'A culture of cover-up': the NHS maternity crisis exposed
The NHS is facing one of its deepest crises - a string of maternity scandals, from Shrewsbury to Nottingham, Oxford to Leeds. Hundreds of babies have died or been left severely injured in hospitals meant to keep them safe.So why does this keep happening? Is it about funding, training, or a system that protects itself instead of patients?On this episode of The Fourcast, Krishnan Guru Murthy is joined by Jeremy Hunt MP, who was the Health Secretary between 2012 and 2018; Channel 4 News Health and Social Care Editor Victoria Macdonald who recently reported on a maternity scandal at Oxford University Hospitals. The Trust there has apologised to families and said it was committed to learning from mistakes; and Kayleigh Griffiths, whose daughter Pippa died in 2016 due to failings in care by the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. Her investigation alongside another bereaved mother Rhiannon Davies into failings at the Trust led to Jeremy Hunt commissioning the Ockenden Review into improving maternity services across the country. Griffiths has also been critical of the health watchdog - the Care Quality Commission saying its oversight of maternity services was 'not fit for purpose.' The CQC said her complaints were being taken seriously and it was engaging with families directly.
--------
26:39
--------
26:39
Starmer vs Streeting: inside the Labour meltdown
Labour is facing an extraordinary rift at the top of government. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has strongly denied claims that he is plotting to overthrow Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying that attacks are a sign of a toxic culture at Number 10. The story erupted after an anonymous briefing suggested Streeting could be preparing a leadership bid - a claim he has strongly rejected. But the row raises bigger questions: how loyal is the Cabinet? Who is really pulling the strings in No 10? And what does this internal drama mean for public trust and the Labour government’s ability to deliver?In this episode of The Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy is joined by Labour strategist and commentator, John McTernan, who was Tony Blair's political director, the pollster and director of Merlin Strategy Scarlett McGuire and the author and Guardian columnist Zoe Williams.
--------
37:27
--------
37:27
BBC crisis: right-wing coup or bias crackdown?
The BBC is in meltdown: both the Director General Tim Davie and the Head of News Deborah Turness have quit in the same weekend after a leaked memo accused the corporation of systemic political bias - an edit of Donald Trump’s speech ahead of the January 6th riots at heart of the memo. The President has now piled in, threatening a billion dollar lawsuit.So what is really going on? Was this a right-wing coup against public service broadcasting - or the consequence of genuine bias inside the BBC?And could this crisis now reshape the future of impartial news - not just at the BBC, but across Britain’s media?The BBC chairman Samir Shah has apologised for an “error of judgement” over the edit of the president’s speech and said that the corporation had taken action on other areas that had been highlighted in the memo - and would take further action if necessary. On this episode of The Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy is joined by the political editor of the Sunday Telegraph Camilla Turner and the editor of Prospect magazine Alan Rusbridger.
--------
29:11
--------
29:11
Mamdani and Polanski: can a new left undo Trump’s climate reversal?
While COP30 gets underway in Brazil - Donald Trump is ripping up climate policy, blasting his allies for falling for what he calls the ‘world's greatest con job’ and trying to get big business to follow his lead - and yet in New York, Zohran Mamdani - a left-wing populist unafraid to tout a green agenda - has just won the mayoral race and in the UK, the Green Party has surged under Zack Polanski.So is the direction of travel really a climate rollback - or is a new left preparing to claim power and reclaim the climate argument? With me, from the COP in Belém, is our Chief Correspondent Alex Thomson - and in London, the financial journalist and author Andrew Ross Sorkin, whose new book 1929 investigates the Wall Street crash.
--------
26:27
--------
26:27
China US Trade 'breakthrough': Who blinked first?
After months of a “vicious cycle of mutual retaliation”, as Xi Jinping has put it, Donald Trump and China's president seem to have come to a truce after their first meeting in nearly six years.Meeting in South Korea, Xi agreed to stop withholding China’s rare earth exports for a year and start buying soy beans from America again. While Trump said he would reduce tariffs and suspend port fees on Chinese ships.But how long will this amicable relationship last? Will all of this signal a closer tie between the world’s two biggest economies?On this episode of the Fourcast, Matt Frei is joined by Victor Gao, vice president of the Centre for China and Globalization in Beijing, and Dr Yu Jie, senior research fellow on China at Chatham House.
A podcast from Channel 4 News taking an in-depth look at the biggest stories from Westminster, Washington and around the world. From global conflicts to the corridors of power, we expose, examine and interrogate what's really going on with the people who really know.
Watch the episodes here:
https://www.channel4.com/news/the-fourcast
Österreich