made from a help point.

Sally Wynter said she had been left traumatised after being punched by a stranger on a busy Victoria line train on 27 March, but her assailant was able to get away because she could not raise the alarm.

Ms Wynter has written to Sir Sadiq Khan – who is responsible for the Tube network – describing the intercom system as a failure and urging him to “fix it now”.

City Hall apologised, saying it was unacceptable that her calls were not answered and that an investigation had begun.

Ms Wynter told BBC London that as her train had approached Green Park station at about 16:30 GMT, she “suddenly felt a punch to the right side of my right arm”.

“I was pushed into the glass by a stranger that I hadn’t seen before,” she said, adding her attacker then got off the train.

When she got off the Tube at the next stop, Oxford Circus, she was “in shock” and pressed the emergency button on the platform’s intercom “at least four times”, hoping a member of staff to respond and then attempt to stop the aggressor.

She said when she received no response, she had tried to contact British Transport Police (BTP), but could not get an urgent response.

She then called 999 and was re-directed to BTP, but gave up and left, she added.

BTP said officers attended the station after being made aware of the incident and conducted a search for the victim.

As they could not find her at the station, a telephone statement was arranged for later in the evening.

The force added that a man from south London was later arrested and bailed in connection with the assault.

It was subsequently reported to police that a child had been attacked at Green Park station soon after the attack on Ms Wynter, by a man of the same description.

Ms Wynter said she believed it was the same attacker and the second assault could have been prevented if her calls had been answered.

Help points, which include a fire alarm and buttons to call for assistance in an emergency, are installed across the Tube network.

Ms Wynter said her situation highlighted that the system failed to help passengers in need, which she said was “very dangerous”.

“There’s a variety of reasons people use these points and it’s quite clear to me that the way these help points are set up is antiquated – these systems don’t integrate properly into the campaign around what people should do.”

She added: “I was lucky in the sense that I was away from my attacker but it could have been so much worse.

“It’s an urgent problem that needs to be addressed.”

In a letter to Ms Wynter, London’s Deputy Mayor for Transport, Seb Dance, said passengers on TfL’s network “deserved to feel safe” and have “confidence that if things do go wrong, help is always available”.

Mr Dance added he was “deeply saddened” about what happened and invited Ms Wynter for a meeting.

In a statement, TfL said: “We are investigating as a matter of urgency why Ms Wynter did not get the help she should have and have reached out to her to offer support.”

However, this account doesn’t make any sense. It was 4.30 pm on a Thursday evening at one of London’s busiest underground stations in London, and she went 30 minutes without seeing any underground attendants. If she left the station there would have been staff at the barriers or at least the ticket office.

I use the underground in London and it’s simply impossible not to see underground attendants, especially during rush hour.

Cheating The Welfare System

Known for her advice on maximising benefits, 31-year-old Whitney Ainscough earned enough money to purchase a Range Rover and treat herself to a gastric sleeve.

A self-described bad mum who claims to make nearly £500,000 a year by showing social media followers how to manipulate the benefits system says she’ll never get a job.

Whitney Ainscough claims she is unconcerned with the criticism she receives online for demonstrating how she took use of the benefits system to her fullest advantage.

She now says she earns hundreds of thousands of pounds from Facebook advertisements that appear before her videos and from commissions on TikTok purchases made by her admirers.

The rebellious 31-year-old teaches her 954,000-strong fan base how to take advantage of the Department of Work and Pensions to maximise their benefits, claim Motability cars, and even receive free phones.

She now uses her social media proceeds to purchase top-flight cars, treat herself to gastric sleeve surgery and Botox injections, and take her children out of school for luxury term-time holidays.

And she does it all while living in a reduced-rent council house – for which there is no upper limit to income once you’re in the door. 

Ainscough even likens herself to finance guru Martin Lewis – and says it’s not her fault the benefits system is set up the way it is.

Instead, she candidly confesses she tries to ‘deliberately wind up’ people who don’t like the way she operates – so they maximise her profits online.

She told The Sun: ‘I was shameless about bragging about my benefits. I knew the more I bragged about getting Universal Credit, the more trolls and followers I’d attract. If you want to label me a scrounger that is fine – it means I get more cash in the bank.’

After leaving her pharmacy work, Ainscough, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, went on benefits—but only after taking advantage of paid maternity leave.

The mother of three decided in 2022 that she could not afford nursery costs and childcare expenses – and quit her job to join the dole queue.

She started researching how to succeed on social media while she was at home taking care of her 12-year-old Cora, her 7-year-old Addison, and her 3-year-old Adley.

She added: ‘I had no option but to stay at home, care for the three kids and claim benefits. I couldn’t afford to return to work. And why should I trudge to job interviews?’

Starting in 2023, Ainscough began sharing videos on how to live cheap – before turning to videos showing her children in designer gear after saving up her benefits.

One of her most contentious wind-up videos saw her packing her child’s lunchbox with a vape.

In one video, she claims the JobCentre supplies job searchers with mobile phones – before appearing to quip they can then be taken to a pawnbrokers for cash.

‘Seriously: if you apply for jobs and you’ve lost your phone or broken it – just break it anyway – you can get a free phone to do your job searches.

‘It’s yours – you can take it down Cash’s. That might be worth £80, £100.’

