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PRESS RELEASE : UK to roll out Dutch-style employment support across Britain [June 2026]
The press release issued by the Department for Work and Pensions on 12 June 2026.

Young Brits are set to benefit from Dutch style employment support as the Government steps up localised support to tackle rising NEET numbers.
- Government to open almost 180 Dutch-style Youth Hubs over next two years to tackle rising youth unemployment as nation’s NEET number hits one million
- Visting the Netherlands, the Work and Pensions Secretary saw how Dutch ‘Jongerenpunt’ youth points are bringing services under one roof, helping them record Europe’s lowest NEET rate
- Secretary of State vows to learn from the Netherlands’ approach where young people are given multiple chances through work-study pathways, employer partnerships and apprenticeships to build a system where “inactivity is a last resort”
Young Brits are set to benefit from Dutch style employment support as the Government steps up localised support to tackle rising NEET numbers.

Almost 180 new Youth Hubs will begin opening from next week which will provide wraparound services – coordinating education, welfare, and employment support. This comes after the government implemented a standard blueprint for Youth Hubs last year as part of the expansion programme, designed to ensure hubs include essential wraparound services such as health, housing and wellbeing support, with consideration given to international models and UK evidence, while reflecting local needs and partnerships.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden visited one of these youth points in Rotterdam and spoke to employers and educators about the transformational impact they have for Dutch youngsters.

The Netherlands has one of the world’s lowest NEET rates – 4.9 percent among 18 to 24-year-olds, compared to the UK’s 15.1 percent.

Britain’s new Youth Hubs will bring vital support to young people where they already are at a range settings including football clubs, community centres and libraries. The hubs, like the Jongerenpunt services in the Netherlands, are one stop shops where young people can access the support they need – whether it’s CV advice, housing support or mental health support they need. Every local area across Britain will now get a Youth Hub, with 360 youth hubs to be opened by 2029.

Youth points are a key part of the Netherlands’ system, alongside their strong track record of vocational training. Around 35 percent of young people in the Netherlands pursue technical and professional pathways compared with 22 percent in the UK. More than half of Dutch young people have workplace experience by the age of 19, compared to dwindling early labour market participation in the UK.

During his visit the Secretary of State heard more about the Netherlands’ strong emphasis on early intervention, local accountability and active engagement. Young people who leave education without qualifications continue to receive support, while local authorities, employers, schools and employment services work together to prevent long-term inactivity. He vowed to build a system in the UK where there is a “path for everyone”.

The Netherlands’ success comes despite the fact Dutch young people rank second in the world for depressive symptoms – directly behind the UK and report anxiety disorders at rates slightly below Britain’s. If the UK were to match the Dutch NEET rate, 600,000 more young people would be in work or education today according to the Resolution Foundation.

This strongly suggests the difference is not health but how the country responds to it, with the Dutch system keeping people connected to work before it is too late.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said:

In the Netherlands, inactivity is a last resort, yet we all too often see young people signed off and written off, without engagement or support.

That is a system failure which has failed our young people. “We should learn from their approach of having a pathway for every young person

With hundreds of new Youth Hubs and an expansion across all areas of the UK and our £2.5 billion investment in our Youth Guarantee we will create more than 200,000 jobs and apprenticeships, expand employment support and deliver the biggest reforms to apprenticeships in a decade.

This comes as over a million 16-24-year-olds are not in education, employment or training, with the number rising by almost 250,000 since 2021 with more than half reporting a health condition.

These figures underline the need for targeted action which is why the Government is delivering a major youth employment drive backed by £2.5 billion over the next three years which will support almost one million young people and help deliver up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn. This includes enhanced apprenticeship support, helping more young people into work while giving businesses greater incentives to hire and train those who have been on Universal Credit and looking for work for six months.

We have also introduced a £2,000 incentive for each new employee aged 16-24 taken on by a small business, while National Insurance Contributions are waived for most employees under 21 and apprentices under 25.

