Category: Gov Press Releases

Eight British servicemen awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) for their actions during the heroic Attack on Zeebrugge in Belgium 100 years ago will be remembered by communities in ceremonies across the country on 22 to 23 April.

As part of the government’s First World War centenary programme, the special ceremonies will see commemorative paving stones laid in honour of those that sacrificed so much for our freedom. The memorials will provide a lasting legacy to the bravery of these young men during one of the most daring raids of the First World War, and will allow communities to honour their hometown heroes.

The Attack on Zeebrugge was an audacious attempt to block German U-boat access to the English Channel from where they were causing sustained damage to allied military and commercial vessels.

As night fell on the 22 April 1918, a makeshift armada of modern destroyers, submarines and ships, including 2 Mersey passenger ferries, set sail across the Channel toward the Port of Zeebrugge where they intended to sink 3 cruisers in order to block the canal exit to the port.

The raid failed with a tragic loss of life but is symbolic of the bravery of British servicemen during the First World War. Over 200 men are thought to have been killed and more than 300 wounded.

Marking the centenary of the Attack on Zeebrugge, Communities Minister Lord Bourne said:

In the trenches and upon the seas, British servicemen sacrificed their lives to protect families, friends and communities at home. We owe them all a huge debt of gratitude.

That is never more evident than when reflecting on the events of the heroic Attack on Zeebrugge 100 years ago and reading the moving accounts of supreme gallantry and courage.

We have a duty to remember all who gave their lives and each memorial will enable residents to gain a greater understanding of how their area and people of all backgrounds contributed to the history of the First World War.

Amongst those remembered will be Lieutenant-Commander George Nicholson Bradford, whose Victoria Cross Paving Stone will be laid alongside that of his younger brother, Brigadier General Roland Boys Bradford in Witton Park, County Durham. The ‘Fighting Bradford’s were the only brothers to be both awarded the medal during the First World War.

His citation reads:

Lieut.-Commander Bradford’s action was one of absolute self-sacrifice; without a moment’s hesitation he went to certain death, recognising that in such action lay the only possible chance of securing “Iris II” – one of the two Mersey ferries – and enabling her storming parties to land.

The 7 further Victoria Cross recipients from the Attack on Zeebrugge were:

Commander (Acting Captain) Alfred Francis Carpenter, RN
Able Seaman Albert McKenzie
Lieutenant-Commander Arthur Harrison, RN
Captain Edward Bamford, DSO, RMLI
Serjeant Norman Finch, RMA
Lieutenant Percy Dean, RNVR
Lieutenant Richard Sandford, RN

A further 11 British servicemen will be remembered with Victoria Cross paving stones throughout April as part of the government’s First World War centenary programme.

Further information

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is running a campaign to honour Victoria Cross recipients from the First World War as part of the government’s centenary programme.

Over the course of the 4 years (2014 to 2018) on a date corresponding or close to when they were awarded the VC, a commemorative paving stone is laid close to where the local hero was born or lived following the war.

469 stones are being laid in communities across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. 35 VC recipients are being commemorated in the Republic of Ireland.

Britain did not stand alone and the war effort was made up of people from every corner of the globe. 145 servicemen born overseas, across 19 different countries are commemorated in a permanent memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum.

The design of the stones was selected from a public competition won by Charlie MacKeith from London. The selected design uses a circular shape, created to inspire viewers to ‘pause and remember’. The stones also use the material, form and lettering of the family memorials used by the War Graves commission.

The paving stones are made of Scoutmoor Yorkstone a hard-wearing British stone that is quarried near Ramsbottom. Each stone will include the name of the individual, the rank and regiment of the individual (at the time the VC was awarded) and the date of the action for which the VC was awarded.

You can also follow the laying of the commemorative stones on Twitter with #VCPavingStones.

The government has passed its target to recruit an additional 2,500 prison officers by the end of 2018 7 months ahead of schedule, the Justice Secretary revealed today (22 April 2018).

As figures showed a net increase of 3,111 prison officers between October 2016 and March 2018, David Gauke said there would be no let up in the relentless recruitment drive despite the milestone being reached. Nearly 90 per cent of the 3,000 new recruits will be on the landings by the summer.

