Yvette Cooper drops plans to abolish NHS patient champion after outcry

• Health secretary Yvette Cooper has abandoned plans to abolish Healthwatch England, the NHS's independent patient champion, after an outcry from MPs of all parties. • Healthwatch England and its 150 local branches will instead be retained and strengthened. • The body had been due to be axed as part of the government's reorganisation of the NHS in England. • It is the latest in a series of U-turns on the health bill since Andy Burnham became prime minister in July.