Day: October 3, 2018

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has welcomed the news of the election of the new Iraqi president and prime minister, and of the successful elections in the Kurdistan Regional Government.

The Foreign Secretary said:

I congratulate President Barham Saleh on his election by the Iraqi Parliament, and his nomination of Adel Abdul Mahdi to form the next government as Prime Minister. On behalf of the British Government, I must also express my gratitude to Prime Minister Abadi and President Masum both for their service to Iraq and for the crucial and successful collaboration with the UK in our joint determination to defeat Daesh.

I would also like to congratulate the people of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on a successful parliamentary election. The formation of an effective Kurdistan Regional Government that delivers for all the people in the region will be a welcome step.

I look forward to working with the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government to deliver stability, security and prosperity for all Iraqis.

Further information

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A man who murdered his friend with a martial arts weapon has today had his sentence increased after the Attorney General, Geoffrey Cox QC MP, referred his sentence to the Court of Appeal for being too lenient.

Kerr Somers, 29, and Nathan Jones, 39, had been out drinking in Bristol together when they got into a fight. After leaving the pub, Somers returned home, armed himself with the sword, and hid in a hedge that he knew Jones would pass. Somers then snuck up behind Jones and stabbed him with such force that the sword penetrated all the way through his body. He later claimed that he had acted in self-defence.

Somers was originally sentenced at Bristol Crown Court in July to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 18 years. Today, after the Attorney General’s referral, the Court of Appeal increased his minimum term to 21 years.

Commenting on the increase, the Attorney General said:

“Somers’ brutal attack on Nathan Jones was just the latest in a series of violent offences. The Court of Appeal’s decision today ensures greater public protection from this dangerous individual.”

• UK sending thousands of shelter kits, solar lanterns and water purifiers on flight to disaster zone.
• Flight loaded with UK aid due to leave Doncaster Sheffield Airport early tomorrow.
• Penny Mordaunt pledges extra £1 million of UK aid, taking direct total UK support up to £3 million. This is on top of existing UK funded support through partners on the ground.

The UK is flying out shelter kits to protect people who have been forced to flee their homes following the recent earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia, as well as solar lanterns and water purifiers, International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt announced today.

A flight is due to leave from Doncaster Sheffield Airport early on Thursday (4 October), transporting life-saving UK aid supplies from the Department for International Development (DFID) to the disaster zone.

There are currently over 70,000 people who been left homeless as a result of the disaster in Indonesia, and the shelter kits will protect thousands of displaced families.

Ms Mordaunt also announced an additional £1 million today to be made available to support immediate relief efforts on the ground. This takes the current level of immediate direct UK support to the disaster response up to £3 million.

This is on top of substantial existing UK funded support through partners on the ground, including the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said:

It is essential we get vital UK aid supplies – including shelter kits – to those affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia as quickly as possible. This is extremely challenging given the devastation.

The UK is a leader in providing emergency humanitarian assistance when disaster strikes and our expertise will help greatly. Through our partners, and directly, we are providing funds to support the vulnerable survivors of this catastrophe.

The UK stands side-by-side with the people of Indonesia who remain in our thoughts at this terrible time. We will help, in the immediate aftermath and in the long term too.

The UK, through DFID, is initially expected to send:

• 1,300 shelters kits, which can accommodate five people each
• 2,300 water purifiers, with each able to purify up to 5,000 litres of safe drinking water over their lifetime
• 1,000 solar lanterns to provide light in areas without electricity and power

In addition to the new UK aid money, the DFID-backed UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated $15 million to the Indonesia earthquake response. DFID provided 20% of all contributions to the Fund in 2017. The $15m will allow UN agencies and humanitarian organisations to rapidly scale up aid operations providing shelter, clean water and health.

A team of five UK humanitarian experts left London for the region earlier this week, and are now helping to coordinate the humanitarian response on the ground. A further team member will arrive today, and the UK will keep its support under constant review.

The UK has also offered the use of HMS Argyll, currently located in Singapore, to support the humanitarian relief effort. The Government of Indonesia has thanked the UK Government for this offer, but said that this is not needed at this time.

In addition to the support the UK has made available in response to the disaster, the UK is already supporting the response on the ground through our existing contributions to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).

The IFRC and Indonesian Red Cross has almost 300 specialist volunteers and staff carrying out search and rescue missions and providing emergency health assistance on the ground.

ECHO, which DFID contributes to, has made €1.5 million available to support the relief effort.

Notes to editors

Footage of British explorer and ex-Army officer Levison Wood talking about how the water purification kits work is available here.

