Day: June 6, 2018

The government has today introduced new legislation to Parliament to give police new powers to investigate hostile state activity at the border.

The measure, announced by the Prime Minister following the attack in Salisbury, forms part of the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill.

Using the new power, the police or dedicated immigration or customs officers will be able to stop, question, search and detain an individual at a port, airport or border area to determine whether he or she is, or has been, engaged in hostile activity.

Home Secretary, Sajid Javid said:

We judge that it was highly likely that the Russian state carried out the appalling attack in Salisbury which demonstrates why the police need robust powers to investigate, identify and challenge those acting against our interests.

This is a necessary and proportionate response to the threat and will, of course, be subject to strict safeguards and robust oversight to assure its proper use.

The power will be subject to robust oversight by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner Sir Adrian Fulford and the bill includes provisions for safeguards to protect legally privileged and journalistic material.

The UK faces a sustained threat from hostile state actors seeking to undermine national security in a variety of ways, including espionage and, as the attack in Salisbury made clear, violence against individuals.

As announced in the government’s strengthened counter-terrorism strategy, the legislation will also introduce a variety of new laws to respond to the unprecedented terrorist threat, allowing earlier intervention to disrupt terrorism. These include:

• amending certain terrorism offences to update them for the digital age, to reflect contemporary patterns of radicalisation and to close gaps in their scope
• strengthening the sentencing framework for terrorism-related offences and the power for managing terrorist offenders following their release from custody, including by increasing the maximum penalty for certain offences, to ensure that the punishment properly reflects the crime and to better prevent re-offending
• strengthening the powers of the police to prevent terrorism and investigate terrorist offences

The bill will also amend the Reinsurance (Acts of Terrorism) Act 1993 so that the government-backed terrorism reinsurer, Pool Re, can extend its business interruption cover to include losses that are not contingent on physical damage to commercial property.

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has opened a statutory inquiry into Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries International 1100416. The inquiry was opened on 27 March 2018.

The charity’s objects include propagating Christianity through various channels including seminars and conventions, counselling programmes for the distressed, bereaved and the vulnerable, education through bible studies, evangelical training and teaching, as well as the publication and distribution of educational print and media.

The charity has repeatedly failed to submit returns and financial information to the Commission on time and its accounts for 2014 and 2015 were qualified by its auditors. The Commission has been in active engagement with the trustees of the charity since September 2017 having been made aware of potentially significant losses to the charity. The Commission is concerned about the apparent failures within the administration and management of the charity which have resulted in an environment in which such losses could occur, and continued to occur over a prolonged period.

The charity operates through a network of approximately 40 separate branches, which are allowed a degree of autonomy from the main charity in respect of administration and financial matters. However, the Commission has identified concerns as to the adequacy of the trustees’ oversight and control over the individual branches. The Commission also has concerns about the trustees’ failure to promptly report serious incidents to the Commission and to the police.

In order to address these concerns, a statutory inquiry has been opened.

The inquiry will examine the following regulatory issues:

• the governance, management and administration of the charity by the trustees, with specific regard to:
  • the extent of financial loss to the charity and the circumstances which led to the losses
  • whether adequate steps were or are being taken to recover such losses
  • whether reasonable steps were or are being taken to safeguard charity funds and assets
  • the adequacy of the trustees’ oversight and control of the charity’s branches
  • the adequacy of serious incident reporting by the trustees
• the extent to which the trustees have complied with their duties and responsibilities under charity law, including the trustees compliance with legal obligations for the preparation and filing of the charity’s accounts and returns
• whether and to what extent any issues or weaknesses in the administration of the charity
  • were as a result of misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees and
  • require rectification by the trustees or the Commission

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries by the Commission are available on GOV.UK.

Notes to editors

1. The Charity Commission is the regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work see the about us page on GOV.UK.
2. Search for charities on our check charity tool.
3. Section 46 of the Charities Act 2011 gives the Commission the power to institute inquiries. The opening of an inquiry gives the commission access to a range of investigative, protective and remedial legal powers.