Pilots union furious after report says fuel switches cut off before crash

A pilots’ union has hit out at the initial report into the Air India crash for raising the possibility of human error.

The preliminary report published by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, which is part of the ongoing probe into what caused the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to come down, found that fuel control switches were moved to “cut-off” position as the aircraft rose from take-off.

Experts have since said it is not easy to “accidentally” cut off fuel switches.

The 15-page document also includes a conversation between the pilots on the fuel controls before the crash. “In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cut-off. The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” it stated.

In a statement issued in response, The Hindu reported the Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA-I) said: “The tone and direction of the investigation suggest a bias toward pilot error. ALPA-I categorically rejects this presumption and insists on a fair, fact-based inquiry.”

Victims’ families are stunned following the report’s release.

Badasab Syed, 59 – who lost his brother, 49-year-old IT professional Inayat Syed, his sister-in-law, and their two children in the tragedy – told the BBC he has just been left with more questions, as he asked whether the tragedy was “avoidable”.

Of the 242 people onboard flight AI171 to London Gatwick on 12 June, 241 were killed, including 53 British nationals. The flight crashed into a hostel complex at Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College in Ahmedabad, also killing several students and residents on the ground. Only one passenger – a British-Indian man seated in 11A – survived. A total of 260 people died in the tragedy.

When will the heatwave end?

As the UK indulges in a balmy weekend of barbecues and paddling pools, there may seem no end to the current third heatwave of the year.

But forecasters are suggesting that the weather could soon shift to more cooler temperatures.

The Met Office is predicting that the UK will see highs of just 23C degrees in London and 18C in Newcastle on Tuesday.

It follows a weekend of searing heat for many, with the mercury reaching 33C in Ross on Wye on Saturday. In Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, the countries recoreded the warmest day of the year so far.

However, temperatures are forecast to dip marginally on Sunday, with possible highs of 31C, before Monday brings some relief from the baking heat.

Met Office meteorologist Kathryn Chalk said: “While we’ve seen the peak of the heat in this heatwave through today it’s still going to be very warm on Sunday before turning cooler for many of us on Monday.

“So we’ve got this ridge of high pressure extending across the UK, helping to keep things settled, but out towards the west an area of low pressure moving through Sunday night and into Monday.

“So if you’re not a fan of the heat temperatures will be falling away but also bringing some heavy spells of rain, or welcome rainfall, for many of us.”

On Tuesday, rainfall is expected in Wales, the North West and North East of England. Heavy rainfall is forecast for Northern Ireland and Scotland. Temperatures are not likely to go over 25C, with northern England expected to see the coolest conditions.

The cooler weather will continue in the following days according to the weather agency’s long range weather forecast.

The end of the heatwave may come as a welcome relief to many after the scorching weather resulted in UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Met Office issuing an amber heat health alert for six regions from Friday to Monday.

An amber alert means significant impacts are expected or those aged 65 and over or with health conditions, and health and social care services are likely to face increased demand.

The Met Office defines a heatwave as “an extended period of hot weather relative to the expected conditions of the area at that time of year, which may be accompanied by high humidity”.

In the UK, hot weather can only be classed as a heatwave if it meets a daily maximum temperature consistently for three days in a row.

This threshold temperature varies across different parts of the UK.

In London, temperatures need to hit 28C for it to be considered a heatwave, but outside the capital in the north of England and Scotland hot weather can be considered a heatwave if it hits 25C.

But research shows climate change is making these extreme weather events more likely.

A scientific study by the Met Office into the Summer 2018 heatwave in the UK showed that the likelihood of the UK experiencing a summer as hot or hotter than 2018 is a little over 1 in 10.

A new record-high temperature for the UK of 40.3C was recorded at Coningsby in Lincolnshire on the July 19 2022, along with new records for Scotland on the July 19 and Wales on the July 18.

Prince Harry and King’s aides hold ‘secret summit’ amid speculation over end to royal rift

Senior aides to the King and Duke of Sussex have been pictured together in London, in what is reported to be an initial step towards restoring the relationship between Harry and the rest of the royal family.

Images obtained by the Mail on Sunday show Meredith Maines, the duke’s chief communications officer, and Liam Maguire, who runs Harry and Meghan’s UK public relations team, meeting the King’s communications secretary, Tobyn Andreae, at the Royal Over-Seas League near Clarence House.

The Mail reports it is not known which side initiated the meeting, but a source told the paper: “There’s a long road ahead, but a channel of communication is now open for the first time in years.

“There was no formal agenda, just casual drinks. There were things both sides wanted to talk about.”

Both parties have been contacted for comment.

