Month: January 2018

Traian Soare, a Romanian national who killed 2 people after crashing into them while driving a Heavy Goods Vehicle has had his sentence doubled by the Court of Appeal.

Soare’s original sentence was referred to the Court after Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP thought it was too low.

Soare, 51, collided with the victims after checking his satellite navigation system and veering into their lane.

He originally received a sentence of 2 years at Canterbury Crown Court and a driving disqualification of 2 years and 7 months. The Court of Appeal agreed that this was too lenient and increased his sentence to 4 years. The Court also increased the driving disqualification to 4 years and 11 months.

Speaking after the hearing, the Solicitor General said:

The families of Traian Soare’s victims have been torn apart by their losses; one victim left behind two young children who will never see their father again.

The offender’s actions have had a devastating effect on all those involved and I am pleased that the Court has agreed to extend this sentence.

A man who killed a cyclist after colliding with him in his transit van will spend longer in prison after Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP referred his original sentence to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient.

Joseph Bills, 22, was under the influence of drugs and alcohol when he crashed into David Thorman, 35. Bills then left the scene, despite the victim being alive at that point, before returning an hour later and turning himself into the police.

In a prepared statement the morning after the crime, Bills admitted to having consumed beer and Sambuca before driving, as well as cocaine the night before. Police then confirmed that Bills was one and a half times over the alcohol limit.

Bills originally received a sentence of 3 years and 4 months in prison at Canterbury Crown Court, reduced from 5 years for an early guilty plea. The Court of Appeal agreed that this was too lenient and increased his sentence to 4 years and 4 months.

Speaking after the hearing, the Solicitor General said:

A man’s life was ended abruptly because of Joseph Bills’ totally avoidable recklessness. The original sentence neglected to take into account the severity of the crime as well as the offender’s actions directly after he committed it. I’m pleased that the Court of Appeal has extended his sentence. I hope that this brings some solace to the victim’s family.

Highways England is installing around 170 of the innovative LED road studs at one of England’s busiest motorway junctions – used by over 90,000 vehicles every day.

The intelligent cat’s eyes are being introduced as part of a £3 million project to improve journeys and safety at Switch Island in Merseyside, where the M57, M58 and 3 A roads all join together.

The LED road studs light up when traffic lights turn green so drivers can clearly see which lane they should follow. Cables under the road surface connect them to traffic lights through a nearby automatic controller unit.

The studs can be visible up to 1,000 metres away – far greater than traditional reflective cat’s eyes – and have been proven to help stop drivers drifting between lanes, reducing the risk of collisions.

Highways England has already installed the LED studs at Hindhead Tunnel in Surrey to guide drivers through the tunnel but the Switch Island scheme will be the first time they have been linked to traffic lights at a motorway junction.

Phil Tyrrell, Project Manager at Highways England, said:

We’re always looking for new ways to further improve journeys and safety for drivers, and I hope the new intelligent cat’s eyes will help better guide drivers around Switch Island.

The innovative light-up road studs along with the other improvements we’re introducing will make it much easier to navigate the junction, benefitting the tens of thousands of drivers who travel through it every day.

Construction work on the Switch Island scheme, which is being funded by the government’s £220 million congestion relief programme, is due to start on Monday 5 February and is expected to take around a year to complete.

The scheme is designed to improve the flow of traffic and enhance safety, following 49 collisions at the junction in the past two years – an average of one every fortnight. New traffic lights will be installed at a height of over 5 metres – higher than HGVs and double-decker buses – so that drivers approaching the junction can clearly see when the lights are changing.

Other improvements will include changes to the road layout and lane markings, new barriers between carriageways, coloured high friction surfaces and better signs. And a new 400 metre shared cycle path will be created through the junction, which will link up with the existing cycle path alongside the A5036 Dunnings Bridge Road.

Jerry McConkey, Sefton Council’s Transportation and Highway Infrastructure Service Manager, said:

We have worked closely with Highways England and Merseyside Police to look at the issues at Switch Island and develop improvement proposals.

