poulter says the nhs doctor.oulter says the conservatives are failing the health service and he could no longer look his nhs colleagues in the eye. as a tory, he will take the labour whip until the general election, but will not be running again as the mp for central suffolk and north ipswich . well, joining me now to ipswich. well, joining me now to discuss this story is gb news very own political correspondent, olivia utley . correspondent, olivia utley. olivia, thank you very much for your company. this olivia, thank you very much for your company . this rhetoric, your company. this rhetoric, a lot of viewers are saying, well, hang on a minute. you know, the tories are spending all of this extra cash, our taxpayer cash on the nhs. you know what more is actually needed ? is it actually actually needed? is it actually an issue of cash or is it an issue of reform . and if it is, issue of reform. and if it is, then this all just looks like a pretty convenient way to go to a party pretty convenient way to go to a p

yes. to daniel poulter's defection.aniel poulter's defection. yes a big weekend overshadowing the final weekend of campaigning ahead of the local elections which many polls suggest are going to be rocky for the conservatives and affections aren't common, often signalling bad feelings or something wrong in political parties and as well as dan poulter's criticisms on the nhs, he also talked about the conservatives becoming a nationalist party of the right. this is also the second conservative to labour defection under keir starmer�*s leadership so let's have a listen to the home office minister, chris phelps, speaking to laura kuenssberg about dan poulter's decision. —— chris philp. well, i don't accept what dan is saying at all. he talks about the nhs as a priority. the nhs was one of two departments that was protected during the years of spending restraint after the labour government bankrupted the country. we are now spending £165 billion on the nhs, a 13% increase above inflationjust over the last four or five years a

doctor poulter is very much in the centre of the _ poulter is very much in the centre of the tory— poulterr starmer. and it is a big coup for— sir keir starmer. and it is a big coup for labour, no doubt about that _ plenty more reaction on that defection later on in the programme. donald trump says he's ready to debatejoe biden — anytime, anywhere, any place — after mr biden gave his clearest committment yet to take on the former president in a televised debate. joe biden had previously said it would depend on donald trump's behaviour. courtney bembridge has more from the newsroom. well, he's been asked many times, but president biden has been tight lipped about a presidential debate until now. i don't know if you're going to debate your opponent. i am somewhere. i don't know when, i'm happy to debate him. donald trump was quick to respond, taking to his social media platform. truth social, writing... and outside the courtroom in new york, where he's been appearing at his hush money trial, he also spoke about it. take a listen. we're willing to do it monday night, tuesday night, wednesday

here's dan poulter explaining his defection to the bbc�*s laura kuenssberg.ifficult to look my nhs colleagues in the eye, my patients in the eye, and my constituents in the eye, with good conscience. and ifeel that the nhs deserves better than it has at the moment, in terms of how it is run and governed. the party i was elected into valued public services. it valued... it had a compassionate view about supporting the more disadvantaged in society. i think the conservative party today is in a very different place. its focus is not on delivering or supporting high—quality public services. our political correspondent georgia roberts has more on the reaction to dan poulter�*s defection. yes, a big headache for rishi sunak this weekend, overshadowing the final weekend of campaigning ahead of the local elections which many polls suggest are set to be very rocky for the conservatives. defections aren't common — they often signal bad feelings or something wrong in political parties and as well as dan poulter�*s criticisms on the nhs, he also talked about the conserva

pleased that dan poulter has decided to join us on this journey and dan poulter says he would like toection happen now. it is not about to, i don't think. the expectation still is that the general election will probably be towards the autumn. he intends to stay in parliament. there is no requirement to have a by—election if there is a defection like this but he will now be sitting in labour's ranks. and already the conservatives are facing mass numbers of their mps choosing not to stand at the next election for various reasons. which again, is indicative of a political cycle. i think it is about 70 have decided they would rather do other things after the next election, whoever wins. i think defections like this often seem to symbolise a moment as well. they are quite rare. this is the third defection from the conservative party that we have had since 2019. christian wakeford left the tories in 2022 when borisjohnson was still prime minister, during the partygate scandal. he switched to labour. just last month lee anderson, former deputy chair of the party, was suspended and then went

