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The Home Secretary Amber Rudd has announced plans to tackle economic crime to help stop criminal gangs exploiting the vulnerable and profiting from fraud, money laundering and corruption.

She announced a package of measures – including new laws and an enhanced operational response – to crack down on money laundering that allows ruthless gangs to profit from their crimes and fraud, the most common offence in the UK that is estimated to cost every household £255 a year.

A new national economic crime centre within the National Crime Agency (NCA) will task and coordinate the national response to economic crime, backed by greater intelligence and analytical capabilities. It will draw on expertise from across government, law enforcement and criminal justice agencies, as well as new resources provided by the private sector.

To further improve the coordination of the law enforcement response, new legislation will allow the NCA to directly task the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to investigate the worst offenders. The SFO will continue to act as an independent organisation, supporting the multi-agency response led by the NCA.

The Home Secretary will personally chair a new economic crime strategic board to drive action. It will convene the relevant ministers from across government to agree strategic priorities and to ensure the right resources are allocated across our law enforcement agencies to tackle economic crime.

Home Secretary, Amber Rudd said:

There is a myth that there are no real victims of economic crime, but I have seen first-hand how it can ruin people’s lives. It is not a victimless crime and so it’s vital we tackle these offences that can leave innocent people destitute, cost the country billions every year, and allow gangs to profit from serious and violent crimes.

The measures we have announced today will significantly improve our ability to tackle the most serious cases of economic crime by ensuring our agencies have the tools and investment they need to investigate, prosecute and confiscate criminal assets.

Rest assured we will pursue all those seeking to move, use and hide the proceeds of crime.

In addition, the government has published its anti-corruption strategy which sets out the government’s anti-corruption priorities, both domestic and international, and establishes an ambitious, long-term framework for tackling corruption up to 2022.

The government’s 6 priorities under the strategy are:

• reducing the insider threat in high risk domestic sectors such as borders and ports
• reducing corruption in public procurement and grants
• promoting integrity across the public and private sectors
• strengthening the integrity of the UK as an international financial centre
• improving the business environment globally
• working with other countries to combat corruption

To complement this, the Prime Minister has announced the appointment of John Penrose MP as the new anti-corruption champion. In his role, John Penrose will be responsible for challenging and supporting the government in implementing the strategy, as well as promoting the UK’s response to corruption both domestically and internationally.

Anti-corruption champion, John Penrose MP said:

Corruption destabilises governments and economies, taking money away from developing nations to support the luxury lifestyles of ruthless criminals.

I am thrilled to have been appointed as the government’s anti-corruption champion, and am looking forward to furthering the work that has already been done in rooting out corruption and securing the UK’s prosperity.

World Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December highlighted the impact that corruption can have on countries and businesses across the globe and the need for governments to take action to stamp out corruption.

The cost of corruption worldwide is estimated to be more than 2 per cent of global GDP and the World Bank estimates that over $1 trillion paid in bribes each year.

At the recent Global Forum on Asset Recovery, co-hosted by the UK and the US, more than 250 participants from 29 countries committed to a renewed effort to trace, recover and return stolen assets.

The government has also renewed its commitment to introduce an overseas companies beneficial ownership register, which is being developed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

It will mean that overseas companies that own or buy property in the UK, or participate in central government procurement, will be required to provide details of their ultimate owners. This will reduce the opportunities for criminals to use shell companies to launder their illicitly gained wealth in London property, and make it easier for law enforcement to track and act on criminal funds.

Further commitments were also made to seize criminal assets. A new working group will be established, which will include the NCA, the police (including devolved forces), Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to use the powers within the Criminal Finances Act for forfeiture of criminal money.

To provide a more targeted, intelligence-led focus on high risk economic crime, the government will also reform the suspicious activity reports regime, making the necessary legislative, operational and technical changes required.

Finally, the Law Commission will undertake a review of the law on confiscation in the Proceeds of Crime Act with the aim of improving the process by which confiscation orders are made and optimise the enforcement of them.

The Environment Agency is delivering an early Christmas gift to anglers in Berkshire this week, when it carries out a Christmas stocking of young adult fish into the River Cut at Jocks Lane recreation ground in Bracknell.

Thousands of fish, including roach, dace and chub, will be added to the river’s existing fish population this Thursday, 14 December. This will provide an immediate boost to numbers, which will be multiplied many times over when the new arrivals settle into their new homes and begin to produce offspring.

Stuart Keable, a fisheries officer for the Environment Agency, said:

We carry out a number of fish stockings every year. Sometimes it is to help fish populations recover when they’ve suffered from a pollution incident, or through flooding, which can push large numbers of fish downstream, and many never return.

