Day: April 26, 2018

The Queen has been pleased to approve that Sir Peter Coulson, Robert Goodwill MP, Sir George Andrew Midsomer Leggatt and Kevan Jones MP be sworn of Her Majesty’s most Honourable Privy Council.

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

This morning the Prime Minister hosted a roundtable with the aerospace industry at Downing Street.

The Prime Minister opened the meeting by talking about how the aerospace industry has made a huge contribution to the UK’s economy and has real growth potential in the future. She spoke of the history of successful collaboration between the industry and government, working together through the Aerospace Growth Partnership.

The Prime Minister gave an update on Brexit, confirming that we were seeking a deep and special partnership with the European Union and reconfirming the government’s intention for the UK to remain part of the European Aviation Safety Agency after the UK leaves the EU. This was welcomed by the roundtable attendees.

They also discussed the two customs proposals put forward last summer. The Prime Minister set out the government’s firm intention for an arrangement that secures as frictionless trade as possible, avoids a hard border in Northern Ireland and allows us to set our own, independent trade policy.

The Prime Minister asked industry leaders about what more the government could do to ensure the sector remains competitive in the future and discussed the opportunities that new technologies and greater partnerships could deliver.

The roundtable finished with the Prime Minister acknowledging the significance and importance of the Farnborough International Airshow and that the government would support industry in using this opportunity to show the world that the UK is – and will remain – a leading aerospace nation.

The meeting was also attended by the Transport Secretary Chris Grayling and the Business Secretary Greg Clark who gave an update on the Industrial Strategy.

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

This afternoon the Prime Minister hosted President Aliyev of Azerbaijan in Downing Street for a bilateral meeting. The Prime Minister welcomed President Aliyev and said that she was pleased that he had chosen the visit the UK so soon after his inauguration. The leaders agreed on the importance of the UK-Azerbaijan relationship and of our co-operation on issues of shared interest including regional security and energy. They noted the commercial opportunities presented by our close ties, underlined by the sixth Production Sharing Agreement between BP and SOCAR which they witnessed being signed following the meeting.

They discussed matters of regional and global security and agreed on the need to restore international norms against chemical weapons use. The Prime Minister thanked President Aliyev for Azerbaijan’s continued contributions to regional security including through its support to the NATO mission in Afghanistan. They spoke about the threat to security posed by foreign fighters returning from Syria and Iraq and agreed on the importance of continued close co-operation and information sharing between our security services.

The Prime Minister and President Aliyev discussed democracy and human rights in Azerbaijan. They agreed that the UK and Azerbaijan would continue to work to address concerns both bilaterally and through multilateral organisations in order to support sustainable development and modernisation in Azerbaijan.