is a member of the
Independent
Press Standards
Organisation (IPSO) and we subscribe
to its Editors’ Code of Practice. If you
have a complaint about editorial
content, please visit http://www.telegraph.
co.uk/editorialcomplaints or write to
‘Editorial Complaints’ at our postal
address (see below). If you are not
satisfied with our response, you may
appeal to IPSO at http://www.ipso.co.uk.The Daily Telegraph, 111 Buckingham
Palace Road, London, SW1W 0DTOff-duty pilot helped
with emergency landingAn off-duty pilot reportedly stepped in
to carry out an emergency landing
after the original pilot fainted.
He was flying from Manchester to
Portuguese holiday island Madeira
when the pilot became unwell aboard
the Jet2.com flight at around 10.20am
local time yesterday.
The Boeing 757 was diverted to
Porto where the runway was closed
for half an hour for the aircraft to land.
The off-duty pilot offered to help.
Jet2.com said: “Flight LS
diverted to Porto as a precautionary
measure, due to a pilot feeling unwell.”NEWS BULLETIN
Private ambulances sent
to 999 emergenciesMajor ambulance trusts are
increasingly relying on private
ambulances to attend 999 calls, an
investigation has found.
Research by PA Media showed
England’s ambulance trusts had spent
more than £92 million in the last year
on private ambulances and taxis to
transport patients.
Some trusts relied on private
ambulances due to a chronic shortage
of NHS staff and ongoing problems
with recruitment, while in some parts
of the South, almost one in five
emergency calls resulted in a private
ambulance being sent to the scene.Lottery winner still aims
to take break in Skegness
A mother-of-two says she is still
planning to holiday in a Skegness
caravan despite winning £10,
every month for the next 30 years on
the National Lottery.
Vicky Mitchell, 42, and her partner
of 18 years, Adam Fry, 38, admitted
their only car-buying plans are limited
to a new Skoda Citigo after they
scooped £120,000 a year. The prize is
tax-free, making it the equivalent of a
£200,000-a-year gross salary.
Speaking near their home in
Halifax, West Yorks, Ms Mitchell said
she is not cancelling her plans for
caravanning in Skegness next year.Train fan told to remove
Fat Controller costume
A train buff with learning difficulties
was accused of trying to impersonate a
member of staff when he wore a Fat
Controller fancy dress costume to a
Thomas the Tank Engine event.
Gareth Bell, 27, was told to take off
the outfit and sit away from other
visitors at the Caledonian Railway in
Angus for “health and safety” reasons.
His mother, Laurie Alexander, said
she “couldn’t stop crying about what
happened” on Saturday.
Caledonian Railway has since
apologised for the “case of miscommu-
nication” and invited Mr Bell back for
another ride next weekend.Morris dancers’ bid for
bank holiday is rejected
Morris dancers have lost their battle
for an extra bank holiday next year.
They marched on Parliament last
month to protest against plans to
switch the May bank holiday in
2020 to Friday, May 8, to mark 75 years
since VE Day.
The marchers were campaigning for
next year’s 40th anniversary of the
Sweeps Festival, in which morris
dancers and medieval re-enactors
descend on Rochester in Kent over the
first weekend in May, including the
Monday.
Medway Council wanted both May
4 and May 8 2020 to be bank holidays.Migrant dies swimming
across Channel to Britain
AN Iraqi migrant has died while trying
to swim to England, Belgian
authorities have confirmed.
The man, believed to be in his 40s,
was found dead at a wind farm off the
coast of Zeebrugge.
West Flanders’ governor Carl
Decaluwé said he was found wearing
an improvised buoyancy aid made of
plastic water bottles and one flipper.
He is believed to have been refused
asylum in Germany.
The Home Office said it was a “tragic
incident” as they warned migrants not
to make the “dangerous” Channel
crossing.Subscribe today
and save 50%
for three monthsSEE PAGE 13 FOR DETAILSBA accused of trying to duck compensation
By Victoria WardBRITISH AIRWAYS has been accused
by a pilots’ union of cancelling flights
“early” to avoid paying out compensa-
tion to passengers.
Balpa, which has put the holiday
plans of hundreds of passengers in
doubt by announcing three days of
strikes next month, claimed the airline
was “compounding the mess it has cre-
ated” by contacting passengers to tell
them their flights had been cancelled.It insisted yesterday that it will only
return to the negotiating table if BA im-
proves its offer.
It came as Brian Strutton, the gen-
eral secretary of Balpa, who earns more
than £140,000, was pictured at
Bournemouth Airport as he headed off
on a week-long holiday with his wife
and two grown-up sons.
Less than 24 hours after announcing
industrial action, on September 9, 10
and 27, he is believed to have flown to
Majorca for a European cruise ahead of
his 60th birthday. Balpa insisted that
senior colleagues were available to
continue talks in his absence.
The union has rejected a three-year
pay deal worth 11.5 per cent, prompting
accusations of “pure greed”.