This existing support, combined with learnings from the Secretary of State’s visit to the Netherlands are essential to the government’s mission to get Britain’s young people into good, productive jobs which will drive the nation’s plan for growth.
13/06/2026
PRESS RELEASE : Disqualified director jailed for £3 million fraud which helped bankroll lavish lifestyle with chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce [June 2026]
The press release issued by the Insolvency Service on 12 June 2026.

Two men sentenced in insolvency fraud and money laundering conspiracy.
- Tariq Sarwar fraudulently transferred more than £3 million from the sale of a Salford commercial property
- Christopher Francis laundered the money through a network of accounts and companies, returning funds to Sarwar with creditors losing out
- Both men have been sentenced following investigations by the Insolvency Service
Two men who carried out a £3 million insolvency fraud and money laundering scheme have been sentenced.

Disqualified director Tariq Sarwar, 59, knew his company was in financial difficulty and likely to be wound-up when he sold commercial property in Salford – his company’s only substantial asset – for more than £5 million.

Sarwar fraudulently transferred more than £3 million from the proceeds of that sale without paying off his company’s debts to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and other creditors.

The money went to a food and drinks company controlled by Christopher Francis, 40, who laundered the funds through a network of accounts and other companies back to Sarwar.

While creditors were left owed more than £500,000, Sarwar and his family enjoyed a lavish lifestyle in the Cheshire countryside, including a six-bedroom home filled with designer products from Versace and Louis Vuitton.

His son even appeared on reality television programme Rich Kids Go Skint, filmed in the summer of 2019, where he admitted he had never been on a bus before and was chauffeured around in a Rolls-Royce.

Sarwar, of Gore Lane, Alderley Edge, admitted charges of fraudulently removing assets in anticipation of winding-up and acting as a company director while disqualified in April this year.

He was jailed for four years and banned as a company director for 10 years when he appeared at Manchester Crown Court on Friday 12 June.

Francis, of Letchworth Road, Luton, pleaded guilty in the middle of his trial last month to one count of money laundering under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

He was sentenced to two years and one month in prison, suspended for two years, at the same hearing.

Francis was also ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work.

The Insolvency Service has already started investigations to confiscate the funds.

David Snasdell, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:

Tariq Sarwar and Christopher Francis went to considerable lengths to hide their criminal actions, moving millions of pounds through a web of companies to cover their tracks.

Property companies do not hand more than £3 million to an unconnected food and drinks business out of generosity. This was fraud, plain and simple.

The Insolvency Service will continue to pursue confiscation proceedings to ensure Sarwar and Francis do not get to keep what was never rightfully theirs.

Daniel Hart, Senior Criminal Lawyer at the Insolvency Service, said:

Tariq Sarwar diverted millions of pounds beyond the reach of creditors to maintain a luxury lifestyle, despite being disqualified as a company director.

Together with Christopher Francis, he sought to disguise the proceeds through a network of companies to evade detection. That attempt failed. The Insolvency Service traced the fraud and brought both men to justice.

The Insolvency Service is committed to targeting those who seek to hide criminality behind corporate structures and will take robust action against those who abuse the insolvency regime or engage in corporate abuse. Offenders can expect to be prosecuted and to face serious consequences.

Sarwar was disqualified as a company director for 11 years in November 2013. At the time, his company owed at least £1.6 million to creditors yet he arranged for more than a quarter of a million pounds to be paid to his personal benefit from an insurance claim.

The company went into administration less than eight weeks after this payment.

Sarwar’s disqualification prevented him by law from forming, managing or promoting a company without the permission of the court, which he did not have.

Despite this, he acted as director of A Property Management Limited between November 2014 and July 2018, and of Willowloch Limited for almost 10 years from April 2015 until his disqualification ended in November 2024.

In both instances, although other individuals were formally appointed as directors, Sarwar retained actual control of the companies.

A Property Management Limited’s trading activities were purchasing Langley Mill Business Park on Langley Road in Salford, renovating it and letting individual units to other businesses.