Limited filming opportunities are available at Doncaster Sheffield Airport. Media outlets should contact the DFID Press Office to enquire about these using the contact details below.

The UK is a longstanding supporter of the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), operated by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and in 2017 our contributions represented 20% of the fund. In 2017 the UK was its top donor, providing $102.6 million (£76 million).

DFID provides £73 million in core funding per year to the Red Cross Movement. This constitutes £63 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross, £9 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and £1 million to the British Red Cross. Our core funding is unearmarked and can be used flexibly for rapid responses.

The UK Government supports ECHO through its contribution to the EU Budget. This constituted £190 million in 2016, the latest figure available.

A Northumberland man has been ordered to pay almost £4,000 after assaulting an Environment Agency officer investigating a pollution incident and threatening to burn down his house.

John Aaron Laing, 54, of East Learmouth Farm in Cornhill-on-Tweed had pleaded not guilty to assault, threatening and abusive behaviour and obstructing an Environment Agency officer in the execution of his duty.

He was found guilty of all offences following a trial which concluded at Berwick Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 2 October.

He was fined £1,246 for assault and threatening behaviour, ordered to pay £250 compensation to the Environment Agency officer he assaulted, and £2,400 costs. He was also given a 12-month conditional discharge for obstruction.

Prosecuting for the Environment Agency, Chris Bunting told the court that on Saturday 6 January this year two Environment Agency officers attended a suspected pollution incident at Cornhill-on-Tweed.

After taking water samples they then drove to New Heaton Farm, owned by Laing, to further investigate and requested a staff member to stop land spreading activities while they were making enquiries, which was agreed.

The two Environment Agency officers then started to take samples from a surface water ditch on the land. One of them went back to the car to collect some equipment, and at this point Laing arrived on site.

He walked up to and into the Environment Agency officer, was very hostile and threatening, continuously bumping into his chest. The officer explained they were investigating a pollution incident. Laing demanded to know who had reported him and the officer replied that he didn’t know.

Threats to burn down house

Laing then said he would “finish” the officer, find out where he lived, burn his house down and kill his family. He kept walking into the officer as they walked towards the road, and raising his hand as if he was going to punch him, and kept inviting the officer to strike him first.

The officer said he was calling the police, and then received a phone call from another Environment Agency officer who overheard Laing’s threatening behaviour. Laing then left the area and the officers left the farm.

During a police interview, Laing agreed he had spoken to the officer, disputed there was any pollution problem and asked the officer to leave only for health and safety reasons because of cattle on the farm. Laing accepted he had been stern but said the officer started pointing and trying to provoke him.

Laing added there was no violence or threatening behaviour and that the officer hadn’t shown him any identification, denying all the allegations put to him. He said he had mentioned the officer’s house but with reference to how he would like it if he turned up uninvited and walked over his garden.

During the trial, Laing repeated these claims and said that the officer had made up his account. However, the court rejected Laing’s version of events, stating that it contained significant contradictions.

Behaviour ‘will not be tolerated’

Paul Whitehill, Enforcement Team leader for the Environment Agency in the North East, said:

Our officers are doing an important job to protect the environment and investigate anything which impacts on the quality of our rivers and they shouldn’t have to put up with any kind of abusive or threatening behaviour during the course of their work.

The officers were taking water quality samples after reports that a watercourse was impacted by slurry pollution and this is all part of enquiries to establish a potential source for the pollution so it can be stopped and prevented in future.

The safety of our officers is paramount and we will always take action against people who assault them or are threatening and abusive. Hopefully this sends out a message to others that it will not be tolerated.

A major nationwide festival showcasing the UK’s unique strengths in creativity and innovation will be held in 2022.

Backed by £120 million government investment, the Festival of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will be a moment of national celebration and help attract new inward business and investment.

It will deliver an exciting programme of events on arts, culture, design and tech across the country.

Taking place in the year of Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the festival will amplify key anniversary celebrations of some of our most beloved institutions. In 2022, The BBC will mark its 100th birthday, the Edinburgh International and Fringe Festivals will celebrate their 75th anniversary and Birmingham will welcome 54 Heads of State to the Commonwealth Games.

A new programme supporting Pakistan tackle child labour, has been launched by the UK government. The AAWAZ II programme, which has been launched by the UK’s Department for International Development, will enable communities and support stronger government institutions in Pakistan so that they can better protect vulnerable groups.

Only 34% of children under the age of five years have birth certificates in Pakistan. Without this critical document, children go unprotected, they are invisible to many services and people are locked out of opportunities.