The River Cut has suffered from recurrent pollution near Jocks Lane recreation ground in 2017, where uncontaminated water from a large proportion of Bracknell drains into the Cut. Environment Agency officers have been working closely with Thames Water, which manages the surface water network, to investigate the source of the pollution. The partnership has also resulted in pollution-prevention visits to nearby industrial estates, where officers advised businesses on oil and chemical storage compliance, hazardous waste disposal and the risk to streams and rivers.

Rachel Brown, an Environment Agency team leader in east Berkshire, said:

The Environment Agency has responded to a number of incidents on the River Cut this year, reported to us through our incident hotline. We have been working with Thames Water to find why the river was polluted, whilst also reducing the impact to the environment. We have carried out pollution-prevention visits at the nearby industrial estates, to raise awareness of the surface water drainage network and correct disposal of waste. Information provided by the public is vital in helping us with these ongoing investigations, and we urge anyone witnessing an environmental pollution to call our 24-hour incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.

Christmas is a good time to introduce the fish into rivers, as it enables them to acclimatise to their new surroundings, ahead of their spawning season in the spring. Fish also play a critical role in sustaining a river’s finely-balanced eco-system, so the wider natural environment will also get a festive boost.

Stuart Keable added:

The River Cut has undergone some fantastic enhancements recently. We’ve done a lot of that ourselves, but we increasingly work with local angling clubs, Bracknell Town Council, community groups and volunteers to get bigger and better results. The council has already installed 10 fishing platforms on the upstream section of the river at Jocks Lane, which will eventually see a wheelchair ramp installed for disabled access to this area. These improvements were made through the Angling Trust’s Angling Improvement Fund.

Through the Environment Agency’s Fisheries Improvement Programme, we have started on some major
habitat improvement work in the river itself. In November, we installed the first of 10 marginal berms to provide a more diverse habitat for fish, insects, birds and plants, as well as push silt out of the system. This work will be ongoing throughout the winter. The collective contribution from our various partners to the wellbeing of the river has been immense.

The fish are being brought to site in oxygenated tanks from their birthplace and home for the last 12-18 months, the Environment Agency’s own Calverton Fish Farm in Nottingham. Funded through rod licence fees, Calverton produces some 450,000 coarse fish each year which are used to help the vitality and diversity of fish populations in rivers, lakes and ponds throughout England.

The UK will join the biggest ever conference on trade this week, joining 163 other members of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox will attend the WTO Ministerial Conference in Argentina, the final one the UK will attend as a member of the EU.

UK’s trade objectives

During the conference the government will call for an open and inclusive trading system, prioritising progress on digital trade, services and support for SMEs, as well as helping developing countries benefit from trade.

As the UK moves onto trade discussions with the EU, it will continue its work at the WTO as it sets its own independent trade policy.

As the UK prepares to leave the EU it will play a leading role in the WTO, championing trade to be more open and accessible.

At the conference the UK will push for agreements to make it easier for businesses to export digital services and information without costly customs duties and make domestic regulations in other countries more transparent for SMEs. Agreements at the last WTO conference in 2015 led to zero tariffs on £6 billion of annual UK technology exports.

International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox will also support a joint declaration on women’s economic empowerment, agreeing to promote gender inclusive trade initiatives directed at improving women’s access to trading opportunities. Research has found that closing the global gender gap could boost the global economy by $12 trillion by 2025.

International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox said:

As we leave the EU, we will set out an independent trade policy which spreads the benefits of trade among our own businesses and consumers, as well as the world’s poorest. As a founding member of the WTO, we are committed to a rules-based trading system and I’ll be making the case for that this week.

The case for global open and inclusive trade has never been stronger and as an international economic department, we remain a firm supporter of the WTO and will be one of the world’s strongest advocates for further trade liberalisation and modernisation.

Trade and developing countries

The UK will also set out its future role as a world-leading supporter of free trade, as Dr Fox and Trade Minister Greg Hands host meetings with African and Commonwealth trade ministers, to promote a free and fair global trade policy which supports developing countries to trade their way to prosperity.

This will be a central focus when the UK hosts the 52 Commonwealth Heads of Government in London next April.

Trade supporting UK business

Agreements made at the WTO have a real impact on British businesses and consumers. Past agreements have helped spread free trade in services (the UK’s largest export), enforce companies’ intellectual property rights worldwide and reduce customs burdens.

The latest major agreement, secured after the last WTO conference in 2015, removed tariffs on £1 trillion worth of trade in IT products like computer games consoles, worth £6 billion in UK exports.

The UK has worked hard to push for future WTO agreement on issues like supporting digital trade and creating more transparency for domestic regulation in member countries. UK digital exports are already worth £50 billion a year and Dr Fox will address global business leaders at the summit on the benefits that digital trade liberalisation can bring to developed and developing countries.