has decided to join us not pleased that dan poulter has decided tojoin us on not pleased that dan poultero join us on this journey and dan poulter says he would like to see an election happen now. it is not about to, i don't think. the expectation sill is that the general election will probably be towards the autumn. he intends to stay in parliament. there is no requirement to have a by—election if there is a defection like this will stop he will now be sitting on labour's ranks. �* ., ., , will now be sitting on labour's ranks. �* . ., , ., , ., , ranks. and already the conservatives are facin: ranks. and already the conservatives are facing mass _ ranks. and already the conservatives are facing mass numbers _ ranks. and already the conservatives are facing mass numbers of - ranks. and already the conservatives are facing mass numbers of their- ranks. and already the conservatives l are facing mass numbers of their mps choosing not to stand at the next election for various reasons. which auain, is election for various reasons. which again, is indicative _ election for various reasons. wh

pleased that dan poulter has decided to join us on this journey and dan poulter says he would like to to, i don't think. the expectation still is that the general election will probably be towards the autumn. he intends to stay in parliament. there is no requirement to have a by—election if there is a defection like this but he will now be sitting in labour's ranks. and already the conservatives are facing mass numbers of their mps since we spoke to ben, the conservatives have issued a statement about mr poulter�*s defection. it says... let's get more from john rentoul, chief political commentator at the independent. good to see you, john. how big a blow is this for the tories? defections of the hard currency of politics and they don't happen very often and when they do, they are, as you were saying there with ben, they are designed to wound. so, yes, it is damaging. personally, i am surprised it has taken so long. there has only been one conservative to labour defection in this parliament so far and that is christian wakefield who defected some time ago, 2022, i think it was. and i w

so, a lot of these things, i'm sure it's been happening in dan poulter�*s head and dan poulter�*s heartthere may be lots of things that were going on behind the scenes where it was a near—miss or whatever that we don't know about yet. but certainly in terms of their public achievement, it is a political and public coup for labour at the moment. but, you know, sometimes these things, sometimes what seems initially great successes in politics, before too long, actually turn into looking like something else. shall we listen to the man himself? well, i've been thinking about it for a little while. and it was... alongside my work as an mp, i still work as an nhs doctor and always have done. the health service that i saw under huge strain is very different to the health service of maybe a decade ago, and the struggles and the challenges that patients have been experiencing in accessing timely good care was something that really resonated with me and stayed with me. and i found it increasingly difficult to look my nhs colleagues in the eye, my patients in the eye and my constituents in the eye

keir starmer said it was fantastic to welcome dan poulter to the party.s the sort of thing that was happening in the 1990s, i mean, people may not remember but there was a former tory minister called alan howarth who defected to tony blair's labour party in 1995, shaun woodward, the better—known defection, that was actually after labour got into government. but all the traffic was in that direction at that time and the same thing seems to be happening again, and that will add to labour's confidence about the coming election. and we've got big local elections coming up in just a few days�* time. obviously, we don't know what is going to happen there, but if they are as bad for the tories as some are anticipating, does that again, combined with this, call rishi sunak�*s leadership into question in the coming weeks? i don't think so because i think the general election is not far away, whatever happens, i mean, it is going to be by the end of this year. conservative mps are divided into two groups. one group who recognise that it would just make the party ev

dan poulter told me that he had been thinking about it for the last couple of months.circle has been tiny because gossip isn'tjust the way of the world in westminster, it also has power and currency, right? who is talking to who and about what. so this is something that has been executed for the labour party, i think really quite, been executed by them very well but defections are so rare. partly because i think it is worth saying politics is a very emotional thing. it's very tribal, it's very emotional. to say to your colleagues, i've had enough of you, when you have walked through, think about what has happened in politics in the last ten years. it has been intense and crazy. they have walked through the fire together and actually to say, i've had enough of you, it's a really big deal. i mean, these things can be a more chaotic than they appear at the time. it looked incredibly smooth from the labour party yesterday. i remember when sort of subsequently, digging into the last defection, the christian wakeford one, which again looked pretty smooth on the day, they got