The video then cuts to her sitting in her car, speaking in a more serious tone as she says: ‘On a serious note, this is actually true. The JobCentre will and can provide you with a brand new phone from Argos.’

Her weekly DWP payment peaked at £1,151 a week across housing benefits, child and adult allowances and additional child benefits. 

In one foul-mouthed post, she showcased her £1,151.90 weekly entitlement as she said: ‘Why would I get a job? I get your monthly wage in a week – so why would I put myself out and get a job? I mean I’m living my f****** best life, f****** hell.’ 

‘My new mobility car pending, how nice… best bit it costs me nothing,’ she said in one TikTok, showing her face over a new Kia Sportage SUV.

‘I’m absolutely buzzing… I do have to put a bit of a down payment on it, but then my mobility side pays for the rest. I get it all… it’s brand new, absolutely buzzing. Me and girls will be driving in style,’ she boasted.

‘While everyone else is working today and slaving away, I am on my way to the train station to go to London, because I don’t work and I can just travel,’ she said in a July 2023 video, laughing.

She stopped receiving Universal Credit in November 2023 because her social media earnings became too high for her to continue receiving the benefit.

She currently uses TikTok to sell items like inexpensive pyjamas, vlogging equipment, cosmetics, portable fans, and cleaning supplies in exchange for a commission.

She told the Sun that she earned £60,000 in November of last year and has since averaged £50,000 a month.

She engaged an accountant since her profits were so high, and she now uses a private business called It’s Me Bad Mum Ltd. to funnel her earnings and reduce her tax liability.

She concluded: ‘It’s not illegal. Benefits are offered for a reason. People need to stop moaning about people getting benefits they deserve — and other people helping them do that.’

Earlier this year, she was threatened with a criminal record after taking her children on holiday during the school term – splashing out £5,000 on a Cyprus trip and £8,000 on a gallivant to Zante. 

And a year ago, she told MailOnline she racked up £30,000 of debt to ‘feel better’ after escaping domestic violence.

She claims that the reason she lives in a council home is that she was unable to obtain a mortgage because an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) to settle the debt badly damaged her credit rating.

She told us in March 2024: ‘I have no idea how I became so good at TikTok. It stemmed from my first viral video on TikTok and once you start getting viral videos you just start getting more popular.’

She added that ‘joke’ videos of her packing vapes in packed lunches were ‘just for TikTok and for bants. It is just content.’

However, the majority of people are worse off working, and our government just doesn’t give a damn about us, but the younger generation is not stupid – our government believe that they are but they’re not, far from it! After all, why should they work till they drop? They will never see their pensions, which they paid into and our government is stealing.

Working in the UK is a meaningless exercise these days – you’re just working to pay the bills – no indulgences, but if you’re coming in from a foreign country you get everything you want – even driving lessons and a hotel et cetera.

Good for her! People might call it scrounging, but if the Royal Family can do it, why can’t we?

Immigration Has Driven Population Growth

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1684m7nmKE

Since 2001, immigration has contributed directly and indirectly to a population increase of almost 7 million, which has had detrimental effects on the goal of an integrated society.

In 20 years, the percentage of ethnic minorities quadrupled to almost 20 percent.

Net foreign migration has been running at about 300,000 per year for the past 20 years and has caused the non-UK-born population to double to nine million.

Over the previous 20 years, net foreign migration has averaged around 300,000 annually, which has led to the non-UK-born population doubling to nine million.

In the meanwhile, the number of ethnic minorities, whether or not they were born in the UK, has more than doubled to thirteen million, and in only twenty years, their percentage of the population has gone from ten to just over twenty percent. People who identify as ‘Other White’ (mostly from the EU) are included in this number.

Between 2017 and 2019, foreign immigrants and their offspring born in the UK were responsible for around 90 percent of the population growth.

The difficulties raised by these incredibly fast shifts extend far beyond the earlier discussion of net migration.

The actions of succeeding administrations have granted the right to be here to immigrants and their families. They are now a recognised aspect of our culture and economy.

The magnitude and rate of change, together with the inability to attain the degree of integration necessary for a peaceful community, are the causes of concern.

Of course, we can’t be sure that immigration will resume at its previous levels once the COVID crisis has subsided, but the government’s major post-Brexit loosening of the global visa system makes this very likely.

It has sharply reduced both the salary and qualification requirements for a work visa, exposing some seven million UK jobs to new or increased international competition.

London has changed as a result of mass immigration. Turning Britain into a third-world country, but that suits the Mayor and Starmer, and our government and governments before have permitted this to happen on purpose, and it’s time to take back what is ours!

Unfortunately, our government continues to let them in.

It’s down to the politicians that have permitted this to happen, they probably believe that the migrants will vote for them in the next election. Our government also allows these people to live in our country how they live in their own countries.

If we import the third world, we become the third world.

The real blame is our government. Illegal immigration cannot be afforded by the UK. If they want to come here they have to have a job, funds, know the language and have good health, and if they don’t, then they simply don’t come in.

These illegals now truly feel at home in our country because our government have permitted this to happen by giving them what we the British people have worked so hard for. Everything is free for these migrants, and they have no intention of keeping English law.

The Muslim plan is for world domination. They never intended to integrate into British culture, they just wanted to enforce their third-world way of life onto us.

Ultimately, they will annihilate us and have millions in the bank, and our government has betrayed us!

If you import enough of it, eventually you will become it!

London now looks like New Delhi.

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