In partnership with UNICEF, DFID is funding a pioneering digital birth registration programme in Pakistan to tackle the challenge. DFID is also funding a pioneering child labour survey which will be used to identify the children most at risk and support the government to strengthen protection.

The Aawaz programme is part of the UK’s work to lead the global fight against modern slavery, including at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) being held this week. The aim is to galvanise international action to eradicate modern slavery, and launching a range of projects to tackle child slavery across Africa and Asia.

The Secretary of State for International Development Penny Mordaunt announced new protections for vulnerable children at risk of falling prey to traffickers. The UK-backed project with UNICEF will provide up to 400,000 girls and boys in Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan at risk of slavery with birth registration documents and other measures to shelter them from forced labour and underage marriage. Similarly, the UK will launch a £26 million package to tackle the worst forms of child labour through a major new programme across six Asian countries, including the AAWAZ II programme in Pakistan.

Speaking ahead of the meeting in New York, Ms Mordaunt said:

From the clothes we wear to the food we eat, the insidious virus of modern slavery is infiltrating all aspects of our daily life without us even realising. Not only does it have a huge cost to the global and the UK’s economy, it is a shameful stain on our global conscience that must be eradicated for good.

No one nation can banish this borderless crime alone. The international community must collaborate to dismantle predatory trafficking networks, support victims, strengthen justice systems and create sustainable alternative livelihoods.

AAWAZ II will work with government and local communities and has a particular focus on the issue of modern slavery, to which marginalised groups are extremely vulnerable. The programme aims to reach poor communities and vulnerable people across the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab. It will build on the success of its predecessor, AAWAZ I: Voice and Accountability Programme.

Notes to the editors

• A year ago, the British Prime Minister launched a global Call to Action to eliminate the borderless scourge of forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking, while doubling the UK’s aid spending on modern slavery to £150 million. Just one year on, 77 states have endorsed this Call to Action and the UK has gone above and beyond its original commitment, increasing UK aid support by over a third to £200 million, to tackle the root causes of slavery in key source and transit countries across Africa and Asia.
• The economic and social costs of modern slavery report estimates that it costs the UK up to £4.3 billion a year. Each instance of the crime is estimated to cost around £330,000, including the cost of support, lost earnings and law enforcement but most significantly the physical and emotional harms suffered by individuals, who are often exploited over months and sometimes years.
• As part of its spending increase, the UK will launch several programmes to tackle child slavery across Africa and Asia. This includes:
  • £10 million UK aid package to protect up to 400,000 boys and girls at risk of slavery in the Horn of Africa and along dangerous migratory routes in Sudan and Ethiopia. Partnering with UNICEF, UK support will provide birth registration services so children can legally prove their identity and be sheltered from forced labour, military service and underage marriage. Our support will also educate children against the perils of trafficking, assist social workers and help reintegrate victims back into society.
  • £12 million package to equip up to 400,000 vulnerable people in conflict ravaged parts of Africa with skills training and alternative livelihood opportunities. Our support will educate children on the disguised risks of trafficking, improve law enforcement and support conflict-affected families in countries such as the DRC.
  • £26 million aid package to tackle the worst forms of child labour through a major new programme across six Asian countries. Working in partnership with UNICEF, the International Labour Organisation and the IDS, UK support will reduce the vulnerability of children to bonded labour in hazardous industries like agriculture and clamp down on children being trafficked into commercial sex work. Evidence-based interventions that tackle the drivers of child labour will be rolled out, such as social protection and cash transfer support for families affected.
  • £5 million programme to scale up our work with the Government of Bangladesh to eliminate the worst forms of child labour in the country. Our support will help build an evidence base of what works and pilot innovative approaches to protect the most vulnerable, initially focusing on tea estates, domestic work and hazardous industrial work in Sylhet.
• The United Kingdom and the United States of America along with Canada, New Zealand and Australia will today announce they have agreed four new international principles which will provide a practical framework for governments to tackle human trafficking and modern slavery in global supply chains. This group of five countries will meet annually to coordinate their efforts.

More Information

For updates on the British High Commission and for more information on the Chevening Programme, please follow our social media channels:

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The Queen has approved that His Grace Sir Richard Walter John Montagu Douglas Scott, The Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, KT KBE, DL, FSA, FRSE, be re-appointed as Her Majesty’s Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 2019.

The Lord High Commissioner is the Sovereign’s personal representative to the Annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. He attends the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland on behalf of the Sovereign. He makes the opening and closing addresses to the Assembly and carries out a number of official functions as the Lord High Commissioner.