'Cheap labour': NHS scheme for overseas doctors ends after bombshell investigation

Dear readers — we hope you made it safely through Storm Goretti and managed a few snowball fights over the weekend.

This week, red flags have been raised about a multi-million pound NHS scheme to train international doctors at University Hospitals Birmingham trust. The programme has been shut down after an independent review found evidence of unfair pay, undeclared hospitality, and that participants were not returning to their home countries as intended. That story is at the top of today’s Brum in Brief. Also today, it turns out that Birmingham was the most popular location to move to in 2025, with more people moving here than anywhere else in the UK. Plus, popular YouTube channel Only Scrans kicks off 2026 with a glowing visit to the second city to try the all-important combination of curry and chips. But before that, we’d love to hear from you:

Catch up and coming up:

• At the weekend, the second in our series of three essays on Birmingham and British fascism focused on post-war neo-Nazi Colin Jordan. Reader David Brindley had a startling memory to share in the comments: “In the late 1960s/early 1970s Jordan lived in the next street to us in Coventry. I used to help my dad collect for Christian Aid Week. It took me a while to work out why we always gave just one house a wide berth.” Read the article here.
• The Dispatch needs you! Did you, or anyone you know, move to Birmingham in 2025? We’d love to hear about your experience. Get in touch at: editor@birminghamdispatch.co.uk

Photo of the week

The sky turned bubblegum pink in parts of Birmingham on Thursday night during Storm Goretti, leaving Brummies awestruck. Was it a very enthusiastic “gender reveal”, as one Redditor suggested? The more likely cause, as identified by the BBC’s resident weather nerd Simon King, was the atmosphere. Cloud cover and falling snow can make the sky more reflective — and one possible source of the rose-holoured hue were LED pitch lights beaming out of St Andrew’s football ground.

Brum in Brief

🩺 A multi-million pound NHS programme training overseas doctors in Birmingham has been axed over a fair pay row. University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) was forced to review its international training programme after a 2023 investigation by the British Medical Journal exposed concerns that doctors on the scheme were being used as “cheap labour”. Accounting firm KPMG was subsequently brought in to audit the programme. They found not only were participants — mostly recruited from Pakistan — not being paid equally, most did not return to their home countries as intended, after the programme ended, and that there was also undeclared hospitality “linked to recruitment trips”. The £40.5m programme has now been axed — but medical staff are warning exploitation is rife. Partha Kar, a consultant endocrinologist said “Birmingham is probably the tip of the iceberg” and suggested the findings show “trusts have been so desperate to get workforce gaps filled, they have taken their eye off the governance.” She has called for all such schemes to be paused until the NHS is sure people aren’t being exploited. (British Medical Journal).

🎨 A poster on Reddit’s R/Brum thread recently posed the question: what are some things you are looking forward to doing in Birmingham this year? Alongside the inevitable joke responses — “having my blue bin emptied” among them — were some reminders of all the great stuff we have to look forward to in 2026. The Barber Institute is set to reopen, following works to make the Grade I building more accessible and to upgrade the Art Deco concert hall, which has been closed since 2020. Flatpack Film Festival, which seemingly grows bigger and more far-reaching every year, is back for more in May. And this summer will see the European Athletics Championships take place at the Alexander Stadium in August. What’s on your to do list? Let us know in the comments. (Reddit).

🖥️ The reimplementation of Birmingham city council’s beleaguered IT and finance system has been delayed again as officers continue to test the tech. Oracle, which went live in 2022 and was intended to streamline payments, has already cost the authority £170m despite the fact it was originally expected to set them back just £19m. Following a host of issues the system was rebranded as Brindley in 2024 and work to relaunch it was expected to be completed this April. That date has now been pushed to later in the year, which the Birmingham Conservatives have called “unthinkable”. Labour’s cabinet member for digital, culture and heritage, Saima Suleman said her party was “prioritising readiness and stability over fixed dates”. (BBC).

Quick Hits

🏡 Birmingham was the most popular place to move to in 2025 — 3.04% of everyone who moved house in the UK last year moved here. (The Times).

🛬 Following major disruption due to recent heavy snowfall, thousands of journeys have been thwarted by an air traffic control radar failure at Birmingham International Airport. (The Independent).

🚒 Seventy-five firefighters tackled a huge blaze at a Tysley carpet factory last Wednesday and Thursday. Thankfully, there were no injuries or casualties. (Express and Star and Fire Protection Association).

Media picks

💻 YouTube channel Only Scrans returned to the West Mids recently to hit up the best spots in Birmingham for his first video of 2026. First up was Tokyo Izakaya in the city centre, where the drenched, “volcano” sushi elicited a “holy christ” from presenter Jono Yates. Soho Tavern got high praise too for its sizzling mixed grill platters and creative twist on Desi pub food, followed up by Khan’s Fish Bar for their famous lamb curry on chips. “Birmingham is one of the most talked-about food cities in the UK, yet it still gets written off far too easily”, wrote Yates in the video summary. (YouTube)

📰 The MP for Harborne and Edgbaston, Preet Gill, has written an op-ed for the Telegraph arguing that Labour should “go blue” and become more conservative. Reflecting on her upbringing in a multi-faith area, she writes “community was not about identity politics; it was about duty to one another.” She is specifically concerned with cracking down on grooming gangs and “illegal immigration” and throws her support behind Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood. But Gill is careful to defend wavering PM Keir Starmer too, when she insists “his emphasis on discipline, seriousness and competence is exactly what the public expects after years of failure.” (Telegraph)

Our to do list

🖼️ Today, catch the new MAC exhibition by London-based Pakistani artist Saba Khan. Riverless Water is inspired by South Asian water histories. (MAC) 

🎞️ On Tuesday, Strap in for a double bill at the Mockingbird: they’re screening 28 Days Later and 28 Years Later back to back. (Mockingbird Cinema)

🎵 On Thursday, use your lunch hour to listen to this free concert of modern blues mixed with African traditions from Muntu Valdo. (Symphony Hall)

🎭 On Saturday, the Tony and Olivier awards winning Matilda the Musical hits the stage at the Alexandra Theatre. Plus, it’s a sing-along special. (Alexandra)

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