Category: Gov Press Releases

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

UK Prime Minister Theresa May spoke this afternoon with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi following his re-election over the weekend.

She congratulated President Sisi on the chance to take Egypt further along the path of democratic transition and said that his public commitment to respecting Egyptian presidential term-limits sent an important and powerful signal about his vision for the country’s future.

The Prime Minister said she looked forward to working closely with President Sisi during his final term in office and that the UK wanted Egypt to succeed as a stable, prosperous and democratic country.

The pair discussed how the two countries can continue to work together to further Egypt’s economic and education reforms and support its counter-terrorism efforts. President Sisi noted the UK’s experience and expertise in these areas and the potential benefits to Egypt. They looked forward to developing the bilateral relationship in all fields.

It’s stood tall above the city of Birmingham for the past 50 years – and now the foundations of Spaghetti Junction have played a part in Steven Spielberg’s new big-screen adventure Ready Player One, now in cinemas.

Highways England facilitated filming for Ready Player One underneath the iconic structure – known officially as Gravelly Hill interchange – in August and September 2016.

The towering concrete columns, some reaching to 80 feet high, formed the ideal backdrop to the film, which is in cinemas now.

Special templates featuring graffiti were stuck to the concrete structures and various props added into the set, including cars and tyres, with a ‘camp’ constructed for the new film.

The crew took considerable effort to protect the structure and ensure nothing was damaged during filming.
Emergency planning officer for Highways England, Frank Bird, said:

We’re thrilled to finally see the structure on the big screen and we were more than happy to facilitate filming for the staff and crew that were down on-site.

We spent considerable weeks working with the film company and producers and they were really pleased to be allowed access underneath the road. It’s not something that we do every day, but as it was a new Steven Spielberg film, it was an opportunity we couldn’t refuse. Those travelling on the road had no idea what was taking place underneath and that is testament to the hard work and organisation that went into this facilitating this project.

Work started on Spaghetti Junction some 50 years ago this year and it’s great to see that the road continues to hold international acclaim.

The structure continues to carry more than 220,000 vehicles every day and is subject to regular maintenance projects, many of which go unseen by the travelling public.

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.

The Attorney General, Jeremy Wright QC MP, has today launched a recruitment campaign to find the next Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

It was announced earlier this week that the current DPP, Alison Saunders CB, will stand down in October 2018 at the end of her 5 year term.

Announcing the recruitment campaign, the Attorney General Jeremy Wright QC MP said:

In recruiting the next DPP we are looking for an extraordinary candidate. The job requires excellent legal judgement, the ability to lead a large organisation and the capacity to work with others in improving the criminal justice system as a whole.

This is an exciting time to be joining the CPS and to be able to play a pivotal role in shaping the organisation and its future.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) employs around 6,000 people. It prosecutes criminal cases that have been investigated by the police and other investigative organisations in England and Wales, including the National Crime Agency and HMRC.

The job advert can be found on the Civil Service Jobs website and the deadline for applications is 9.00 on 14 May 2018.

Joint Statement on the anniversary of the Khan Sheikhoun attack by Boris Johnson, Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, Jean-Yves Le Drian, Foreign Minister of France, Heiko Maas, Foreign Minister of Germany and John Sullivan, Acting Secretary of State of the United States.

Today marks one year since the heinous attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun, where Asad’s forces unleashed sarin nerve gas with tragic consequences for hundreds of men, women and children.

For more than seven long years there has been no let-up in the atrocities committed by the Syrian regime, enabled by its backers, in flagrant violation of international law. The suffering that has been inflicted on the Syrian people by the Asad regime and its backers is abhorrent.

In 2013, Russia promised to ensure Syria would abandon all of its chemical weapons. Since then, international investigators mandated by the UN Security Council have found the Asad regime responsible for using poison gas in four separate attacks. Instead of fulfilling its promise, Russia reacted by using its Security Council veto to shut down the investigation.

Each time a chemical weapon is used, it undermines the global consensus against their employment. Further, any such use in clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention gravely undermines the rules-based international order.

We condemn the use of chemical weapons by anyone, anywhere. We are committed to ensuring that all those responsible for their use are held to account. We will not rest in our efforts to seek justice for the victims of these abhorrent attacks in Syria.

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

• Business Secretary welcomes announcement during visit to Vauxhall’s Luton plant, where next generation Vivaro to be produced from 2019
• move ensures plant’s long-term future, with a commitment from the company to invest further in the plant and safeguard 1,400 jobs
• agreement secured in part thanks to £9 million of government funding alongside local support and underlines success of UK’s landmark Industrial Strategy Automotive Sector Deal

The UK’s world-leading auto sector received a further vote of confidence today (Wednesday 4 April) as PSA announced it will produce the next generation Vauxhall Vivaro at its Luton site from 2019. The announcement is testament to the plant’s highly-skilled workforce and will ensure manufacturing remains in the UK for years to come.

