EXCLUSIVE 'You're a danger to your children': Shocking comment a doctor made to SARAH VINE after the trials of motherhood and marriage left her balding, struggling to shift the baby weight and full of self-hatred
Most people are first impressed with someone's looks, their physical prowess, their ability to dance. I fell for Michael Gove 's modesty, the fact that his physical bumbling was in such contrast to his razor-sharp brain and his wit: there is no funnier person in the room.
I'd met him when a friend told me someone dropped out of a skiing holiday and I decided a short break would be a good idea. Michael, who was also going, was comment editor of The Times. I'd just become a commissioning editor of one of its supplements and was yet to start my new job.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
24 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Police investigate heart surgery patient deaths at East Yorkshire hospital
Police have launched an investigation into the deaths of heart surgery patients at an East Yorkshire hospital. The investigation is focusing on transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) procedures carried out on elderly and frail patients at Castle Hill hospital, near Hull. There have been no arrests in connection with the investigation, which Humberside police said was in its 'very early stages'. A BBC investigation found concerns had been raised about the deaths of 11 patients after the procedure to replace a damaged valve in the heart. It is a surgery used in people with heart disease who are not well enough for major heart surgery, as the heart does not need to be stopped, unlike in bypass surgery. However it does still carry serious risk as it involves surgeons inserting an instrument with a balloon into a leg or chest artery, which is moved into position near the opening of the aortic valve. Space for new tissue is then created by inflating the balloon, which supports the heart valve. The Humber Health Care Partnership, which runs Castle Hill through Hull university teaching hospitals NHS trust (HUTH), told the BBC that three separate reviews conducted after concerns were raised found deaths after this type of surgery at the hospital were in line with the national average. It said families who had lost loved ones were invited to ask questions and that the trust was 'happy to answer those directly'. The spokesperson said: 'Three separate external reviews of our TAVI service have been undertaken and shown that mortality rates associated with TAVI are similar to national mortality rates over a four-year period. 'The Royal College of Physicians was invited to review the service in 2021, at the request of the trust's chief medical officer. 'The Royal College report concluded that the TAVI service is essential for the Humber and North Yorkshire region and needs to be expanded. 'It stated however that the design of the service should be reviewed and invested in. The report offered a number of actions for improvement and we have delivered against all of those since it was shared with us.' A Humberside police spokesperson said: 'An investigation is in the very early stages in relation to deaths following surgery at Castle Hill hospital. Inquiries are being carried out and at this time, we can confirm no arrests have been made.'
The Independent
29 minutes ago
- The Independent
Meghan and Harry dance in delivery room before Lilibet's birth in unseen video
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex danced together before the birth of Princess Lilibet, previously unseen footage shared by Meghan to mark their daughter's birthday. Meghan and Prince Harry danced together in a bid to induce labour with Lilibet, as she was past her due date. 'When spicy food, all that walking, and acupuncture didn't work — there was only one thing left to do,' Meghan wrote on Instagram on Tuesday (4 June) as she celebrated her daughter's fourth birthday. Footage showed the pair in the delivery room together, set to the song 'Baby Mama' by Starrkeisha.
Telegraph
30 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Mental health sick days soar by 5m in just a year
Britons took an extra 5m sick days for mental health reasons last year after a surge in conditions including stress, anxiety and depression. Staff took a record 20.5m days off because of mental health in 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics, up from 14.8m in 2023. This accounted for 13.7pc of all sick days taken in Britain, the highest proportion since 2019. Jamie O'Halloran, senior research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research, said the figures reflect 'the tip of the iceberg' as many employees continue working even when they are unwell. He said: 'We must do more to prevent avoidable ill health and create workplaces that support people with health conditions to get into – and stay in – work. 'The lack of progress on mental health is particularly alarming and must become a greater priority for both public health policy and employer strategy.' Poor mental health appears to be more prevalent in the public sector, where it accounted for 16.4pc of absences last year – compared with 6.7pc in the private sector. There has been a surge in diagnoses of mental health conditions such as anxiety and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Overall ill health is also more problematic in the public sector, where it accounts for an absence rate of 2.9pc compared with 1.8pc for private companies. The latest figures also show that it is not only those in work taking time off because of sickness. The number of people of working age who are economically inactive – neither in work nor looking for a job – because of ill health has surged to 2.8m, up from 2.1m before the Covid pandemic. In total, workers took 149m sick days in 2024, which is down 10pc on the previous year. The number of days taken for minor illnesses dropped by a third to 33m, while workers took 26.5m days for musculoskeletal problems, roughly the same as 2023. The overall sickness rate, which charts absences as a share of all working hours, fell to 2pc. As a result the proportion of sick days is back to its pre-pandemic level. Sam Atwell, at the Health Foundation, a charity, said sick employees must be supported to prevent them from dropping out of work altogether. 'Warning sign' 'Employers and government alike should be concerned by these findings as extended or repeated episodes of sickness absence can be a warning sign that an employee is at risk of leaving the workforce and becoming economically inactive,' he said. 'Employers have a key role to play in ensuring that workers are provided with adequate sick pay and are actively supported during sickness absence. 'Our analysis shows that the UK statutory sick pay rate is among the least generous across all OECD countries.
