good morning. customers of the uk s biggest water firm, thames water, have been reassured that their supplies will not be cut off as the company fights to prevent its collapse. ministers are drawing up contingency plans while the supplier looks to secure extra funding amid debts running into billions of pounds. celia hatton has more. the future of the uk s biggest water company is far from watertight. but the government is reassuring thames water s 15 million customers they won t lose access to water as work continues behind the scenes to try to rescue it from collapse. thames water is £1a billion in debt and in crisis mode after the surprise resignation of its ceo on tuesday. no clear reason has been given for sarah bentley s departure. ministers are considering a plan to bring the utility giant temporarily under public ownership
declarations, similar curfews given the amount of unrest that we ve seen over the past few hours. more of course on that story here on bbc news. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let s take a look at some other stories making news in the uk. staff sickness in the nhs in england has reached record levels. figures for last year show 5.6% of days were lost the equivalent of nearly 75,000 staff. the absence rate is higher than during peak pandemic years of 2020 21. mental health was responsible for nearly a quarter of absences, according to analysis by the nuffield trust. ministers say thames water customers won t see any impact on bills or access to water, if the company collapses. the uk s largest water firm, which supplies around a quarter of the population, is in talks to secure extra funding as it struggles to pay debts of around £14 billion. people in staffordshire reported rumbling and rattling windows and doors after a 3.3 magnitude earthquake hit
records began 26 years ago. nicola sturgeon says she still worries that scotland lacks resources to deal with the covid 19 pandemic like ppe. she was giving evidence to the uk 5 covid 19 inquiry and highlighted what she said were key differences between the scottish and uk governments, same her government try to suppress the virus as much as possible rather than deciding to live with it. ministers say thames water customers won t see any impact on bills or access to water if the company collapses. the uk 5 largest water firm, which supplies around a quarter of the population, is in talks to secure extra funding as it struggles to pay debts of around £14 billion. you re live with bbc news. a house of commons committee has accused some of borisjohnson s allies of waging a coordinated campaign to undermine its inquiry into the former prime minister. the privileges committee highlighted comments by former ministers,
to answer questions today, thank l equal than others. it is good of you i to answer questions today, thank you once more. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let s take a look through some of the other stories making headlines across the uk. staff sickness in the nhs in england has reached record levels. figures for last year show 5.6% of days were lost, the equivalent of nearly 75,000 staff. the absence rate is higher than during peak pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. mental health was responsible for nearly a quarter of absences, according to analysis by the nuffield trust. ministers say thames water customers won t see any impact on bills or access to water, if the company collapses. the uk s largest water firm is in talks to secure extra funding as it struggles to pay debts of around 14 billion pounds. people in staffordshire reported rumbling and rattling windows and doors, after a 3.3 magnitude earthquake hit the area on wednesday. the british geological survey s
an amber level 3 alert has been issued until sunday one step down from the heatwave last month, when temperatures in parts exceeded 40c for the first time. it means healthcare services should take action to help thames water has become the latest water firm to announce plans for a hosepipe ban in the coming weeks. the hot air over britain is being drawn up from southern europe. in france, there are warnings the country is facing its worst drought on record, as our correspondent mark lowen reports from the loire. the loire valley is called the garden of france, but this garden is wilting. melting under a fourth heatwave, france is gripped by its worst drought ever recorded. vincent favreau s crops which feed 100 families are stunted. his potato yield down by half amidst a fortnight of hosepipe bans and weeks with no rain.