Business Secretary Greg Clark welcomed the decision during a visit to the plant in Bedfordshire today alongside PSA group Chief Executive Carlos Tavares, leader of Luton Borough Council Hazel Simmons and Union leaders.

As part of the announcement, Vauxhall has committed to invest further in the plant, supplementing £9 million of government funding to install a new manufacturing platform. The deal has been aided by a range of support from local government, including help with recruitment, skills and efficient energy.

Prime Minister Theresa May said:

Vauxhall’s decision to invest in the United Kingdom is testament to the world-renowned expertise of the British automotive industry and workforce.

Through our modern Industrial Strategy, we are investing in the technological developments of tomorrow – ensuring we remain the natural choice for innovative firms to prosper.

The platform will allow the Luton plant to produce the next generation of Vivaro vans, with the aim of increasing existing output from around 70,000 vehicles per year to 100,000. The platform will also optimise manufacturing processes allowing the plant to bid for future vehicle lines as they become available.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said:

Today’s decision is a vote of confidence in Vauxhall’s high skilled workforce and the UK’s world leading automotive sector. This investment in upgrading the production platform will safeguard and grow jobs, ensuring the future of the Luton plant well into the next decade and help ensure the plant is well positioned for future Vauxhall models to be made in the UK.

We have been clear in our commitment to the automotive sector which is why, through the Industrial Strategy, we established a landmark Automotive Sector Deal that will see us working with industry to put the UK at the forefront of new technologies.

Through our ambitious Industrial Strategy the government is building on our existing strengths. Our landmark Sector Deal in January between government and the automotive industry was a vital moment in establishing the UK’s leadership in meeting the Future of Mobility and Clean Growth Grand Challenges. Today’s announcement will help secure the jobs of more than 1,400 people in Luton and builds on the firm’s strong association with the town for more than a century.

SMMT CEO Mike Hawes said:

This announcement is great news for the UK automotive sector and, especially, the Luton plant. The UK continues to be a centre of excellence for vehicle production thanks to our engineering expertise, high levels of productivity and a collaborative relationship with government which has enabled us to build a robust industrial strategy and a sector deal.

We will continue to work with policy makers to ensure the UK remains as competitive as possible now and in the future so we can continue to build on our long heritage in vehicle manufacturing.

The UK’s automotive sector continues to thrive with the UK currently the fourth largest European car producer with the highest productivity among Europe’s automotive producing nations. The sector generates £14.6 billion, representing 8.2% of the UK’s total manufacturing gross value added. The sector deal lays the framework for further UK investment in our world-class automotive industry such as Toyota’s announcement in February that they will build the next generation Auris at their Burnaston plant in Derby.

The UK’s Industrial Strategy is a long term plan to build a Britain fit for the future through a stronger, fairer economy. Through this we will help businesses to create better, higher-paying jobs – setting a path for Britain to lead in the high-tech, highly-skilled industries of the future.

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has opened a new statutory inquiry into The Islamic Educational Society of Blackburn (526572). The inquiry was opened on 26 February 2018.

The charity’s object is to advance education in the Islamic community of Blackburn.
On 15 February 2017 the charity was included in a class inquiry which the Commission opened to examine charities that had repeatedly defaulted on their accounting obligations.
The charity submitted the outstanding documents to the Commission in May 2017 and, as a result, ceased to be a part of the class inquiry. However, despite receiving regulatory advice and being reminded to meet their legal duties, the trustees again failed to file the statutory accounting information on time for the financial year ending 31 December 2016.

As a result of the further failure of the trustees to fulfill their legal reporting obligations the Commission has now opened a new inquiry.

In addition to obtaining the overdue accounting information the inquiry will seek to ensure that the trustees comply with their legal duties to file future account submissions within the statutory deadlines and examine broader aspects of the charity’s administration and management to ensure it is being properly managed by the trustees.

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.

Ends

Notes to editors

1. The Charity Commission is the independent 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.

Paul Winskill (54) started Premier Asphalt Limited in 1985 and provided construction services for commercial buildings and roadworks across the country.

But the company ran into trading difficulties and after more than 30 years, Premier Asphalt entered into administration on 19 February 2016.

