British Pakistani councillor Afzal sworn in as Birmingham's new lord mayor

• A government-commissioned review says the NHS maternity system is failing to provide consistently safe care.
• The report calls for a new Maternity Commissioner and urgent reforms to improve safety and accountability.
• Families welcomed some recommendations but campaigners said the review stopped short of addressing key concerns.

England's NHS maternity care system requires fundamental reform after an independent review concluded it is failing to deliver consistently safe, high-quality and compassionate care for women and babies. According to the BBC report, the government-commissioned investigation found wide variations in care, poor accountability and "unacceptable racism and discrimination" embedded across maternity services.

The review, led by Baroness Valerie Amos, was launched after a series of maternity scandals across England, including the recent findings into Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. More than 450 families shared their experiences with the inquiry, while the review team visited 12 NHS trusts to identify why problems continue to emerge despite repeated investigations.