dog says i'm resident out in dan poulter's constituency . in dan poulter's constituency.e mp who's defected to labour. the tories defected to laboun labour. the tories defected to labour. he's not liked by the locals , especially when he locals, especially when he blocked a much needed northern bypass , anyway, it goes on and bypass, anyway, it goes on and on and on, but not a fan of dan poulter , which is interesting poulter, which is interesting because obviously he's an mp who actually i mean, he also works in the health service and who has been very critical of the government for quite some time now. this isn't sort of out of the blue, it would seem . he's the blue, it would seem. he's not really, chiming with his, tory constituents anyway. >> yeah . and i wonder how the >> yeah. and i wonder how the constituents feel, considering they they voted tory and now they they voted tory and now they have a labour mp . they have a labour mp. >> yeah. do let us know what you think about that. >> if you live in ipswich or suffolk . suffolk. >> yeah, it's an interesting one. but

poulter with the nhs. doctor.ntil the next general election and then stand down comes just days before local elections across england and wales. and the prime minister this morning refused to rule out a general election in july. wes streeting says doctor poulter defected to save the nhs. >> there have been millions of people, disaffected conservative voters like dan poulter out there, who can see the chaos, and the conservative party see the failure to deliver and are looking at the alternative . and looking at the alternative. and i'd ask those people to trust the doctor who's seen the conservative party up close. >> well, that's the labour view. policing minister chris philp is defending the government's handung defending the government's handling of the nhs, pointing to record levels of spending just in the last year alone, the nhs has grown by 68,000 staff and there are today 7000 more doctors and 21,000 more nurses than there were a year ago . than there were a year ago. >> tens of thousands of people each ye

for dan poulter, the answer to that is now labour.t, bbc news. honduras is grappling with an epidemic of violence towards women, with the united nations warning of a femicide emergency. in 2022, six out of every 100,000 women in the central american country were killed because of their gender — and this figure is thought to be increasing. our latin america reporter mimi sway—bee has more. honduras is experiencing a femicide emergency, according to the united nations. with at least 66 women murdered so far this year, the country has the highest rate of femicide in latin america, and that's alongside some of the most restrictive laws against reproductive health, including a complete ban on abortion. in 2021, xiomara castro became the first female president of honduras, generating high hopes for change in attitude towards women. she promised to not fail them to defend their rights and that all women could count on her. however, little has changed. as in 2023, around 380 femicides were recorded, according to the observatory of violence of

poulter with the nhs. doctor.it on the labour benches until the next general election and then stand down comes just days before local elections across england and wales. and the prime minister this morning refused to rule out a general election in july. wes streeting says doctor poulter defected to save the nhs. >> there have been millions of people, disaffected conservative voters like dan poulter out there, who can see the chaos, and the conservative party see the failure to deliver and are looking at the alternative . and looking at the alternative. and i'd ask those people to trust the doctor who's seen the conservative party up close. >> well, that's the labour view. policing minister chris philp is defending the government's handung defending the government's handling of the nhs, pointing to record levels of spending just in the last year alone, the nhs has grown by 68,000 staff and there are

for dan poulter, the answer to that is now labour.ot to do the same. helen catt, bbc news. the home office says it's entering the "final phase" of putting its rwanda policy into practice. a report in the guardian suggested detentions of asylum—seekers — ready for deportation — would begin on monday. a home office spokesperson said at some stage people would "inevitably" start being detained in preparation for the first flight, which is due to take off in 10 to 12 weeks. meanwhile, the irish prime minister has said foreign migration policies cannot be allowed to undermine those of ireland. simon harris said ireland "will not provide a loophole for anyone else's "migration challenges". his government'sjustice minister said there had been a rise in the number of people crossing from northern ireland to the republic of ireland. a uk government source said the uk "won't accept any asylum returns "from the eu via ireland" until the eu changes its policies. officials in kenya have warned about even heavier rainfall as downpours batter parts

