Overview

• NHS England’s Genomics Education Programme published then removed guidance that outlined possible social and economic benefits of first-cousin marriage and asked whether a ban should be considered.
• Medical experts and campaigners condemned the guidance as downplaying risk, and Health Secretary Wes Streeting called for the health service to apologize for publishing it.
• Reporting reiterates established genetic risk estimates, with the chance of congenital anomalies rising from roughly 2–3% in unrelated parents to about 4–6% for children of first cousins.
• The Daily Mail reports National Child Mortality Database figures linking 72 infant deaths to close-relative marriage in 2023/24, compared with 27 linked to substance abuse, and a further 55 deaths among children aged 1 to 17.
• The Mail on Sunday says areas with higher cousin-marriage rates show elevated disability benefit claims, and MPs including Richard Holden are using such data to press for a UK ban.