The administrators appointed to close the company reported to the Insolvency Service that the directors of Premier Asphalt had not fully co-operated with them and failed to explain why the company had paid out more than £1m in the two weeks prior to their appointment.

The Insolvency Service’s investigation found that prior to entering into administration, a winding up petition was served on Premier Asphalt on 3 February 2016 as a trade creditor was owed more than £300,000.

But to avoid paying his debts, Winskill immediately transferred £1,044,794 to three other businesses, which were later discovered to be operated by Winskill although he wasn’t the appointed director.

On 8 February 2018, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Winskill, after he admitted transferring more than £1 million to the detriment of the company’s general body of creditors. His ban is effective from 1 March 2018 and lasts for eight years.

Robert Clarke, Head of Insolvent Investigations North at the Insolvency Service, said:

Following extensive enquiries, we discovered not only had Winksill transferred more than a million pounds out of the company to avoid paying his creditors what they were owed, but the money was moved to other companies which we found that he was also running.

Directors who put their own personal financial interests above those of creditors damage confidence in doing business and are corrosive to the health of the local economy. This ban should serve as a warning to other directors tempted to help themselves first, you have a duty to your creditors and if you neglect this duty you could be investigated by the Insolvency Service and lose the privilege of limited liability trading.

Notes to editors

Premier Asphalt Limited (CRO No. 01922245) was incorporated on 13 June 1985 and latterly traded from Hanson Road Business Park, Hanson Trading Estate, Aintree, Liverpool, L9 7JN.

Mr Winskill had been a director of the company before 13 October 1991 and remained appointed until the company went into Administration on 19 February 2016 with an estimated deficiency of £6,102,275.

On 8 February 2018, the Secretary of State accepted a Disqualification Undertaking from Mr Winskill, effective from 1 March 2018, for a period of 8 years. The matters of unfitness, which Mr Winskill did not dispute in the Disqualification Undertaking, were that:

On 04 and 05 February 2016, at a time when Premier Asphalt Ltd was insolvent, I caused the company to make payments to three associated parties totalling £1,044,794 which were to the detriment of the company’s general body of creditors.

A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:

• act as a director of a company
• take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
• be a receiver of a company’s property

In addition that person cannot act as an insolvency practitioner and there are many other restrictions are placed on disqualified directors by other regulations.

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings. Further information on director disqualifications and restrictions is available.

The Insolvency Service administers the insolvency regime, investigating all compulsory liquidations and individual insolvencies (bankruptcies) through the Official Receiver to establish why they became insolvent. It may also use powers under the Companies Act 1985 to conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in the UK. In addition, the agency authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, deals with disqualification of directors in corporate failures, assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees, provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

Contact Press Office

Media enquiries for this press release – 020 7674 6910 or 020 7596 6187

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• YouTube

International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox, will become the first UK trade minister to visit Thailand in 15 years when he arrives in Bangkok today to boost trade with the country.

Thailand is the second largest economy in South East Asia and bilateral trade with the UK increased by 2.8% to £5.6bn between 2015-2016. Currently the majority of UK exports are in machinery, vehicles and mechanical appliances.

Dr Fox will seek to expand this relationship, and raise the prospect of Thailand holding democratic elections, when he meets leading businesses and Thai Ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, his counterpart Sonthirat Sonthijirawong, the Thai Minister of Commerce, and Dr Pichet Durongkaveroj, Minister of Digital Economy and Society.

Thailand is implementing its “4.0 industrial strategy”, with a particular emphasis on moving towards a digital economy, from rolling out high-speed internet access for all villages to setting up a big data analytics centre.

The Secretary of State will showcase how UK’s world-class digital sector can the support this strategy, following a recent visit of Thai digital companies to the UK, as well as promoting the capability of UK companies in areas such as financial services, and transportation.

The Secretary of State will also showcase the capability of UK companies in areas such as financial services, and transportation, as well as raising the prospects of Thailand holding democratic elections.

While in the country Dr Fox will announce that the UK’s export credit agency, UKEF, has doubled the finance available for British businesses wanting to export to Thailand to £4.5bn.

UKEF will welcome applications for support from UK companies exporting to Thailand and for Thai buyers of UK goods and services. For the first time UKEF support will now be available in Thai baht, allowing buyers in Thailand to “buy British, pay local”, making exports from the UK even more competitive.

Following the lifting of the ban on British poultry, Dr Fox will also announce an export win for UK company Aviagen on the visit. Based in Stratford upon-Avon and Newbridge, the company will generate £40 million of extra exports over the next five years by exporting grandparent breeder day-old chicks and hatching eggs into the Thai market.

