UK now the sick man of the G7 - shocking £130bn stat lays crisis bare

A record number of people, most of whom young, are claiming benefits for anxiety and mood disorders. Indeed, the total has been swelled by 250 EVERY day under this Labour Government. This in turn costs us £130 BILLION in lost output. The UK is also markedly the "sickest man of the G7" with a percentage of workforce missing due to long-term sickness double that of some of our competitors.

Some top bosses are unflinching in their assessment of this, with Lord Rose who ran Marks and Spencer in the real glory days and chaired ASDA said "you can't go to bed with a pillow over your head if things get difficult," which is echoed by formerJohn Lewis boss Sir Charlie Mayfield who said "work can be tough, it's meant to be tough, sometimes you're meant to find it hard."

As we sadly bid farewell to many of our amazing post-war generation, we can only wonder how today's youth would have coped with the deprivation and devastation they faced - and at which they simply rolled up their sleeves and got things done!

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It is reported Sir Bruce Forsyth's ghost is haunting the London Palladium and telling people "nice to see you, to see you nice."

If it's true, "didn't he do well!"

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Any chance Labour could get out of this dreary, self-imposed doom loop of whether they need to change leaders and actually get on with trying to run the country?

Exciting news that the TV show that transformed slow-motion into a work of art is coming back, as Fox announces it has commissioned a new series of Baywatch.

But, as this show first hit our screens THIRTY-FIVE years ago in 1990, in these sensitive times it will be intriguing to see how close the re-boot can be to the original.

Accordingly, check out the above* and get ready for a new line up that might include lifeguards who are non-binary, trans and one who identifies as a cat.

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A CORRECTION:last week in this column, while stressing I don't support all his words or actions, President Donald Trump was praised as being a "leader" in his stance concerning illegal immigration into the US.

Then to perfectly demonstrate the curse of the columnist, he has declared - with zero medical back up - that paracetamol is linked with autism. That is not leadership, it is lunacy. And I am happy to set the record straight.

However, to balance this it also must be said he is broadly right in saying much of Europe risks "going to hell."