Willowloch Limited’s primary trading activity was the purchase and conversion of the former Stockport Police Station on Lee Street into flats.

The two companies were financially intertwined. Money was moved between them without clear justification, and funds from A Property Management Limited were used to service a loan that benefited Willowloch Limited.

HMRC applied to have A Property Management Limited wound-up in March 2018 after the company failed to pay £130,000 in tax.

Sarwar therefore knew that there was a realistic prospect his company would be shut down.

Just three months later, Langley Mill Business Park was sold for just under £5.1 million.

After mortgages and legal fees were paid off, Sarwar instructed A Property Management Limited’s solicitors to transfer the remaining amount to KYCA Trading Limited, a company directed by Francis.

Almost £3.1 million was moved within nine days of the sale.

By early July 2018, the entire sum had been paid into accounts belonging to six other companies.

Insolvency Service investigations traced £645,000 which had been subsequently transferred to a company whose directors were members of Sarwar’s immediate family.

A further £748,980 passed through a series of other companies before ultimately finding its way back to Sarwar’s own family business and into his personal business account.

When the Insolvency Service contacted Sarwar about his role in the sale of Langley Mill Business Park, he denied any involvement.

Francis claimed that more than £700,000 had been transferred as a deposit on five penthouses.

This was a transaction he could not name, document, or credibly explain.

Francis was disqualified as a company director for six years in March 2021 after failing to provide adequate accounting records for KYCA Trading Limited.

He claimed his car, containing his laptop and all business records, had been stolen and burnt out overnight.

HMRC were later repaid in full and other creditors eventually received a limited return on what they were owed.

Further information
- Tariq Sarwar is of Gore Lane, Alderley Edge, Cheshire. His date of birth is 31 August 1966
- Christopher Francis is of Letchworth Road, Luton. His date of birth is 24 September 1985
13/06/2026
PRESS RELEASE : The UK will continue to work with others to secure the Mechanism’s legacy in the delivery of justice for the victims of the atrocities – UK Statement at the UN Security Council [June 2026]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 12 June 2026.

Statement by Legal Adviser Colin McIntyre at the UN Security Council meeting on the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.

President, today’s briefing occurs at an important time for the Mechanism, with Council Members currently undertaking the mandated review of the Mechanism’s work. In this context, I will make three points.

First, as the Council agreed in resolution 1966, the Mechanism should be a small, temporary and efficient structure, whose functions and size diminish over time and whose staffing and structure are commensurate with those functions.

As the president mentioned in her remarks, the Mechanism has already rightly taken a number of steps in this regard, including staffing and budget reductions in recent years.

However, much more needs to be done to ensure that the Mechanism becomes a substantially smaller institution than has been the case to date, in light of its residual nature.

So as we work towards the adoption of a resolution later this month we should seek to ensure a more focussed and substantially reduced mandate for the Mechanism, retaining what is necessary, while safeguarding its important legacy.

Second, the UK welcomes the Strategic Plan presented by the Mechanism’s Principals.

The Plan provides a good basis for discussions and for achieving change in a responsible manner.

Turning now to some of the specifics covered in the Plan, in our view, it is important that a small core of judicial functions should remain at the international level.

However, this range of judicial functions should be much narrower than at present and could be performed by a roster of judges which is also reduced in number.

We further recognise the continued value many States attach to the provision of assistance to national authorities provided by the Office of the Prosecutor.

However, we agree that this function can be moved to the UN Secretariat and should reduce in size over time.

In relation to the archives, we thank those States that have made offers to host these materials.

The UK’s view remains that the Mechanism’s archives should be transferred to the UN Secretariat and should be housed as close as possible to affected communities, also taking into account cost-effectiveness and ease of access.

We further call on the Mechanism to implement the outstanding recommendations in the recent OIOS report and to welcome the steps outlined in the Mechanism’s own report in that regard.

Finally, although there are historic reasons for the Mechanism’s two-branch structure, at this stage in its lifecycle, the UK considers this is no longer necessary.

In our view, it would be more cost-effective to remove this requirement from the Mechanism’s statute.