for dan poulter, the answer to that is now labour.etre tall godzilla was projected on to buildings. the fictional radioactive monster is 70 years old this year. tourism bosses hope that projecting images of the beast onto buildings, in the shinjuku ward, will encourage visitors to flock to the area. �*digital godzilla' will be making three appearances a day at weekends and on national holidays. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. once again, we've had some really contrasting weather conditions across the country with a west—east divide. the best of the sunshine certainly in western areas, despite a few shower clouds brewing up through the afternoon. pleasant enough in morecambe, lancashire. different story to the east of the pennines, though. in leeds, an afternoon of heavy, persistent rain, blustery, cool winds as well. now, we're going to flip that while the story on its head into tomorrow, with the best of the sunshine out to the east. it will be a bright and breezy affair first thing in the morning. but this weather front

for dan poulter, the answer to that is now labour.ame. helen catt, bbc news. officials in kenya have warned about even heavier rainfall as downpours batter parts of east africa. more than 150 people have been killed in neighbouring tanzania, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced in burundi and uganda. there are also fears that five key dams on the tana river — kenya's longest — could overflow in the coming days, with people in affected areas advised to move to higher ground. these pictures are from kenya's makueni county south—east of nairobi — so far, at least 76 people have died there, with a further 130,000 displaced. meanwhile in tanzania, flood waters have engulfed houses in the capital dar es salaam and displaced more than 200,000 throughout the country. tanzania's prime minister has blamed "environmental degradation" for the severity of the damage. 0ur correspondent anita nkonge is in nairobi and gave us this update. we continue to see heavy rainfall this weekend. just last night, we saw such heavy rainfall here in ke

wes streeting says doctor poulter isn't defecting to save his seat. rather he's defecting to save the nhs . the nhs. >> there have been millions of people disaffected conservative voters like dan poulter out there, who can see the chaos, and the conservative party see the failure to deliver and are looking at the alternative. and i'd ask those people to trust the doctor who's seen the conservative party up close has seen the changed labour party of keir starmer up close and has decided that ultimately we need a labour government in this country to get our nhs back on its feet, to turn the economy around and to make sure that we can look to the future with hope and optimism again. >> meanwhile, policing minister chris philp defended the government's handling of the nhs , pointing to record levels of spending . spending. >> just in the last year alone, the nhs has grown by 68,000 staff and there are today 70,000 more doctors and 21,000 more nurses than there were a year ago. and tens of thousands of people each year are fleeing the welsh run nhs . sorry

he has been very clear — poulter get him to defect?to defect? he has been very clear that he is going i been very clear that he is going back to the nhs full—time. he is not standing for parliament at the next election, this idea that he isjust abandoning the sinking conservative ship to save itself is nonsense. he has abandoned the conservative party to save the nhs. i think there are millions of conservative voters across the country feeling politically hopeless you can see the chaos and the failure to deliver of now five conservative prime ministers who are now looking for an alternative. i hope they will trust the doctor who has seen the conservative party up close in parliament and also the changed labour party up close in parliament and i hope they will give change a chance at the next general election by following dan poulter backing labour so we can get our nhs back on its feet and fit for the future, sort out our economy and get britain's future back. i sort out our economy and get britain's future back.- sort out our economy

uk ministers insist health is a priority after tory mp daniel poulter defects to labour because of concerns over how the nhs is managed. the tesla boss, elon musk, meets government officials in beijing. they're discussing the future of us—china relations over electric vehicles. hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. welcome to the programme. we start in the middle east, where the palestinian president says only the us can prevent an israeli attack on rafah, where more than a million have fled. efforts are under way to negotiate a truce between israel and hamas. the us secretary of state is meeting arab leaders to discuss the situation. israel's foreign minister says this is possible if hamas agrees to free its hostages. but there's no sign of that happening at this point. a video showing two hostages, including an american, was released on saturday by hamas. in other diplomatic moves, the us secretary of state antony blinken is due in saudi arabia for talks with regional leaders. he and other key players are expected to meet on the sidelines of the world economic forum. and it's reported a hamas de