The pilots’ action would cancel morethan 850 flights on each strike day and
ruin the travel plans of an estimated
450,000 people.
The union, which represents the ma-
jority of BA pilots, told The Daily Tele-
graph: “If BA confirms it will improve
its offer, Balpa will consider that care-
fully and respond. But so far, BA has
neither asked to meet nor confirmed it
can improve on its offer. If it does so,
senior Balpa officials are available to
take part in talks.
“By cancelling flights so early, to
avoid compensating customers, the
airline has got its focus wrong and is
compounding the mess it has created.
BA should stop cancelling flights and
get back to the negotiating table.”
It continued: “Last week, to avert a
strike, BA pilots only asked for BA toreturn a small amount of what they
gave up when the company was losing
money. That is not unreasonable, but
management refuses to listen.”
Passengers are only eligible for com-
pensation if they have been given
fewer than 14 days’ notice before a can-
celled flight.
Balpa announced the strike dates on
Friday and BA contacted passengers by
email later that night and early Satur-
day morning to alert them that flights
would be scrapped.
The airline insisted that its priority
was to give customers “as much notice
as possible”.
“We will do everything we can to get
as many people away on their journeys
as possible,” a spokesman said.
“However, it is likely that many ofour customers will not be able to travel,
and we are offering refunds and re-
bookings for passengers booked on
cancelled flights. We will also provide
passenger care obligations – for exam-
ple, provision of meals, hotel accom-
modation.”
She added: “Our senior team is avail-
able for talks. We continue to pursue
every avenue to find a solution to avoid
industrial action and protect our cus-
tomers’ travel plans.”
The problems were compounded
when BA erroneously emailed passen-
gers who were due to fly on dates either
side of the strike dates to say that their
flights were also affected.
It corrected its mistake hours later,
but not before many had already
booked new flights.Rural areas will be our priority in the drive to give 5G to all
O
ur rural communities are a
hotbed of industry and
technology and for them
resilient digital connectivity is vital.
They must not be forgotten as we
continue to improve Britain’s digital
infrastructure.
That’s why the PM has made this
one of his early priorities – and rightly
so. In his first few days in office, Boris
Johnson recognised the need to
provide world-class digital
infrastructure across the UK so that,
together, we can continue to compete
and grow in the global economy. This
will see every corner of the UK being
provided with full-fibre broadband, soDespite NHS pledge, 114 trusts
fail to meet long-stay targets
Continued from Page 1
investigation by The Daily Telegraph
revealed soaring numbers of patients
were suffering repeat cancellations.
In total, 330,826 patients endured
three-week stays in hospitals during
the last financial year, Freedom of In-
formation disclosures reveal.
Analysis by CHS Healthcare, which
provides hospital discharge services,
shows that 114 of 130 NHS trusts have
failed to meet long-stay targets.
Last June, health officials pledged to
release at least 4,000 hospital beds by
assessing patients more quickly and
ensuring the right help was available in
their own homes, or in care homes.
Since then, the number of patients
on wards for at least three weeks has
risen with 28,425 such cases in March
2019 – up from 26,890 June 2018.
It comes amid a deepening social
care crisis, which Boris Johnson has
pledged to fix, and follows warnings of
mounting chaos across the NHS, with
hundreds of patients seeing appoint-
ments cancelled at least 10 times.Almost 1,000 dementia patients are be-
ing admitted to hospital as emergency
cases every day, often because of a lack
of help at home. The number of cases
has risen by a third in four years, offi-
cial NHS figures show.
Half of pensioners who went to their
local council in search of help were re-
fused it, annual statistics show.
And this month a Telegraph investi-
gation revealed record numbers of el-
derly people suffering from
malnutrition. The figures have tripled
in the past decade, with most cases
only diagnosed after pensioners were
admitted to hospital for other reasons.
An NHS spokesman said: “Thanks to
NHS staff, tens of thousands more peo-
ple were able to avoid a long stay last
winter than the previous year, freeing
up almost 2,200 beds – the equivalent
of building five extra hospitals.
“We have launched an ambitious
campaign to ensure all patients benefit
from the shortest possible stay, getting
home as soon as they are fit to leave
with the support they need.”Waste warmth from
Underground set to
heat London homes
By Alex ShipmanSWELTERING temperatures from the
London Underground will soon be
keeping homes warm in the winter
months in a new project to harness its
heat.
Warmth from the tube’s Northern
line will be piped into hundreds of
homes and businesses as part of a revo-
lutionary heating scheme in Islington.
The search for alternative sources of
renewable heat gained pace after the
Government’s pledge to ban gas-fired
boilers from new-build homes from
2025.
The plan for north London is one of a
growing number across the UK to
warm homes using “waste heat” from
factories, power plants, rivers and dis-
used mine shafts.
The Islington heat network already
keeps about 700 homes warm by chan-
nelling heat created in the Bunhill En-
ergy Centre. It generates power into
local council housing, schools and a
leisure centre.Poor mobile
coverage ‘puts
lives at risk and
hits businesses’
Continued from Page 1
5G and increase mobile coverage.
