Published3 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, PA MediaBy Thomas MackintoshBBC NewsThe author of the landmark Cass review into gender identity services for young people says she is “very angry” about “misinformation” spread about her work. Dr Hilary Cass’s review this month found “remarkably weak” evidence for treatments such as puberty blockers. The physician told the BBC some claims spread online about her evidence were “completely incorrect”.She said adults who “deliberately spread misinformation” put young people at risk, which was “unforgivable”. The Cass report, published on 10 April, looked at gender identity services for under-18s in NHS England. It found gender medicine to be operating on “shaky foundations” when it came to the evidence for medical treatment like prescribing hormones to pause puberty or to transition to the opposite sex.It said: “The reality is that we have no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of interventions to manage gender-related distress”.This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s More or Less: Behind the Stats podcast, Dr Cass was asked about particular claims spread online about her review – one that “98% of the evidence” was ignored or dismissed by her, and one that she would only include gold-standard “double-blind

Published32 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, PA MediaBy Thomas MackintoshBBC NewsMinisters took “instant action” to move 39 asylum seekers from the Bibby Stockholm barge after Legionella bacteria was found last week, the health secretary said.Steve Barclay was questioned why people were moved in when officials knew tests were being conducted.He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that “no-one has been harmed”. Home Office ministers say the presence of bacteria was confirmed to them on Thursday, and they then took action.In an earlier interview with Sky News, Mr Barclay said: “As soon as ministers were notified on Thursday night, there were some concerns with that, they took instant action.””My understanding from colleagues in the Home Office is it was notified to Home Office ministers on Thursday and they then took very quick action as a result.”Legionella bacteria can cause Legionnaires disease, a type of pneumonia, if it is breathed in via tiny droplets of water suspended in the air.Around 5%-10% of cases are fatal. People with underlying health conditions, the over 50s and smokers are at risk of serious illness.The barge had been billed as a cheaper alternative to hotels for asylum seekers awaiting the outcome of their claims. The government eventually plans to house up to 500 men aged 18-65 on the vessel moored in Portland Port while they await the outcome of asylum applications. Mr Barclay added “progress is being made” on his government’s migrant policy. “We recognise there is more to do. The barge is one aspect of that. We need to go further.”Migrants moved off barge over bacteria fearsAsylum seekers describe life on Bibby StockholmInside the Bibby Stockholm asylum seekers bargeDorset Council said it informed Home Office contractors about preliminary test results last Monday.In a statement, the council said: “To be clear, it was not Dorset Council’s responsibility to inform the Home Office – that responsibility sat with CTM and Landry and King, the companies contracted by the Home Office to operate the barge.”The full timeline remains unclear and the council has not yet said whether it told contractors before or after the transfer of migrants on to the barge.A senior Home Office source told the BBC that the department did not receive a formal notification of the presence of Legionella until Wednesday evening.The source said the person notified on Tuesday was a “junior” member of staff who happened to be on a call with contractors.They also said that the department was “led” by the UK Health Security Agency, which did not recommend people were moved off the barge until Thursday night.Prof Dame Jenny Harries, the chief executive of the agency, said that legionella bacteria detected in routine tests would not “necessarily indicate there is a systemic problem”.”Just finding legionella does not necessarily mean there is a significant risk to human health,” she told Today.”It is primarily the responsibility of the operator or the manager of the premises or with the services to ensure that is fully managed before there are people using the services.”The government has been criticised over its handling of the Bibby Stockholm, including from within its own ranks.David Davis, a Conservative MP, said that the “startling incompetence” of the Home Office had been laid bare, while former party chairman Sir Jake Berry described the removals as “farcical”.However, Wales Secretary David TC Davis on Sunday defended the government’s handling of the situation, telling Times Radio that it “actually demonstrates how we’re putting the safety of people first”.Without an engine and now virtually empty, the Bibby Stockholm has come to symbolise the UK’s response to its asylum crisis. A functional deterrent to those who might abuse our generosity, according to ministers. Dead in the water, critics say – a cruel dereliction of Britain’s responsibilities to those fleeing conflict and persecution The arguments about who and when people knew the vessel’s water supply was contaminated with dangerous bacteria will rumble on, but the unfortunate barge is a headline-grabbing distraction from the real problems of an asylum system even the government accepts is broken. The barge comes at a financial cost too, of course, and a number of senior Conservative MPs are now publicly fuming at the political price the party is paying.It will be pointed out the number of migrants who crossed the Channel on Saturday alone would more than fill a barge, but that would miss what lies at the heart of this problem. It’s true, the number of asylum applications has increased in the last couple of years. But, the backlog of people waiting for the Home Office to make a decision on asylum claims has gone up three times as quickly over the same period. The backlog was rising before small boats became an issue. Despite a big increase in caseworkers, it is still at almost record levels. The prime minister’s promise to end the asylum crisis relies on deterring migrants from coming. But change so far appears as sluggish as an engineless barge in Portland Harbour. More on this storyMigrants moved off barge over bacteria fearsPublished2 days agoBarge evacuation shows ‘startling incompetence’Published1 day agoFirst asylum seekers board Bibby Stockholm bargePublished6 days agoInside the Bibby Stockholm asylum seekers bargePublished6 days ago

