BRITAIN on Wednesday (2) urged health experts and sufferers of tuberculosis (TB) to come forward to help draw up a new five-year action plan as it deals with record rises in the disease.
In 2023, England recorded its largest annual increase (11 per cent) in cases since enhanced surveillance began in 2000.
Provisional figures for 2024 indicate a further 13-per cent annual rise to 5,480 cases, reflecting a similar global trend.
The government is in the preliminary stages of preparing its new National Action Plan (2026–2031), which aims to improve the prevention, detection and control of TB in England.
It called for academic, health and social care professionals, public health experts, data scientists and those with lived experience of tuberculosis to share their insights.
"TB is curable and preventable, but the disease remains a serious public health issue in England," said Esther Robinson, head of the TB unit at the Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
While England is still considered a low-incidence country for TB, the rise in cases over recent years means that "we are now just below" the World Health Organization-defined low-incidence threshold of 10 cases per 100,000 population, Robinson said.
The government has said the highest incidence of the disease in the UK, 81.5 per cent, is among people born outside the country.
Research in the UK has shown a clear link between TB and deprivation, including among the homeless, those addicted to drugs and alcohol, and people who have had contact with the criminal justice system.
"This call for evidence will help us develop an action plan that prioritises the most effective interventions to reverse this trend, focusing particularly on the needs of those most affected," Robinson added.
(AFP)
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)