In conclusion, Madam President, the UK will continue to work with others to secure the Mechanism’s legacy whilst ensuring that this is done in a way that appropriately reflects the residual stage of its remaining operations.

13/06/2026
Dan Jarvis – 2026 Comments on the Drone Facility in Swindon

The comments made by Dan Jarvis, the Secretary of State for Defence, on 12 June 2026.

The character of warfare is changing, and it is changing fast. From Ukraine to the Middle East, we are seeing right now how uncrewed systems are rapidly evolving and reshaping conflicts – on land, in the air and at sea

Our new DroneTEX facility at the heart of our Uncrewed Systems Centre is Europe’s largest drone test and development facility, and will help us ensure the UK embraces technologies that are redefining warfare.

Where once new technology could take years from inception to reaching our Armed Forces, we will now be able to develop and field new tech in a matter of weeks – because in this new era, those who innovate fastest will win.

13/06/2026
PRESS RELEASE : Europe’s largest drone testing centre opens in Swindon to boost defence innovation [June 2026]
The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 12 June 2026.

Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis MP opens Europe’s biggest drone testing centre in Swindon, learning lessons from the Ukraine and Iran conflicts.
- Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis MP opens Europe’s biggest drone testing centre in Swindon, learning lessons from the Ukraine and Iran conflicts.
- Uncrewed Systems Centre, based at new DroneTEX facility, will keep Armed Forces at edge of innovation, rapidly developing and fielding capabilities in weeks, not years.
- Centre will support small British businesses, unlock exports and create jobs as part of largest sustained defence spending boost since the Cold War.
Britain’s Armed Forces will be strengthened with the latest drone technology after the Defence Secretary opened Europe’s largest drone centre in Swindon today.

As the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine show, drones are rapidly reshaping warfare, with cheap systems destroying high value targets and innovation cycles measured in weeks, not years. Ukraine uses roughly 200,000 drones a month and there were 700 drones launched per day at the height of conflict in Iran.

The new Uncrewed Systems Centre (USC), based at the DroneTEX facility in Swindon, will help the UK’s Armed Forces stay at the leading edge of innovation and take advantage of constantly evolving technologies.

It will be the UK’s focal point for the development and testing of the latest drone technology and drive collaboration with industry, allies and partners. At 545,000 sq ft, DroneTEX is the size of more than 10 football pitches and will rapidly develop and field new capabilities.

The Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis MP met defence industry leaders, investors and military specialists as he toured the facility today.

At the opening of the USC, Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis MP said:

The character of warfare is changing, and it is changing fast. From Ukraine to the Middle East, we are seeing right now how uncrewed systems are rapidly evolving and reshaping conflicts – on land, in the air and at sea

Our new DroneTEX facility at the heart of our Uncrewed Systems Centre is Europe’s largest drone test and development facility, and will help us ensure the UK embraces technologies that are redefining warfare.

Where once new technology could take years from inception to reaching our Armed Forces, we will now be able to develop and field new tech in a matter of weeks – because in this new era, those who innovate fastest will win.

This state-of-the-art centre will work with British companies, supporting SMEs, unlocking exports and creating high-skilled jobs.

It will harness the power of data and digital integration as the UK embraces AI and autonomy, including through our new Task Force RAID (Rapid AI Delivery) which the Prime Minister and Chief of the Defence Staff announced earlier this week.

The Strategic Defence Review announced a major increase in autonomy investment of £2 billion in this parliament, taking total defence investment in autonomous systems to £4 billion.

The MOD has spent over £450 million on uncrewed systems, including £300 million on their research and development since July 2024. In the last year, UK Defence Innovation has injected over £142 million in rapid investment to scale up production of drones and anti-drone weapons.

UKDI is the focal point for innovation within the Ministry of Defence, backed by a ringfenced annual budget of at least £400 million, enabling UK companies to scale up innovative prototypes rapidly.
13/06/2026
PRESS RELEASE : New champion to be appointed for Britain’s mutuals and co-operatives [June 2026]

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 12 June 2026.