The rift between the Sussexes and the royal family widened significantly following their 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, during which they alleged a member of the family was concerned about their son Archie’s skin tone before he was born.

Then the duke claimed in his controversial memoir, Spare, that his brother, the Prince of Wales, had physically attacked him and that the King put his own interests above Harry’s and was jealous of Meghan.

Harry’s level of security changed in 2020 when he and Meghan stepped down as working royals and moved to California for financial and personal freedom. He later suggested the royal family and officials hoped his realisation of the increased safety risk “would force us to come back”.

The Duke failed in an appeal against the dismissal of his High Court claim against the Home Office, over the decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) that he should receive a different degree of protection when in the UK.

In a BBC television interview after losing the latest round in his court battle over his security, Harry claimed the King will not speak to him and he does not know “how much longer my father has” as he spoke of his hopes for a “reconciliation” with his family.

Charles was diagnosed with cancer in February last year.

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No cruise ships, no rikshaws and a visitor tax: How holiday hotspots are tackling overtourism

In Florence’s historic Piazza della Signoria, with the replica of Michelangelo’s famous statue of David peering over them, dozens of golf carts gathered this week in protest.

Their drivers are furious at new laws which will ban not only them, but all other novelty transport including rickshaws, from the city’s historic centre.

The move, which could be in place by September, is part of the city council’s bid to reduce congestion in the city, according to Corriere Firenze.

“This is one of the most important measures in our 10-point plan for sustainable tourism,” councillor for economic development and tourism Jacopo Vicini told the newspaper.

Florence is not alone in resorting to drastic measures to try and cut the number of visitors to their overcrowded streets.

Venice – which has outlawed cruise ships for several years – has doubled its daily tourist tax to try and dissuade the spontaneous day-tripper.

Cannes, on the French Riviera, has recently issued a decree banning ships of more than 1,000 people from mooring in the city.

Deputy mayor of Venice Simone Venturini said that after decades of debate, the city – and other iconic city breaks – had had to take serious action to manage tourist flows.

“Venice is a city as beautiful as it is fragile,” he said. “No one has a magic wand. Neither Venice nor other European cities grappling with the consequences of overtourism have one. Each place is considering its own approach.”

In many cities, residents have taken matters into their own hands. Last month, thousands gathered in major tourist destinations across southern Europe to protest against overtourism.

During the 15 June demonstrations, protesters in Barcelona fired water pistols at shop windows and at tourists and chanted “your holidays, my misery”.

Concurrent protests were held in Portugal and Italy, organised by the SET alliance of Sud d’Europa contra la Turistització, or Southern Europe against Overtourism.

In the run-up to the protests, one of the organisations in the alliance, Menys Turisme Mes Vida, claimed that tourism impoverished people, making it hard for locals to access housing and diverting focus from public sector spending.

Angry Venetians protested again when the wedding of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez drew celebrities and the world’s media to the city for the multi-day spectacle, viewed by some as a symbol of the city’s exploitation by wealthy visitors.

And the city on water has been forced to take increasingly drastic action to try and stem the tide of overtourism.

Cruise ships have been banned from entering the Venice lagoon and main Giudecca Canal since August 2021 – a move welcomed by Unesco after repeated warnings that the large vessels were damaging the iconic city.

Are the solutions perfect? Currently, cruise ships that would have previously docked in Venice now moor further up the coast in places such as Trieste, and day-trippers are instead bussed down the autostrada to see the city.

But after a brief trial last year, Venice also recently reintroduced its day-tripper tax, charging tourists not staying on the islands €5 for the privilege of visiting. From April this year, tourists are now charged €10 for that privilege unless they book at least four days in advance.

“Operationally, the system we have developed has had no hitches, and most importantly, tourists have demonstrated that they understand the underlying message: Venice is a fragile city that requires protection and respect,” Mr Venturini said.

He added that the point of the tax was to discourage day-trippers, and while data from the initial trial was still being analysed, it has already helped the city identify about 10,000 people who were living in the city without being officially registered as residents, helping to highlight undeclared tourist accommodation.

He also acknowledged it was just one piece of the puzzle, and Venice is also working on other measures including restricting the number of low-quality souvenir and takeaway shops in key areas to help make tourism more sustainable.

At the end of June, Cannes announced its “drastic regulation” on cruise ships, banning any vessels carrying more than 1,000 people from mooring in the city from the beginning of next year.

Thomas De Pariente, deputy to the mayor of Cannes, said tourism is a significant part of the city’s economy, worth 50 per cent of local economic output and bringing in 14,000 related jobs.

