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Senior doctors have called for a crackdown on the sale of home genetic testing kits, following a surge in the number of patients being wrongly informed they are carrying serious genetic mutations.

The Indian government has suspended manufacturing in over 40 pharmaceutical companies based on a risk-based assessment conducted earlier in the year across 162 firms, according to the data provided by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in Parliament on Thursday (Aug. 10). "Overall, a sum of 143 show-cause notices has been issued," Mandaviya said. There have been numerous recent incidents involving accusations from foreign countries regarding the contamination of syrups, eye drops, and ointments manufactured in India. Countries such as the Gambia, Uzbekistan, and Cameroon have linked the deaths of 70, 18, and six children, respectively, to cough syrups contaminated in India. Licenses for specific products have been either temporarily suspended or fully revoked for an additional 66 companies. In one case, an FIR has been registered, and in 21 cases, warning letters have been issued following inspections by both the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization and State authorities, the Minister added. Meanwhile, the Indian government has mandated rigorous testing for cough syrups before export. Starting June 1, any cough syrup must possess a government laboratory-issued certificate of analysis before being exported, the government said in a notice dated May 22.

A couple in Maidenhead, Berkshire has been handed suspended sentence for illegal possession and supply of £1.6m of unlicensed medicines. Following investigations initiated by the MHRA, Karina Filimonova and Andrejs Stolarovs were caught with the unlicensed medicines which included prescription-only medications. Southwark Crown Court sentenced each "to eight months imprisonment suspended for 18 months and 150 hours unpaid work" for possessing and intending to supply medicinal products contrary to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. "This was a sophisticated operation illegally bringing unlicensed medicines into the UK from Singapore and India, and then distributing them across the country and abroad," said Andy Morling, MHRA Deputy Director of Criminal Enforcement. "Criminals trading in medicines illegally like this are not only breaking the law, but they also have no regard for your safety. These are powerful medicines that can lead to serious adverse health consequences if taken without appropriate medical supervision." In 2020, the Royal Mail Group (RMG) informed the MHRA about parcels containing unlicensed medicines discovered during their investigation into suspicious parcel activity. Following this, the MHRA's Criminal Enforcement Unit, in cooperation with local police, launched an investigation and apprehended the couple at their residence in Kidwells Close, Maidenhead.

Police chiefs are reporting significant progress in their battle against shoplifting epidemic, thanks to the newly established centralised police unit - Operation Opal. Launched earlier this year, Operation Opal is the national intelligence unit focused on serious organised acquisitive crime. The team collects evidence from CCTV footage, crime reports and other sources from all 43 police forces in England and Wales. Police chiefs believe that unit is starting to "turn the tide" against prolific shoplifters who are used by organised crime groups to steal goods en masse, The Times reported. The Operation Opal team has already identified 152 prolific people involved in organised retail crime within the first three months of the operation. Among those identified was Alexandru-Iulian Dima, a 25-year-old Romanian man who arrived in the UK last year.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has confirmed that the Labour government is taking firm action against growing retail crime by scrapping the "shoplifters' charter." During a Commons session on Wednesday (5), Claire Hughes, Labour MP for Bangor Aberconwy, raised concerns about businesses in the seaside town of Llandudno struggling with the rise in shoplifting. She highlighted that in many cases thieves are stealing "in full view of staff because they just don't fear the consequences." While welcoming the recent funding boost for neighbourhood policing, she asked the prime minister - "What more the government is doing to tackle retail crime and deter repeat offenders?" In response, Starmer criticised the previous Conservative government for downplaying retail crime, potentially leading to increased incidents of repeat offenses. Starmer said: "For far too long, crimes like shoplifting have been written off as low level." "That's wrong, it's devastating. The opposite party (Conservatives) left us with rising crime and effectively told police to ignore shoplifting under £200 worth of goods. "We've got rid of that shoplifters' charter and we're working hard to make sure we get a grip where they lost control."