In a startling revelation, Lloyds Bank has reported that Oasis fans in the UK have collectively lost over £2 million to fraudulent ticket sales. The scams, predominantly occurring on social media platforms, have affected at least 5,000 victims since the tickets for the band's highly anticipated reunion tour went on sale. The bank's analysis, based on fraud reports from its customers, highlights the growing menace of online ticket fraud.

The average loss per victim stands at approximately £436, with one individual reportedly defrauded of £1,700. A significant majority of these scams, about 90%, were facilitated through Meta's social media platforms, primarily Facebook. Liz Ziegler, Lloyds' fraud prevention director, emphasized the need for stronger measures by social media companies to combat these fraudulent listings, which often violate the platforms' own policies.

The announcement of Oasis's reunion tour last year sparked immense excitement among fans, leading to a chaotic ticket sale that saw all dates sell out within the first day. This frenzy created a fertile ground for scammers, who exploited the high demand by posting fake listings offering tickets at reduced prices. The situation has prompted calls for consumers to remain vigilant and purchase tickets only from authorized retailers to avoid falling prey to such scams.

Meanwhile, the UK's competition regulator, the CMA, has initiated an investigation into Ticketmaster, the official ticket vendor for the Oasis tour. The probe aims to assess whether buyers were provided with clear information and if they were pressured into making quick purchases. As the tour dates approach, the spotlight remains on the need for enhanced security measures and consumer awareness to prevent further losses to ticket fraud.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has announced an urgent independent inquiry into maternity services at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, describing himself as "shocked" by families' experiences of "repeated maternity failures in Leeds - made worse by the unacceptable response of the trust." The decision comes after years of campaigning by bereaved families who reported feeling "gaslit, dismissed and even blamed" for what went wrong at one of Europe's largest teaching hospitals. Mr. Streeting emphasized the "stark contradiction between scale and safety standards" at the trust, which official data shows "remains an outlier on perinatal mortality."

The inquiry follows a June downgrade by the Care Quality Commission, which rated maternity services at the trust as "inadequate" and identified serious risks to women and babies. Inspectors highlighted a deep-rooted "blame culture" that made staff reluctant to raise concerns about incidents. Brendan Brown, chief executive of LTH NHS Trust, apologized to bereaved families and expressed hope that the inquiry would provide them with "answers." He stated the trust is "determined to do better" and is already taking significant steps to improve maternity and neonatal services following reviews by regulatory bodies.

Families affected by the failures have welcomed the inquiry but are calling for rigorous leadership, specifically requesting that midwife Donna Ockenden chair the investigation. Fiona Winser-Ramm, whose daughter Aliona died in 2020 after an inquest found multiple failures, emphasized the importance of ensuring the inquiry is "the best and most thorough that it can possibly be." She described how families have been "thrust into this life that none of us should be living," noting that their shared grief should never have brought them together under such circumstances.

Serious questions are now being raised about what Sir Julian Hartley, who led the trust for ten years until 2023 and now heads the Care Quality Commission, knew about the poor maternity care. In a statement, Sir Julian expressed being "truly sorry" for families' suffering and said that while he was "absolutely committed to ensuring good patient care across all services, including maternity," this commitment "wasn't enough to prevent some families suffering pain and loss." Lauren Caulfield, whose daughter Grace died in 2022, called it "completely unacceptable that nothing has been done to date" to examine Sir Julian's role, expressing hope that the inquiry will address this gap.