the shadow etc deny speculation might�*ve also offered dan poulter any other inducements.bout how he might help, going back to the nhs full—time when parliament is dissolved which cannot come soon enough as far as we're concerned. dr poulter said the labour party had a "track record" of improving the nhs and that sir keir starmer could be "trusted" with the health service. his defection from the conservatives is the third since 2019. you're live with bbc news. officials in kenya have warned about even heavier rainfall as downpours flood parts of east africa. more than 150 people have been killed in neighbouring tanzania, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced in burundi and uganda. there is also growing concern that dams on kenya's longest river — the tana — could overflow in the coming days. these pictures are from kenya's makueni county south east of nairobi. so far, at least 76 people have died there and 130,000 have been displaced. our correspondent anita nkonge is in nairobi with more. we continue to see heavy rainfall this weekend. just last night, we saw su

dr poulter told sunday with laura kuenssberg why he quit the tory party.s listen to the interview. well, i'd been thinking about it for a little while and it was alongside my work as an mp. i work — still work — as an nhs doctor and have done. the health service that i saw under huge strain is very different to the health service of maybe a decade ago, and the struggles and the challenges that patients have been experiencing in accessing timely good care were something that really resonated with me and stayed with me, and ifound it increasingly difficult to look my nhs colleagues in the eye, my patients in the eye, and my constituents in the eye with good conscience. and i feel that the nhs deserves better than it has at the moment in terms of how its run and governed. but you pin that on, then, the government's handling of the health service. because of course the nhs has had lots of problems for a long time, its run by managers in all sorts of places, but you pin that on the conservatives�* handling of it. i think it comes from that. i think it comes fro

poulter with the nhs. doctor. poulter says he'll sit on the labour benches until the next general election and then stand down comes just days before local elections across england and wales. and the prime minister this morning refused to rule out a general election in july. wes streeting says doctor poulter defected to save the nhs. >> there have been millions of people, disaffected conservative voters like dan poulter out there, who can see the chaos, and the conservative party see the failure to deliver and are looking at the alternative . and looking at the alternative. and i'd ask those people to trust the doctor who's seen the conservative party up close. >> well, that's the labour view. policing minister chris philp is defending the government's handung defending the government's handling of the nhs, pointing to record levels of spending just in the last year alone, the nhs has grown by 68,000 staff and there are today 7000 more doctors and 21,000 more nurses than there were a year ago . than there were a y

former health minister and conservative mp daniel poulter defects to labour, saying he disagreed withservative party's handling of the nhs. and a gold pocket watch worn by the wealthiest passenger on the titanic sells for six times the asking price. hello and welcome to bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. we start in the middle east — where israel's foreign minister has said a planned ground assault on the southern gaza city of rafah could be suspended, if a deal emerges to free the hostages still held by hamas. israel katz said their freedom was a top priority. hostage release also forms a key part of international mediation efforts to bring about a ceasefire in the gaza war. hamas has posted a new video, which shows two of the hostages captured during its october attack. keith siegel, and omri miran both identify themselves. while the video is not dated, there is a reference to the recent passover holiday. it's the second such video that hamas, considered a terror group by the uk and us governments, has published in the past few days. our correspondent, anna foster, sent this update from t

but i think that he he has i mean, basically, nobody knows dan poulter and they may knows dan poulterow the name. they may know he's a doctor , but he doesn't he's a doctor, but he doesn't turn up anywhere for the sort of parliamentary proceedings for which he was elected to perform , which he was elected to perform, he's a mysterious figure who spends more of his time pursuing his other role as a national health service doctor, which may be perfectly honourable if he isn't trying to be a politician representing his constituents. at the same time, i just think that this man is a fraud. he's been a fraud. i think right the way through his position as a laboun way through his position as a labour, a tory mp, and he's now returning to his normal natural right home in the labour party. now of course, as you'll understand, trevor, he's not here to defend himself. >> he would argue that he follows his principles. he did that when he backed the tories . that when he backed the tories. and he now does that as he backs laboun and he now does that as he backs labour. but you're entitled to your