Continuing to boost staffing numbers is crucial as it will allow prisons to introduce a new model where prison officers spend more time both one-to-one and with small groups of prisoners. This approach is key to creating more constructive relationships between offenders and prison officers, reducing violence, improving stability and intensifying the focus on rehabilitation.

Justice Secretary David Gauke said:

Going beyond this important milestone so early is a real achievement. It means the vast majority of these prison officers will be working on the landings by the summer, and all of them will be in place by the end of the year. This will make a real difference to the safety and security of our prisons, ensuring they can fulfil their purpose – protecting the public, reducing reoffending and crucially, rehabilitating offenders.

But let me be clear – the recruitment drive continues and will continue until we reach required levels across the prison estate, with the same urgency that has secured this remarkable influx of new staff.

Figures released today show an additional 2,699 prison officers on landings or in Prison Officer Entry Level Training (POELT) since October 2016, while a further 255 are performing operational support roles pending the start of their training.

Dean Gardiner, acting Governor at HMP Pentonville, said:

Hitting this target is an important milestone for the prison service. The new staff here at HMP Pentonville have made a real difference to how the prison runs by building positive relationships with prisoners.

The boost in officer numbers has allowed us to deliver more and improve the rehabilitation offered to the offenders, which prepares them to turn away from crime upon release and prevents future victims of reoffending.

HMP Cardiff’s Governor Danny Khan said:

Working in prisons is obviously challenging, but our prison officers are clear their job is about rehabilitating offenders, helping them secure employment upon release and making society safer.

It’s essential we recruit positive prison officers who aren’t afraid to push this agenda.

Officer Shrubsole, a neuroscience graduate, has just completed his training and started work at HMP Pentonville. The 25-year-old said:

I joined because I wanted a job where I could work with people and try to help rehabilitate them. I was also attracted to the idea that I could progress in this role in the future. I am really proud to work in the prison service – you’re working with such an important part of society.

Officer Zefi, aged 27, has completed 6 months as a prison officer at HMP Featherstone. He said:

I joined the service so that I could help rehabilitate people.

In the past 6 months, I feel that I have already made a difference which is really rewarding.

The work is varied – one day I could be escorting people to courts and the next supporting someone who is distressed or needs support.

We are clear about the purposes prison serves: protection, punishment and rehabilitation. Our staffing drive is vital to ensuring prisons will not only be safer, more secure and more decent, but will support prisoners in turning their backs on crime for good.

Increasing staffing levels is part of the wider prison reform programme, with its relentless focus on getting the basics right – ensuring prisons are safe and decent, with a secure perimeter that prevents drugs and other contraband getting in.

And we are also cracking down on the serious and organised criminals operating their networks from behind bars, investing £14 million in tackling this threat including in new intelligence and serious and organised crime teams.

A new law to ban ticket touts from using ‘bots’ to dodge security measures and snap up more tickets than allowed by event organisers will this week be laid in Parliament, paving the way for the measures to come into force.

The new offence will mean touts using automated software to bulk buy tickets for resale on secondary ticketing sites at hugely inflated prices will face an unlimited fine.

London musical Hamilton saw tickets being advertised on the secondary ticketing market for up to £6,000. While artists including Adele and Ed Sheeran have also been targeted by professional touts. The Government’s work places the UK at the forefront of the fight against touts exploiting real fans.

Margot James, minister for digital and the creative industries, said:

I’m determined to make sure everyone has the chance to see their favourite stars at a fair price.

This week we will reach the final stage in our fight to beat rip-off ticket touts using bots to buy huge numbers of tickets only to sell them on at massively over-inflated prices.

Our work, together with improvements by industry, will give consumers greater protection, make the market more transparent and help Britain’s live events scene continue to thrive.

Consumer Minister Andrew Griffiths said:

Fans have a right to know exactly what they’re signing up to on ticket resale websites, but all too often people are left feeling ripped off when the ticket doesn’t match expectations.

We’re taking steps to crack down on touts using “bots” to bulk buy tickets for resale and last week’s new rules will also improve transparency in this market.

Adam Webb, campaign manager FanFair Alliance, said:

This new legislation is important, and we need it to be activated and enforced. By reducing the means of dedicated touts to bulk harvest tickets, Government can help recalibrate the live music market and give fans a better opportunity to buy tickets at a price the artist sets.

Michael Dugher, UK Music chief executive, said:

I’m delighted the Government has listened to calls from UK Music and industry campaigners like the FanFair Alliance to ban bots.

