Sky News Today with Jayne Secker

The Prime Minister announced an additional 15 billion pounds for the armed forces as part of a long-awaited defense investment plan, funded by reallocating capital budgets across government departments. The plan includes 5 billion pounds for drones over four years, as well as uncrewed ground vehicles for the army and autonomous fighter jets for the RAF, but falls 13 billion pounds short of the 28 billion requested by the Ministry of Defence. The defense secretary and armed forces minister had resigned over the shortfall, and the Prime Minister warned that the money must be spent wisely, not wasted, as defense spending has sometimes been seen as a bottomless pit.

Health Secretary James Murray responded in the Commons to the Amos investigation into maternity and neonatal failings, which gathered evidence from over 10,000 people and painted a bleak picture of systemic failures. He announced immediate measures including the appointment of a new maternity and neonatal commissioner, new national standards for maternity triage, and an extra 41 million pounds to upgrade facilities. He acknowledged that the report highlighted racism and inequality, with black babies more than twice as likely to be stillborn and black women almost three times more likely to die during pregnancy or shortly after birth, and committed to expanding anti-discrimination programs and addressing a culture that too often puts self-protection above the duty to protect women and babies.