let's talk about the defection of dan poulter.s is a loss to the conservative party. it's a slap in the face for rishi sunak and it doesn't say much about how a doctor working in the nhs views how the nhs has been managed under 14 years of conservative rule. >> well, obviously , you know, >> well, obviously, you know, we're always sad to lose a colleague, although i haven't seen dan around that much recently. look, i think the conservative record on the nhs is very good. well, i mean, it means what i said . we've got a means what i said. we've got a fantastic record on the nhs, we've got record levels of spending £165 billion a year, even adjusting for inflation, more than we've ever spent before in history. we've got record numbers of doctors, record numbers of doctors, record numbers of nurses, just in the last year alone, the nhs has grown by 68,000 staff and there are today 7000 more doctors and 21,000 more nurses than there were a year ago . and than there were a year ago. and the numbers are also much higher than they were i

this morning _ these words from dan poulter this morning of— these words from dan poulter this morningat is politics _ place. thank you very much, george roberts. that is politics focused - place. thank you very much, george roberts. that is politics focused on | roberts. that is politics focused on westminster but elsewhere there is also lots of political stories do discuss. , ., ., also lots of political stories do discuss. , . ., , also lots of political stories do discuss. , . ., discuss. yes, and a bit of intrigue at the moment _ discuss. yes, and a bit of intrigue at the moment around _ discuss. yes, and a bit of intrigue at the moment around holyrood i discuss. yes, and a bit of intrigue| at the moment around holyrood at discuss. yes, and a bit of intrigue - at the moment around holyrood at the moment _ that's because scotland's first minister humza yousaf- faces a no confidence vote this week after ending a power—sharing deal- with the scottish greens. humza yousaf has reached out to opposition leaders - to find common ground — - but a source close to him says the first ministe

what i found amusing about dan poulter's statement . he said the poulter's statement.the conservatives have become a nationalist party of the right . nationalist party of the right. i mean, arguably the most left wing government of all time. i mean, cameron's a—list obsession with diversity , proud of he was with diversity, proud of he was so proud of gay marriage as his main thing. higher immigration numbers than even tony blair dared to try. you know, diversity built britain coin highest taxes since the 40s by some metrics. what is right wing? what is conservative? david, tony blair actually tried to get those numbers down before. so saying that he was going for higher numbers isn't is actually false . he. is actually false. he. >> no, no, i'm i'm saying the same point as you i'm saying the tories have gone i've had higher immigration than even blair would dare to do or would have done. >> but no, but the idea is that it almost feels like you're trying to say that he would have wanted more when actually he didn't want more. >> no, i'm saying because someone said it t

while wes streeting told gb news that doctor poulter isn't defecting to save his seat. the nhs . the nhs. >> there would be millions of people disaffected conservative voters like dan porter out there who can see the chaos, and the conservative party see the failure to deliver and are looking at the alternative. and i'd ask those people to trust the doctor who has seen the conservative party up close, has seen the changed labour party of keir starmer up close, and has decided that ultimately we need a labour government in this country to get our nhs back on its feet, to turn the economy around and to make sure that we can look to the future with hope and optimism again. >> however, policing minister chris philp defended the government's handling of the nhs, pointing to what he calls record levels of spending just in the last year alone, the nhs has grown by 68,000 staff and there are today 7000 more doctors and 21,000 more nurses than there were a year ago . than there were a year ago. >> and tens of thousands of people each year are fleeing the welsh run nhs . sorry, t