The industry is continuing to grow, Mr De Pariente said. There were more than 3.9 million overnight stays in Cannes in 2024, an increase of 100,000 stays compared to 2023.

“Cannes has historically been a welcoming town,” he said, but added that the city “rejects the principle of overtourism”.

“The quality of life of Cannes residents and visitors alike is the prime concern of the town council, which is scrupulous about maintaining the balance between economic dynamism and wellbeing.”

While hopeful that these measures can help return tourism to sustainable levels, officials are clear-eyed about the challenges.

As Mr Venturini said: “We do not delude ourselves that a global phenomenon like overtourism can change in just a few weeks.”

Mental health care ‘being rationed’ over failure to cut waiting list

Mental health care is being rationed because the government is failing to tackle the spiralling waiting list, the UK’s top psychiatrist has warned, with 48,000 people facing delays of more than two years for treatment to start.

Nearly 1.7 million people were waiting for community care, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist appointment, for treatments including everything from severe depression to serious personality disorders at the end of December 2024.

That is up from 1.3 million in March 2024 and is in addition to the 7.4 million people on the countrywide NHS waiting list, which only counts patients with physical health problems.

Dr Lade Smith, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said the figures proved that mental health care was being downgraded in favour of other services.

She said: “It’s very clear that there has been a prioritisation of services; mental health care is not one of those services. As far as I’m concerned, it’s been rationed for years. It’s not been prioritised, full stop. I say that because we’ve got 1.7 million people who were waiting for mental health services.

“They are not being prioritised and so there is rationing of mental health care, full stop.”

Last week, the government launched its 10-year plan for the future of the NHS, which recommits to previous promises to expand mental health teams in schools and create specialist mental health A&Es across the country. However, it does not make commitments to reduce the number of people already waiting to be seen.

It comes as the latest figures reveal:

The Labour government was recently criticised for dropping the previous Tory government’s commitment to grow mental health funding at the same rate or more than the overall NHS budget to tackle the inequality in investment.

Dr Smith said it was “simply illogical” not to invest in good mental health care, as it drives productivity and economic growth.

Meanwhile, the NHS’s director for mental health, Claire Murdoch, said the lack of sufficient care in the community was driving more people to A&E, by which time, patients have often been in crisis for weeks or months without help.

She added: “[That] I think is a bigger scandal than a slightly long A&E wait – if people are losing weeks or months of their lives because we don’t have housing or community packages.”

Addressing the lack of equality in mental health waiting lists compared to physical health, Ms Murdoch said: “Our waiting lists are as important as any waiting list … When waiting lists are at the same level as any other, parity will have been achieved.”

Sarah, 52, a single mother of three, told The Independent of the “horrific” experience of seeing her autistic teenage daughter, Bay, forced to live on a mental health ward for almost two months because there was no community care for her.

Bay, who has autism, was first admitted to a children’s mental health unit in London when she was 16 years old. Her mental health declined, her mother said, and her behaviour became “increasingly unpredictable” during the pandemic after the family moved to London from South Africa.

Despite numerous appointments with child and adolescent mental health services in the community, Bay’s care was “fragmented and inadequate”, Sarah said.

In 2023, as her mental health began to seriously deteriorate, Bay was taken to A&E after she threatened to harm herself. She spent 24 hours there before being admitted to an inpatient unit where she remained for 46 days.

Her mother said she was held in the hospital as they could not find an appropriate residential placement for her, and it was not safe for her to return home. Two months later, a place was eventually found for her in supported accommodation.

She said, “It was horrific. I felt helpless. I’m not a psychiatrist or therapist, and autistic children with mental health issues are often just contained, not supported, and this needs to change.”

“Autistic children are special. We need a different approach – using creativity, understanding sensory needs, offering proper support, not just containment. One positive was that when Bay was in the hospital, it was the first time in a long, long time that I felt that she was safe and that I could breathe. Before that, I had needed to watch her and keep us safe 24 hours a day.”

Sarah Wakeling, CEO at Positive Support Group, which supported Bay at home, said: “Our new analysis underlines the growing pressure on NHS mental health services and the urgent need to rethink how we provide support for these people. The NHS has recently committed to opening new mental health A&Es. But just as important is addressing gaps in early intervention, specialist education, and community-based mental health care – so that we can help people before they need urgent care.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Our commitment to improving this through our Plan for Change is clear. We have announced £26m to open new mental health crisis centres, are recruiting an extra 8,500 mental health staff, and expanding mental health support teams in schools across England to cover all pupils by 2029-30.

“We are also funding the expansion of NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes, and modernising the Mental Health Act to ensure people with the most severe conditions receive better, more personalised treatment.”