Announcing a two-month consulta-
tion, Ms Morgan says: “We want to
know whether it would be appropriate
through the planning process, to put
more equipment on masts and make it
easier to share them. This would give
them greater reach, maximise the use
of existing sites and minimise the need
to build more infrastructure.
“People in rural towns and villages
can rest assured that as we bring better
mobile coverage to their homes and
businesses, we are asking the right reg-ulatory questions now to make sure we
protect the environment but get the
infrastructure we need to flourish in
the future.”
Tim Bonner, the Countryside Alli-
ance chief executive, said the lack of
rural coverage was “scandalous” and
not only put people’s safety at risk but
restricted the ability to run businesses.
“In those areas where masts need to
be extended, there will be an under-
standing among most people that this
is necessary to deal with a fundamental
problem that puts rural communities at
a disadvantage,” he added.
Mark Bridgeman, of the Country
Land and Business Association, said
there needed to be a “balance” be-
tween the interests of landowners and
mobile operators.
Meanwhile, Ms Morgan announces a
£30 million competition for further ru-
ral trials of 5G technology which was
already being tested to monitor fish
farms and assist in deciding when best
to milk and feed cows.Union accuses airline of
cancelling flights beforeSeptember strike days to
avoid 14-day payout limitThe old Bill A 1978 Mini 850 police van takes part in a convoy of 60 Minis that drove through the streets of Oxford
yesterday to mark the iconic brand’s 60th anniversary. The cavalcade, including the first vehicle to roll off the production
line in 1959, travelled from the Cowley BMW Mini plant in Oxford to the Cowley Classic Car Show at Cutteslowe Park.JOHN LAWRENCEDancing queen Kylie Minogue chats with Strictly Come
Dancing presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly
yesterday at a rehearsal for this year’s opening show.BACKGRIDthat every community has the same
opportunities.
We have invested £650 million for
fibre roll-out in the three years to 2021
and are prioritising rural areas –
including their schools, hospitals and
other public buildings – to ensure they
get a gigabit-capable connection first.
The high connectivity that will fuel
Britain’s future economy also lies in
5G, which is broadening the role
mobile technology plays in society by
connecting billions of devices with
speeds we’ve never seen before.
But it’s not just about being able to
download HD videos to your phone 10
times faster. New possibilities for
businesses are being opened up by 5G,
in areas such as autonomous vehicles,
robotics and smart cities.
Recent reports from O2 and
Barclays suggest that 5G could
generate between £6 billion and
£13 billion of GDP and productivity
growth by 2025. So, to really capitaliseon the tech revolution, the UK needs
to take early advantage of 5G’s
productivity and efficiency benefits.
As part of our £200 million 5G
Testbeds and Trials programme, we’re
already funding research and
development projects across the UK in
a variety of industries and sectors. And
there are some exciting things
happening in rural areas.
On the Orkney Islands, 5G is being
used to monitor salmon fisheries and
improve the efficiency of wind farms.
In Shropshire and Yorkshire, our trials
are proving how 5G will transform
farming through targeted crop
spraying and soil analysis with
autonomous drones and tractors.A farm in Somerset is benefiting
from new 5G sensor technology that
lets cows determine when to be
milked. Meanwhile, in the Pennines
tourists can experience augmented
reality tours on their mobile phones.
Today, I am launching a search for
10 additional projects in which to
invest £30 million. We are looking for
ideas that will harness 5G to enhance
the lives of people living in, working in
and visiting rural locations.
While this scheme will be hugely
beneficial for connecting rural
communities, poor coverage in some
areas puts economic growth at risk.
One of the first things that landed on
my desk when I took responsibility for
telecoms was a proposal from mobile
firms to jointly invest in and share a
network of infrastructure. This has the
potential to close almost all partial
not-spots and promises coverage in
areas that have no signal at all.
To give such a proposal the bestchance of success we also need to
make it easier for the industry to build,
share and upgrade mobile
infrastructure. So today I am also
launching proposals to reform
planning processes in England to
speed up the roll-out of 5G and extend
mobile coverage in rural areas.
We want to know whether it would
be appropriate to allow mobile
network providers, through the
planning process, to put more
equipment on masts and make it easier
to share them.
People in rural towns and villages
can rest assured that, as we bring
better mobile coverage to their homes
and businesses, we are asking the right
regulatory questions now to make
sure we protect the environment but
get the infrastructure we need to
flourish in the future.Nicky Morgan is Secretary of State for
Digital, Culture, Media and SportCommentary
By Nicky Morgan‘Today, I am launching
a search for 10 new
projects in which to
invest £30 million’400,
The number of extra mobile phone masts
estimated to be needed to deliver 5G
without expanding existing mastsNews
2 ***^ Tuesday 27 August 2019 The Daily Telegraph
RELEASED BY "What's News" vk.com/wsnws TELEGRAM: t.me/whatsnws