this, of course, following the defection of doctor dan poulter , defection of doctor dan poulter, a formerunak be gone in weeks with a new tory leader offering a more conservative policy agenda? let's get the views of tonight's newsmaker, ann widdecombe and great to see you as always. as a former long standing conservative mp yourself, you know how this party ticks . do know how this party ticks. do you think the knife will be wielded after this week's local elections? >> well, normally i would say do you know. of course not. don't be silly, they would be absolutely mad to have yet another, leadership bloodbath thatis another, leadership bloodbath that is what i would normally say. but the fact is, they have proved that they don't act in the same way that they're perfectly capable of doing that. and therefore, if you want me to say no, there are no circumstance under which they would wield the knife, i can no longer say it. i mean, i think it is completely irrational. they're not going to change their fortunes by changing their leader yet again. nobody is going to be taken in by a whole se

senior conservatives have been defending the prime minister, after the mp dan poulter defected to labouring public services. the home office minister chris philp rejected that claim, and said the government was spending more money than ever on the health service. helen catt has more. for labour, the defection is a boost. the shadow health secretary denied speculation that it might have also offered doctor bull to any other inducement like a seat in the lords. , ., . ~ inducement like a seat in the lords. , ., ., lords. he is going back to the nhs full lords. he is going back to the was full time _ lords. he is going back to the nhs full time when _ lords. he is going back to the | nhs full time when parliament is dissolved which can't come soon — is dissolved which can't come soon enough, as far as we're concerned~ _ dr poulter said the labour party had a track record his defection is the third from the conservatives since 2019. you're live with bbc news. officials in kenya have warned about even heavier rainfall as downpours flood parts of east africa. more than 150 people have been kil

dan poulter, who is defected to laboun do poulter, who is defected to labour. do you have any. my understanding is he's done this because he thinks the tories have failed on the nhs. do you think that's it, or is he just running because he knows that he's on the losing team at the moment. >> what do you think? i wonder whether he's running because he's on the losing team. but it begs a bigger question about other tories. and as you say, how left wing they are, right? what other parties they might change to. >> yeah, i mean it's kind of reminiscent. do you remember change uk . yes. do you remember change uk. yes. do you remember that. yeah. >> oh yeah. >> oh yeah. >> just sort of ran over to this imaginary party and then they all just well, well then the imaginary party died in the 2019 election because nobody voted for them . for them. >> and i, dan poulter, isn't it? yes. i just don't i when i see anything like this, i think what do his constituents think the people that elected him in the first place, who voted it in a local council, conservative mp and now he's gone? well i'

dan poulter has been speaking to laura kuenssberg. the prime minister under pressure.olleagues in the eye, my patients in the eye, and my constituents in the eye with good conscience. and i feel that the nhs deserves better than it has at the moment in terms of how its run and governed. since 2010, though, constituents in your suffolk home have chosen you, sent you to westminster as a conservative. some of them might be angry that you have left the party that they chose. what do you say to them? i thought about it and i thought, "well, what's the best thing or the right thing to do"? and on balance, i thought because there will be an election very, very soon. it makes sense to have a by—election. i thought, on balance, it was better to continue to work diligently for my constituents through until the end of this parliament. a conservative spokesperson said, "what dan says is wrong. sir keir starmer has no plan for our nhs under the conservatives. we are raising nhs funding to a record £165 billion a year, helping it recover from the effects of the pandemic and driving

for dan poulter, the answer to that is now labour.n favour of freedom of speech. the australian government has been urging social media platform x to pull down videos of the bishop's attack. for us to say that free speech is dangerous, _ for us to say that free speech is dangerous, it cannot be possible in a democratic country, i'm yet to fathom — a democratic country, i'm yet to fathom this. i'm yet to fathom this. the grand final of one of the world's biggest competitive gaming competitions is under way in birmingham, where one team of professional gamers will win £800,000 in prize money. the esl 0ne tournament sees teams from all over the world compete in multiplayer role play arena game, dota 2. andrew rogers, from radio 1's newsbeat, is at the tournament. he joins us live now. good to see you. just tell how big this event is popular great to see you. things havejust wrapped up recently. that you. things have 'ust wrapped up recentl . �* ., recently. at the huge event, to answer question. _ recently. at the huge event, to answer q

