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The Covid-19 inquiry concluded that Covid was allowed to spread through care homes like wildfire at the start of the pandemic. It said more than 43,000 people died in care homes, and Baroness Hallett said the claim that a protective ring had been placed around care homes was unfounded and that the opposite was true. The inquiry said the overriding focus in March and early April 2020 was on protecting hospitals, and that rapid discharge of NHS patients into care homes was necessary to free beds but lacked advice to isolate them, a significant omission. Relatives described being separated from loved ones by windows, and the government said it recognised the fragility of the care system and would respond to the report and press ahead with reform, with the prime minister pointing to an action plan and plans for a national care service.

President Trump increased pressure on President Zelensky to make a deal to end the war with Russia, saying Ukraine needed a new leader and refusing to say President Putin had started the war. Steve Witkoff met Zelensky in Norway and was due to travel to Moscow, while Zelensky thanked the US for restored intelligence and said full Starshield access was expected. The BBC's North America editor said the pressure came two weeks before midterm elections and that the US secretary of state denied cutting off intelligence, though Patriot missiles would not be delivered soon. Two men were re-arrested by counter-terrorism police on suspicion of assisting Iran's intelligence service after an incident at RAF Fairford; police held a 24-year-old UK national and a 25-year-old dual UK-Iranian national from Westminster, and the head of counter-terrorism policing said Iranian state involvement was considered highly likely. The government announced RAF Typhoons would be deployed on defensive missions to support Saudi Arabia against Houthi attacks from Yemen, with officials saying they would not carry out offensive strikes; an A400M transport aircraft and military advisers would also be sent. The government was expected to announce approval for drilling at the Jackdaw gas field off Aberdeen, with no decision expected yet on the Rosebank oil field off Shetland, after a court had found consent unlawful and required further environmental assessments.

A government-commissioned review said schools and colleges in England would be required to recognise antisemitism as a distinct category of harm and treat it as a safeguarding risk, with 27 recommendations including curriculum changes and a form of hotline for teachers; the government was expected to adopt all the recommendations. The BBC announced it would close BBC Three and the BBC Scotland television channel in the spring as it seeks £500 million of savings over two years, and BBC News would cut a further 100 jobs; the SNP's culture secretary called the proposal wholly unacceptable, while the BBC said it was going where audiences are. New government rules would give drivers stronger rights to challenge private parking charges, including five minutes to decide whether to park, 10 minutes to leave, cancellation for brief stops to check directions or for medical emergencies, breakdowns or broken ticket machines, and a maximum fine frozen at £100; operators who did not comply risked losing access to the DVLA database.