This new law is an important step to ensure transparency in the resale ticket market. We need the law to be fully enforced to protect music fans from being ripped off. We also need much stronger action from Google which is still directing fans to sites like Viagogo at the top of an online search, rather than to official ticketing.

Music fans have been fleeced for far too long and we will continue to work with Government to ensure our fantastic live music industry continues to bring enjoyment to millions of people and to make over a £1 billion annual contribution to the UK economy.

The new legislation, being brought forward thanks to a provision in the Digital Economy Act, is part of a wider government drive to make sure genuine fans are not losing out through the secondary ticketing market.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy introduced new rules requiring ticket resellers to provide more information around resold event tickets. Resellers now have to supply any unique ticket numbers (UTN) to the buyer to identify a ticket’s seat, standing area or location.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is taking enforcement action against secondary ticketing websites suspected of breaking consumer law, Trading Standards has been conducting raids across the UK to pursue those suspected of potential breaches of the Unfair Trading Regulations, and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is clamping down on misleading prices and charges on secondary ticketing websites.

New guidance was also published last month to help prepare business for these changes and provide clarity to make sure they comply while also securing a better deal for consumers.

Citizens Advice provide information for consumers about buying event tickets and how to make sure a ticketing site is genuine.

Government work is being bolstered by new approaches in the private sector:

· UK startup Aventus and Dutch startup Guaranteed Unique Ticketing System use blockchain technology to make it impossible to resell tickets at a higher price.

· British firm DICE is using innovative mobile technology to lock tickets to user accounts and beat the touts.

· Big UK music stars such as Adele and Ed Sheeran have partnered with sites such as Twickets.co.uk, which prohibits the resale of tickets at a profit.

Notes to editors

Citizens Advice consumer helpline: 0345 404 0506

For more information please contact the DCMS press office on 020 7 211 2210

A Downing Street spokesman said:

The Prime Minister met Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull today for bilateral talks at Chequers following the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London and Windsor this week.

They reflected on the week’s events and how they could both offer real support to see the commitments made at CHOGM delivered over the period of the UK’s chair-in-office – particularly in the area of cyber security. They agreed to close collaboration between their two countries on this matter.

Acknowledging that the two countries already enjoy a close defence relationship, the Prime Minister welcomed increased cooperation on defence and security, including on equipment programmes and noted the merits of the Type 26 frigate and its anti-submarine warfare capability.

Both Prime Ministers said that their countries’ should seek to share research and science, agreeing that their universities had much to offer each other.

The leaders noted the importance of free and fair trade, before discussing their trading relationship post EU-exit.

They confirmed their shared ambition to form a new bilateral UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement after leaving the EU. They welcomed the approach agreed at the March European Council to provide continuity during the implementation period for international agreements, which could be swiftly transitioned into new bilateral agreements once the implementation period ends.

The Prime Minister thanked Prime Minister Turnbull for Australia’s support over the action against the Assad regime. They agreed it was important to continue stressing the Commonwealth communique’s commitment to implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention.

The Duke of Cambridge, the Foreign Secretary and leaders of African Commonwealth countries met on Friday 20 April for high level talks on tackling the illegal wildlife trade in advance of the next international conference in London later this year.

Ambitious proposals to tackle the crime were discussed and debated, including opportunities to boost cross-border law enforcement so that more elephants and other animals can move more freely and safely in Africa.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said:

Many African countries are already working together and taking robust action to protect and preserve their precious wildlife but this is a serious problem driven by international criminal syndicates.

It is only through ambitious African-led initiatives that we will stop this deplorable crime for good, and we are ready to help. Here in the UK we are taking forward our own plans for a ban on domestic ivory sales, and in October I will co-host an international conference in London on combating the illegal wildlife trade.

Together we can stop the decline of the world’s most iconic species and ensure that future generations don’t have to live in a world without wildlife.

During the talks, the Foreign Secretary appealed for ambitious outcomes at October’s conference, which will focus on tackling the illegal wildlife trade as a serious organised crime, building coalitions and closing illegal wildlife markets. The Foreign Secretary and African leaders discussed opportunities for increasing national and cross-border law enforcement programmes to catch poachers and stop wildlife traffickers.