Notes to Editors

• the UK is currently represented at the World Trade Organisation through the EU. However, once it leaves the EU it will become an independent member in its own right, able to negotiate according to its own interests
• according to the WTO, workers at export-focused companies in Western Europe earn 10 to 20% more than the average wage in their country
• the next WTO summit will take place in 2019, after the UK has left the EU. This year’s summit is the biggest ever, after Afghanistan joined the WTO in 2016
• at the last WTO Ministerial Conference in Nairobi in 2015, members concluded an agreement to ban export subsidies and similar protectionist measures, as well as an agreement to update the Information Technology Agreement (ITA-II)
• the ITA-II was the largest tariff elimination agreement since the creation of the WTO, resulting in zero tariffs on £1 trillion of global trade in IT equipment and guaranteeing that no tariffs are paid on £6 billion of British technology exports

The Inglis Bridge, which is believed to be the only known surviving Mark 1 version, has been removed from over a 7m wide watercourse to the north of the M180 in South Yorkshire.

The bridge, which has not been used since the end of the Second World War, was the responsibility of Highways England and will be renovated by the Royal Engineers Association at the army base in Nottingham. A partial segment of the bridge will be sent to the Royal Engineers Museum in Gillingham, Kent when renovations are completed.

Highways England project manager Russell Mclean said:

This has been a fascinating project to be involved in. We were approached by the Royal Engineers Association earlier this year who were interested in renovating a segment of the bridge for their museum.

We were only too happy to help them with their request although the removal of the bridge did prove to be difficult as the bridge has been there for a long time so we weren’t sure how the structure was going to hold when we removed it. Luckily we were able to remove a large enough segment which can now be put proudly on display in the Royal Engineers Museum in Gillingham, Kent.

The 50 feet bridge was removed by a cradle that was bolted to the roadway of the structure and lifted by a 400 tonne crane. The bridge was then split into 2 so it could be transported to the army base.

Members of the Royal Engineers Association were invited to the removal of the bridge.

Jim Johnstone of Doncaster Royal Engineers Association said:

The members of the Doncaster Branch of the Royal Engineers Association have never been involved in a project of this magnitude. In collaboration with Mr James Brooke, the farmer, who kindly donated the bridge to us we feel that we are saving a piece of Corps history that otherwise would have been lost. From the members of the Branch we must also thank Highways England for the tremendous assistance given in the recovery of the bridge.

Inglis bridges were the first modular bridges (that is a bridge which could be built, used, dismantled and built elsewhere) provided for access across rivers and gaps during the war as they could be constructed in a short space of time and could take a large amount of weight. They were usually assembled by a team of 12 men and a turntable.

Counterweight was attached to the home bank side of the pre-erected structure which was then swung across the river to the far banking area.

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.

New medicines and vaccines, for diseases such as malaria and HIV, may be introduced for the first time in LMIC’s where there are weak or no regulatory systems in place for effective safety monitoring. These new treatments have been developed with urgent public health needs in mind and therefore the need to gather and analyse information quickly on their safety and effectiveness is important.

The healthcare and regulatory systems in these settings may often lack the tools, training and capacity to operate a robust safety monitoring system. Whilst great progress has been made with many of LMIC’s now involved as members of the World Health Organization Program for International Drug Monitoring, the experience in collecting, assessing and acting on adverse reaction data, and risk management planning is limited.

Without an effective system, public health programs are at risk and patients may be affected, should they suffer from adverse drug reactions (ADRs) which are not promptly identified and treated. This can consequently undermine the program and result in a loss of trust in the product or a vaccine. Ultimately, this may lead to lower uptake and therefore, the disease not being effectively treated.

WHO and the Gates Foundation have launched ‘Project Smart Safety Surveillance’ (also known as Project 3-S) to help LMIC’s identify, assess, and adequately manage the risks associated with new products. MHRA will be joining this initiative to bring regulatory expertise to the project. This will be for a three-year period where it is intended to run three pilot exercises in different LMIC settings.

Dr Ian Hudson, Chief Executive Officer at MHRA said:

We are delighted to be involved in such an important global initiative. New drugs and vaccines are being brought to the market for the first time in public health programmes in settings where the safety monitoring and regulatory systems need strengthening. The expertise we can bring to the project will help national safety monitoring centres identify risks and benefits early and take appropriate regulatory action to support global heath.

Dr Dan Hartman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said:

The Triple S project is vitally important to the success of public health programmes to combat some of the world’s major diseases. When a new medicine or vaccine is being used it is critical that potential risks are identified early and well understood. The involvement of MHRA in this project will ensure scientific and regulatory expertise are developed within the national centres.