Prime minister to express concern about ‘over-medicalising’ normal worries with diagnoses as mental health conditions

Rishi Sunak will today claim Britain is suffering from a “sicknote culture”, as he warns there is a risk of “over-medicalising” normal worries by diagnosing them as mental health conditions.

In a speech on how to reduce people being signed off sick from work, the prime minister will say the government is planning to trial getting “work and health professionals” to issue fit notes, shifting away from GPs carrying out this role.

Husband of Nicola Sturgeon was rearrested ‘in connection with the embezzlement of funds’ from party, say police

Peter Murrell, the husband of the former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, has been charged in connection with embezzlement after being arrested for a second time by police investigating allegations regarding the funding and finances of the Scottish National party.

Murrell, the former chief executive of the SNP, was first arrested and interviewed as a suspect by Police Scotland detectives in April 2023 at the home he shared with Sturgeon in Glasgow, but was released later that day pending further investigation.

Prime minister also seeks to assure allies Israel’s response to Iran will be measured, as officials urge him to focus on ceasefire deal

Benjamin Netanyahu has told western diplomats that he will go ahead with a ground offensive on Rafah in southern Gaza, and has also suggested that Israel’s anticipated reprisal for Iran’s missile and drone salvo will be aimed at Iranian interests rather than Tehran’s proxies.

The Israeli leader has sought to assure anxious allies that Israel’s response to Iran will be measured, while also claiming he will flood Gaza with aid and ensure that civilians and aid agencies are given ample opportunity to flee Rafah, the last relative refuge for at least 1.4 million displaced Palestinians.

Exclusive: Under Whitehall blueprint for water company some lenders could lose up to 40% of their money

Thames Water could be renationalised, with the bulk of its £15.6bn debt added to the public purse, under radical plans being considered by the government, the Guardian can reveal.

The blueprint, codenamed Project Timber, is being drawn up in Whitehall and would turn Britain’s biggest water company into a publicly owned arm’s-length body. Some lenders to its core operating company could lose up to 40% of their money under the plans.

Campaigners express concern at new Ofcom figures, which also show that half of under-13s are on social media

A quarter of three- and four-year-olds in the UK now own a smartphone, while half of children under 13 are on social media, according to new data that comes as ministers consider banning all children under 16 from owning a mobile phone.

The figures, from the communications regulator Ofcom, show high and rising rates of online activity by children of infant-school age, with 38% of five- to seven-year-olds using social media, compared with 30% a year ago, and 76% of them using a tablet.

New post-Brexit border checks ‘set to zero’ to avoid what Defra calls risk of serious disruption

The UK government has reportedly told port health authorities it will not “turn on” health and safety checks for EU imports as new post-Brexit border controls begin this month.

A presentation prepared by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) highlighted the risk of “significant disruption” if the new measures were implemented, according to the Financial Times. It made clear that the systems would not be fully ready on time.

Which? says inconsistencies also found, with ‘meaningless’ labels making it hard for shoppers to make informed choice

“Misleading” and “inconsistent” labels make it hard for shoppers to know where their food comes from, the consumer champion Which? has said, as it found supermarket chains were selling products with “meaningless” statements on their packaging.

Retailers must supply the “country of origin” for specific foods including fresh fruit and vegetables, unprocessed meats, fish, wine and olive oil but the rules do not generally apply to processed meat or frozen or processed fruit and vegetables.

Jonathan Hall, Britain’s reviewer of terrorism legislation, says more children could be exposed to encrypted extremist content

The UK’s terror watchdog has criticised Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta for lowering the minimum age for WhatsApp users from 16 to 13, warning that the “extraordinary” move could expose more teenagers to extreme content.

Jonathan Hall KC said more children could now access material that Meta cannot regulate, including content related to terror or sexual exploitation.

Poland’s national prosecutor says man was preparing to share security details of airport used by Ukrainian president

A Polish man has been arrested on allegations that he aided a plot by Russian intelligence services to assassinate the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, according to Polish and Ukrainian prosecutors.

The office of Poland’s national prosecutor said in a statement that the man, identified only as Pawel K, was accused of being prepared to pass airport security information to Russian agents and that he was arrested in Poland on Wednesday.

Case comes after insiders warned of a potential ageism row last year following merger of BBC News and World News channels

The BBC is facing another damaging row over equal pay, with the presenter Martine Croxall taking legal action against the broadcaster for age and sex discrimination.

Croxall is suing the corporation after being off-air for more than a year following the merger of the BBC’s News and World News channels, according to listings for London Central tribunal court for 1 May.