Confidence in the corporation’s leadership has been questioned after a string of editorial and governance lapses, prompting the culture secretary to seek firm reassurances on accountability and standards from the BBC director-general.

Medical breakthroughs are propelling cancer treatment towards a pivotal era, with experts predicting that innovative therapies and advances in genetic technology will transform care and improve patient outcomes.

Medical leaders caution that the continued junior doctors’ strike risks lasting harm to public trust, labelling the action “unjustifiable” and citing polls showing nearly half of the public opposed to walkouts.

A new initiative aims to reduce widespread medical leave by urging GPs to prescribe job coaching and fitness programmes, ensuring more people return to the workforce rather than relying on extended sick notes.