As a result, we are delighted that these important safety measures are about to be introduced with Highways England implementing the latest technology solutions. This will further improve safety and give drivers a much higher level of confidence when negotiating this busy junction.

The new intelligent cat’s eyes which are being installed at Switch Island were designed by Oxfordshire-based company Clearview Intelligence.

Managing Director Nick Lanigan said:

The introduction of intelligent road studs, reacting to traffic light changes on a busy roundabout is a continuation of the traditional cat’s eye legacy but takes advantage of new technology available. The new studs have been proven to reduce lane transgression by over 50% in certain conditions so it’s a great way to help improve the safety for all road users.

Cat’s eyes were invented by Percy Shaw in 1933 after he was driving down a steep winding road in West Yorkshire and noticed his headlights reflect in the eyes of a cat. He realised the potential of improving road safety if he could create a reflecting device that could be fitted to road surfaces and came up with his cat’s eye invention.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

She congratulated the Prime Minister on the centenary of Estonia’s independence and Estonia’s recent EU presidency, and they spoke about shared interests, including defence, the digital economy and Brexit.

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

The Prime Minister began by congratulating Prime Minister Ratas on the centenary of Estonia’s independence, and noted the role of Royal Navy ships in supporting Estonia’s fight for independence a century ago.

Both leaders expressed their commitment to the strong defence relationship between the UK and Estonia, and noted their shared interest in areas such as artificial intelligence and the digital economy. They agreed to look into how we might be able to collaborate further in these shared areas of interest.

The Prime Minister said that whilst the British public decided to leave the EU, they did not decide to leave Europe. She said there are many areas in which the UK and EU can continue to work together for the benefit of both parties, including counterterrorism and law enforcement.

The leaders agreed on the need for an implementation period to give businesses confidence and time to adjust to just one set of changes, and the importance of negotiating an agreement on our future relationship, which reflects the interest of both the UK and the EU.

Mohammed Waqar, who was convicted of sexually assaulting a child under the age of 13, has had his prison term increased today after Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP referred his original sentence to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient.

Waqar, 33, sexually assaulted the child on a number of occasions over a sustained 10 month period; he also forced the victim to watch a sexual act after showing her pornography on his phone. He showed no remorse for his actions during the trial, insisting that he was innocent.

He was sentenced in December to 2 years in prison at Bradford Crown Court. He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 5 years and ordered to sign the sexual offenders register. The Court of Appeal agreed that his sentence was too lenient and increased it to 4 years in prison.

Speaking after the hearing, the Solicitor General said:

“Sexual abuse is one of the most psychologically damaging things that can happen to a child. Mohammed Waqar is guilty of repeatedly and consistently abusing the victim. I’m pleased the Court of Appeal has agreed to extend his sentence.”

The Regulator of Social Housing reports that First Priority Housing Association Limited’s grading is currently under review.

The regulator notifies that First Priority Housing Association Limited has fewer than 1,000 homes and therefore does not have a current published regulatory judgement in accordance with our established procedures. The outcome of the investigation will be confirmed in a regulatory notice, once completed.

The regulator is currently investigating a matter which may impact on First Priority’s compliance with the Governance and Financial Viability Standard.

The GUR list is available on the website.

Further information

1. The regulatory framework can also be found on the website.
2. The regulation of social housing is the responsibility of the Regulation Committee, a statutory committee of the Homes and Communities Agency. The organisation refers to itself as the Regulator of Social Housing in undertaking the functions of the Regulation Committee. Homes England is the trading name of the HCA’s non-regulation functions.
3. The regulator’s purpose is to promote a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver homes that meet a range of needs. It does this by undertaking robust economic regulation focusing on governance, financial viability and value for money that maintains lender confidence and protects the taxpayer. It also sets consumer standards and may take action if these standards are breached and there is a significant risk of serious detriment to tenants or potential tenants.

For more information visit the RSH website.

Our media enquiries page has contact details for journalists.

For general queries to RSH, please email enquiries@rsh.gov.uk or call 0300 124 5225.