Rishi Sunak says timing of action days before general election appears to be ‘politically motivated’ to help Labour

Up to 100,000 patients in England face having their NHS care cancelled days before the general election after junior doctors announced a fresh wave of strike action, with Rishi Sunak saying it appeared to be politically motivated.

Health leaders expressed alarm, warning the five-day strike would jeopardise efforts to tackle the record waiting list and “hit patients hard”.

From railways to nurseries and children’s homes, investors are taking advantage of chances to siphon taxpayer funds offshore

Sector by sector, private equity is making deep inroads into UK public services. More than a decade ago, the collapse of Southern Cross, the private-equity-owned care home operator, revealed the havoc that can be wreaked when essential public services are run by heavily indebted businesses with complex financial structures. Typically, such owners maximise profits by using low-tax jurisdictions, loans, and sale-and-leaseback arrangements that split holding companies from property assets.

Present trends show that this cautionary tale is being ignored. A forthcoming report from the Common Wealth thinktank uses the example of the companies that lease trains to railway operators, to demonstrate that private equity companies are pressing their advantage from financial engineering. Britain’s transport network has joined health and social care, children’s homes and some areas of education in offering rich pickings to private-equity investors.

Open letter by Royal College of GPs says system fails to equitably distribute money and contributes to wider health inequalities

Ministers must “radically” reform the way GP funding is allocated across the country because it results in the poorest areas receiving inadequate healthcare, family doctors have warned.

The Royal College of GPs (RCGP) wrote in an open letter that the Carr-Hill formula, which has been used to allocated core GP funding since 2004, is outdated as it does not equitably distribute funds and as a result has contributed to the widening of health inequalities across the country.

Stuart Bolitho on why his life is still a ticking timebomb, more than 30 years after he was given contaminated blood, Marjorie Haynes on her father, who she believes died from Aids in the days before blood was tested, and Christine Hancock on a warning that wasn’t heeded

On Monday, I learned that 33 years after I was given a contaminated blood transfusion, the government has admitted that I and thousands of others were victims of a corrupt, careless system, and that we should receive compensation (UK infected blood scandal made worse by ‘chilling’ cover-up, inquiry finds, 20 May). It is a hollow victory.

I received a transfusion that contained hepatitis C after a stomach operation. I was fortunate to survive, unlike many others. My thoughts go out to their families. Although I have survived so far, hepatitis C can lead to liver cancer at any time. It’s a time bomb and is so frightening.

Chair to share findings of investigation into NHS infection of thousands with HIV or hepatitis C over more than 20 years

The infected blood public inquiry is to publish its final report on the failings that led to the deaths of more than 3,000 people in the UK and ruined many more lives.

The report will detail how more than 30,000 haemophiliacs or transfusion recipients were infected with HIV and/or hepatitis C over more than two decades, and is seen as a seismic moment for the victims and their families.

Council spending cuts are forcing studios and venues to close, driving out the city’s creative businesses

Last year, the city of Leeds held a year-long celebration of culture, complete with festivals, newly commissioned works of art and community projects. More than 1,000 events took place, with hundreds of volunteers and local schools taking part.

This year, however, artists and ­creatives in the West Yorkshire city are being forced out of their workshops and galleries, and say the dwindling number of spaces is crushing Leeds’s creative scene.