International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox, said:

The UK’s trade with Thailand is growing steadily, but there is still huge untapped demand for British goods and services across the Thai economy, which is growing strongly and has a large middle class.

The IMF predicts 90% of global growth in the coming years will come from outside the EU, and this Government is putting the UK in a position to benefit, particularly by boosting export finance and showcasing British companies to the Asian market.

As an international economic department we will continue to use visits such as this to help businesses of all sizes forge ties and cultivate relationships with potential buyers and investors in growing markets around the world.

The Secretary of State will meet with members of The British Chamber of Commerce and Thai businesses to discuss how they can forge new links between the two countries.

The UK will help to save an extra 50,000 vulnerable people from the threat of landmines worldwide, as more children than ever die as a result of these “cruel, indiscriminate killers”, International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt announced today.

To mark International Mine Awareness Day, Ms Mordaunt warned that in far too many countries children live in fear and risk their lives every day to go to school or play with friends because years of devastating wars have left land littered with lethal, hidden mines.

According to the latest figures, 2016 saw more child casualties than ever before and the highest number of total fatalities on record for more than 15 years. More than 8,600 people were injured and more than 2,000 people were killed during the year by landmines and other explosive devices left behind by conflict.

From today, UK aid will help save the lives of 50,000 more people in South Sudan, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Burma and Cambodia by clearing mines from over five million square metres of land – the equivalent of over 19,000 tennis courts – and through educating vulnerable people about the dangers of landmines, keeping entire communities safe from maiming or death.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said:

It is unforgiveable that more innocent children than ever are being maimed or killed by landmines which have been left behind by decades of devastating wars. One wrong step on the way to school or during a game with friends can cost a life or cause a lifetime of pain and suffering.

Today we are extending UK aid support to help save an extra 50,000 people in future years by educating them about the dangers of mines and also by decontaminating land littered with the devices. This will allow the poorest people to grow crops and their children to walk to school in areas which were once off limits.

Landmines are deadly devices, that have no place in today’s world. No one should be forced to live in fear of losing a limb, their life or a child to these cruel, indiscriminate killers.

In addition to today’s announcement, UK aid has:

• Cleared mines from 140 million square metres of contaminated land across the world, including in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
• Helped eradicate landmines from Mozambique – a Commonwealth country – by clearing every deadly explosive device from roads, bridges, schools and villages, making the country completely mine-free.
• Supported The HALO Trust to hand back Afghanistan’s most deadly province for landmines to its governor, after making 39 million of square metres of land safe once again.
• Matched pound for pound £214,000 of public donations to the Mine Advisory Group’s (MAG’s) ‘Walk Without Fear’ appeal – through UK Aid Match – to double the impact and help return land to almost 8,000 people in Angola, 20 years after Princess Diana walked through a landmine littered field to raise awareness of the devastating impact they have on innocent lives.

Notes to Editors

• In an event last year with HRH Prince Harry, the Department for International Development (DFID) made a £100 million commitment to make 15 million square metres of land safe again over a three year period. Today’s announcement of £3 million of UK aid to South Sudan, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Burma and Cambodia for a three month period is a new allocation from this existing support which will be delivered by the Halo Trust, MAG and Norwegian People’s Aid.
• The £100 million also includes:
• £12.6 million in 2017/18 as an extension to the pre-existing contract of the Global Mine Action Programme, which is delivered by the Halo Trust, MAG and Norwegian People’s Aid in Burma, Cambodia, South Sudan, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Laos, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.‎
• £60.4 million for demining programmes in financial years 2018/19 and 2019/20 in Angola, Burma, Cambodia, Iraq, Laos, Lebanon, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Vietnam, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.
• £20 million for Afghanistan in financial years 2018/19 and 2019/20 delivered by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS).‎
• £4 million for mine action in Sudan for 2018/19 and 2019/20 which will be delivered by UNMAS to clear 500,000 square metres of land in South Kordofan and Blue Nile States, open 1,000 km of priority routes for humanitarian aid delivery and provide education to 200,000 vulnerable people about the dangers of landmines.
• In addition to this, through UK Aid Match, the UK Government matched pound for pound public donations to MAG’s demining appeal. DFID will be continuing its programming in Asia and Africa including Afghanistan, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Somalia and South Sudan.
• According to the latest statistics from the Monitor which provides research and monitoring for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC), in 2016 8,605 mine casualties were recorded, of which at least 2,089 people were killed. Following a sharp increase in 2015, the casualty total in 2016 marked the highest number of annual recorded casualties in Monitor data since 1999 (9,228) and the most child casualties ever recorded (4,152).