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A surge in deaths of people with dementia and the failure of the flu jab drove the biggest rise in fatalities in 50 years, official analysis finds (reports The Times).

Life expectancy fell last year, the first time this has happened for men for more than 20 years, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, as it tried to explain a 5.6 per cent rise in deaths.

Three-quarters of the extra deaths last year were caused by dementia or flu, with the effects concentrated in the elderly, analysis showed.