Published22 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesBy Thomas MackintoshBBC NewsGlobal cocaine production has reached record levels as demand rebounds following Covid lockdowns, a new report has found.The UN Office on Drugs and Crime said coca cultivation rose by 35% between 2021 and 2022 to record levels.Findings suggest new hubs for trafficking have emerged in West and Central Africa. The report also said traffickers were using international postal services more often to get drugs to consumers.Europe and North America are the largest markets for cocaine, followed by South and Central America and the Caribbean.While the report said the markets in Africa and Asia were “still limited”, the UN’s Ghada Waly said the potential for the market to expand there was a dangerous reality.The Global Report on Cocaine said the production increase was the result of an expansion in the cultivation of coca bush, as well as improvements in converting coca into powdered cocaine. It says: “Seizure data suggest that the role of Africa, especially West and Central Africa, as a transit zone for cocaine on its way to markets in Europe has picked up substantially since 2019. “Both the total quantity seized in Africa and the number of large seizures appear to have reached record levels during 2021.”The report says the outbreak of Covid-19 had a “disruptive” effect on drug markets as international travel was severely curtailed.Demand for cocaine slumped as night clubs and bars were shut during the pandemic lockdowns.”However, the most recent data suggests this slump has had little impact on longer-term trends,” the report says. “The global supply of cocaine is at record levels.”In the UK, the report says there has been a “significant increase” in seizures of cocaine in the “fast parcel and postal modes”.Interceptions by law enforcement have also been on the rise – at a higher speed than production, the report outlines.Other key findings include: Colombia still dominates trafficking routes although paths to Europe have evolvedConsumption in Australia peaked in the middle of 2020, dropped by 50% the following year and picked up “moderately” in the last few months of 2021Mexican and Balkan criminal groups have moved closer to the centre of production to gain access to suppliesThe use of crack cocaine is on the upward trend in several western European countries including the UK, Belgium, France and SpainIn Ukraine, the market had been expanding, but since Russia’s invasion last February the demand has been disrupted drasticallyThis video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.More on this storyPatients face losing noses due to cocaine – medics6 days ago’My online cocaine delivery arrives in 19 minutes’ Video, 00:04:51’My online cocaine delivery arrives in 19 minutes’16 December 20224:51

Published4 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesBy Thomas MackintoshBBC News, LondonChina has outlined the way it counts Covid-19 deaths amid scepticism about the real impact of the disease.It says the figure includes only those who die from respiratory illnesses, such as pneumonia.Officially, there were only five Covid deaths on Tuesday, two on Monday – and none in the previous two weeks.The counting method goes against World Health Organization (WHO) guidance – resulting in a figure that is way below the death toll in many other countries.The WHO says countries use different processes to test and report Covid-19 deaths making comparisons between nations difficult.It is why many countries record Covid-19 deaths as excess mortality – how many more people died than would normally be expected based on death figures before the pandemic hit.These calculations also take into account deaths which were not directly because of Covid but were caused by its knock-on effects – including people being unable to access hospitals for the care they require.By contrast, China has strict criteria for confirming Covid-19 cases, which include evidence in patients of lung damage caused by the virus. This must be confirmed in a scan.But, the country is currently experiencing a surge in cases since the lifting of its most severe restrictions earlier this month. What is China’s policy and how many cases are there?Official figures show a relatively low number of new daily cases and deaths. This has led to fears the numbers are an underestimate due to a recent reduction in Covid testing.In a bid to address the concerns the State Council held a news conference on Tuesday.Infectious disease expert Prof Wang Gui-qiang clarified that only pneumonia and respiratory failure caused by the coronavirus were counted as Covid deaths. Deaths caused by underlying diseases are not included in the official count, state-owned China News Service reported.Strict lockdowns are said to account for China’s official death toll staying so low since the start of the pandemic – the official figure is just over 5,200.This is equal to only three Covid deaths in every million in China, compared with 3,000 per million in the US and 2,400 per million in the UK.China has faced challenges with vaccines being used and particularly getting them to the most vulnerable people.Overall, China says more than 90% of its population has been fully vaccinated. However, less than half of people aged 80 and over have received three doses of vaccine. Elderly people are more likely to suffer severe Covid symptoms.China has developed and produced its own vaccines, which have been shown to be less effective at protecting people against serious Covid illness and death than the mRNA vaccines used in much of the rest of the world.Prof Wang’s comments come as hospitals in the capital Beijing and in other cities struggle to cope with the latest Covid surge.The latest wave has also hit postal and catering services hard.Meanwhile, China’s largest city, Shanghai, has ordered most of its schools to take classes online as cases soar.More on this storyChina to see three winter Covid waves – official2 days agoChina abandons key parts of zero-Covid strategy7 DecemberHow is China tackling Covid?6 days ago