The numbers are horrific: around 20,000 African elephants are killed by poachers each year. Savanna elephant numbers have declined by a third from 2007 to 2014 and there has been a 9,000% increase in rhino poaching in South Africa. Wildlife in many parts of Africa is at crisis levels.

Mafias and organised crime gangs are at the centre of much of the illegal wildlife trade, driving animals to the point of extinction and decimating wildlife tourism in communities that rely on it.

The illegal wildlife trade is a serious organised crime with revenues worth up to £17bn a year, more than the combined income of the Central African Republic, Liberia and Burundi. That is why the UK is taking forward plans for a ban on domestic ivory sales and in October will host an international conference in London on combating the illegal wildlife trade.

Notes to editors:

• Representatives from the following countries attended the meeting: Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Tanzania, South Africa, Cameroon & Nigeria.

Further information

• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

A man who sexually abused a 6 year old girl has had his sentence increased after the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC MP, appealed it for being too low.

Lenham Griffith, then aged 31, repeatedly sexually assaulted the girl over a sustained four year period from 1995. He showed no remorse for his actions, insisting that he was innocent.

The victim suffered long-term emotional and psychological injuries as a result of Mr Griffith’s actions.

Griffith was convicted of indecent assault reflecting 67 separate instances following a trial at Inner London Crown Court. He was originally sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment with an extended licence period of 3 years.

The Court of Appeal has today increased his sentence to 15 years in prison, with an extended licence period of 3 years.

Speaking after the hearing, the Solicitor General said:

“Sexual abuse is one of the most psychologically damaging things that can happen to a person. Griffith’s actions toward an innocent and defenceless child were horrendous.

I am glad the Court of Appeal has increased the sentence and I hope this brings some comfort to the victim.”

In the margins of CHOGM Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson welcomed his Zimbabwean counterpart Foreign (and Trade) Minister Sibusiso Moyo to London for a roundtable with other international partners.

The historic meeting ushers in a new era in UK-Zimbabwe relations and symbolises Zimbabwe’s commitment to engaging meaningfully with the international community.

The Foreign Secretary said:

President Mnangagwa has been in power for 150 days and while Zimbabwe has made impressive progress, there’s still much to do.

That’s why Britain, the Commonwealth and the wider international community will do everything it can in supporting Zimbabwe on its path of reform.

But we must remember democracies are not made in a day.

July’s election will be a bellwether for the direction of a new Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe Government must deliver the free and fair elections the people of Zimbabwe deserve and which it has promised. The UK stands ready in friendship to support a Zimbabwe that fully embraces the rule of law, human rights and economic reform.

There is a great deal of interest in Zimbabwe applying to rejoin the Commonwealth after their election in July. Applying is a matter for the Zimbabwean people to decide. Zimbabwe would have to formally apply to the Commonwealth Secretariat and the final decision would then be for all Commonwealth members. However, the UK would strongly support Zimbabwe’s re-entry and a new Zimbabwe that is committed to political and economic reform that works for all its people.

Today’s meeting reinstated the commitment of the British government to the people of Zimbabwe. The UK currently provides £91m in bilateral UK aid to the people of Zimbabwe in 2017/18. This includes the further £5 million the Minister for Africa, Harriett Baldwin announced to support free and fair elections during her visit in February.

Further information

• Follow the Foreign Secretary on Twitter @BorisJohnson and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns is gearing up to run the London Marathon for the seventh time this Sunday (22 April).

Mr Cairns crossed the finish line as the fastest Cabinet Minister and second fastest Member of Parliament in last year’s race, completing the 26.2 mile course in 3 hours 36 minutes.

His personal best time of 3:28:02 in 2016 placed him in seventh position on the list of all time fastest MP runners.

This year the Welsh Secretary will be raising money for the NSPCC Wales and Atal y Fro, a women’s aid charity dedicated to the elimination of domestic violence.

Alun Cairns said:

I am always inspired by the reasons why people decide to put on their running shoes and tackle one of the most famous courses in the world.

Whether it is setting a new personal best, raising money for a charity close to your heart or remembering someone special, it is always something to keep you motivated through the hard months of training and to get through the mental and physical pressure of the race itself.

I look forward to joining the thousands of runners of all abilities taking part to raise money for two worthy causes, hopefully with some sunshine along the way!

Notes to editors:

• To donate to Mr Cairns’ chosen charities visit his Virgin Money Giving page

ENDS