british conservative mp dr dan poulter quits the party to join the opposition labour party. speaking to the bbc, he said the conservatives were no longerfocused on public services, and a general election was needed as soon as possible. ukraine says russia has carried out another air attack — narrowly missing a hospital. the us says it will "rush" patriot air defence missiles and ammunition to ukraine — president zelensky says they are "urgently" needed. hamas publishes a new video showing proof of life for two hostages in gaza. israel's foreign minister says it will defer the operation in rafah if a hostage deal is reached. and scotland's first minister seeks to save his political career, inviting leaders of other parties to talks — hoping to change their plans to oust him. humza yousaf insists he won't resign despite a week of political turmoil. hello and welcome to sportsday with me gavin ramjaun. a touchline spat between mo salah and jurgen klopp, and two points dropped at west ham in another disappointing day for liverpool. sheffield united are the first team relegated f

poulter speaking, to the beeb. >> the party he was elected into valued public services.vices. it valued it had a compassionate view about supporting the more disadvantaged in society, i think the conservative party today is in a very different place. it's focus is not on delivering or supporting high quality public services. >> well, i'll tell you what. rat down a drain pipe springs to mind for me, because clearly he's getting on aboard the labour boat before the tory one goes, doolally. and down the plughole , i'm afraid. plughole, i'm afraid. >> well, i don't think it will go down, but, i mean, i struggle when i hear dan say that because i think you struggle a lot. it's unden i think you struggle a lot. it's under. it's under this guy. i struggle with you. but i think, look, it's under this government that it's dealt with some of the backlogs, backlogs in the nhs. okay. it's a government that has invested more than ever before invested more than ever before in the nhs. it's got another it's got another 75 word work workforce plan that announced in november of this year

in the uk, ministers insist health is a priority after tory mp daniel poulter defects to labour becauseconcerns over how the nhs is managed. the tesla boss elon musk meets government officials in beijing. they're discussing the future of us—china relations over electric vehicles. and it is party time in milan, thousand nternet to celebrate italy's new football champions, inter milan —— thousands turn out. and real money is on the line for virtual sport. £800,00 is up for grabs in the grand final of the esl one gaming £800,000 is up for grabs in the grand final of the esl 0ne gaming tournament in birmingham. hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. welcome to the programme. we start in the middle east, where the palestinian president says only the us can prevent an israeli attack on rafah, where more than a million have fled. mahmoud abbas is at the world economic forum summit in riyadh. he will be joined there on monday by the us secretary of state, antony blinken. other key international figures are expected in the saudi city and sideline meetings are expected to discuss the war in gaza and the

dan poulter says his former party is no longer focused on public services.e's allies to provide more air defences. and police have moved in to break up a pro—palestinian protest at northeastern university in boston. officials say 100 people were detained. we'll have the latest. hello, i'm samantha simmonds. we start in the middle east, where israel's foreign minister has said that his country's planned military incursion into rafah in gaza could be suspended if there is a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages held by hamas. this comes after egyptian mediators arrived in israel with local media reporting there's been notable progress in finding common ground. in the last few hours, it's also been announced that

uk ministers insist health is a priority after the tory mp daniel poulter defects to labour because of concerns over how the nhs is managed. and a gold pocket watch worn by the wealthiest passenger on the titanic becomes the shipwreck�*s most expensive item ever bought at auction. now on bbc news... the travel show. there are still places that surprise me, even after travelling for nearly 20 years. countries that appear to be one thing but, when you dig a little deeper, turn out to be something completely different. this is pretty spectacular. it is, it is. and i'm loving all the colours. the cabo verde archipelago, located just over 600km from senegal�*s coast, is one of them. tourism has really picked up pace here in recent decades, and it's easy to see why — crystal—clear waters, golden beaches, year—round sun, all the ingredients for an amazing holiday. but i feel there's so much more to this place just waiting to be discovered by travellers like us. and all you have to do is head beyond the beaches. i've been lucky enough to explore a lot of africa, but what i've heard about cabo