Plans for a new champion for mutuals and co-ops have been unveiled in a speech by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury in Birmingham today.

Rachel Blake gave her backing to the growth of the mutuals and co-ops sector and doubling its size at the Co-op Congress today – an annual event which brings together leaders, practitioners, and innovators to explore shared challenges and opportunities.

Mutuals and co-operatives are businesses or organisations owned and run by their members, and they play an important role in strengthening local economies and giving people a stake in the places they live and work.

The appointment of a new champion would help raise the profile of the sector and represent their interests across government.

Across the UK, there are more than 8,400 registered co-operative and community benefit societies, collectively holding around £223 billion in assets and 12 million memberships.

This is part of the Government’s plan to fulfil its commitment to doubling the size of the sector and follows the Department for Business and Trade’s call for evidence on co-operatives and non-financial mutuals earlier this year.

It also comes shortly after the introduction of the Financial Services and Markets Bill to parliament which includes credit union common bond reforms. They will make it easier for credit unions to expand and broaden their membership which will allow more people access to affordable credit and a safe place to save.

Rachel Blake MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, is expected to say today:

We want to see the co-operative and mutual sector grow and thrive.

We are committed to unlocking the full potential of the sector to support inclusive growth across the UK economy. This has been a priority from the beginning.

We are making real progress.

Minister for Small Business & Economic Transformation, Blair McDougall MP, said:

Co‑operatives and mutuals have a vital role to play in our Small Business Plan, rebuilding pride in place in the UK and supporting workers and communities.

By appointing a Co‑operatives and Mutuals Champion, we will shine a light on this model, breaking down barriers to businesses, and back our ambition to double the size of the sector.

13/06/2026
PRESS RELEASE : When AI Leaves the Lab – Testing Frontier Models in Government Cyber Defence [June 2026]
The press release issued by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 12 June 2026.

The Government Cyber Action Plan aims to boost cyber resilience across the UK public sector by using emerging technologies to manage risk. The Government Cyber Coordination Centre (GC3) – a partnership between the NCSC and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology – is leading this work, exploring how frontier AI can be applied safely to cyber defence across government.

From frontier models to front-line impact

We know AI is disrupting the cyber threat landscape. Recently released frontier AI systems such as Claude Mythos and GPT-5.5 brought a step-change in cyber capabilities, and the UK AI Security Institute (AISI)’s evaluations show these models getting better at cyber tasks very quickly.

However, evaluation in synthetic environments gives a limited understanding of real-world use. A high score on a benchmark does not necessarily translate into finding and fixing real vulnerabilities.

What we did

The Government Cyber Coordination Centre led a weekly, in-person series of hackathons which used frontier AI to scan public code repositories across government. Working closely with specialists from the AISI and NCSC, our goal was to find and mitigate previously unidentified vulnerabilities before they could be exploited. Rather than mandate a single approach, we gave teams model access and let them build their own tooling, noticing what worked each week and building on the best approaches.

The UK Government encourages new source code to be open by default, with specific and justified exceptions. In practice, that creates a degree of shared visibility that attackers can also exploit. However, this openness also limits duplication and leads to cleaner, more easily maintained code.

Code published in the open has also already passed extensive prepublication scrutiny, meaning it can be shared with frontier model providers with minimal additional review. This means that government departments can deploy new capabilities quickly and with confidence.

An adversarial chain that challenges itself. One team ran each public repo through a six-stage AI agent pipeline: triage, validator, auditor, tracer, judge, summary. Each stage reads and challenges the last. In one case, the agent downgraded a finding once it established that a backup mechanism was in place. The pipeline was agentic, but the escalation was manual. This means a member of the team checked every line, re-verified exposure, and handled false positives.

Deterministic scanners feeding a model. Another team ran traditional scanning tools first (including Gitleaks, Trivy, Semgrep and Hadolint) to generate a ranked findings document. Three model stages were then layered on top: a discovery stage that treated the scanner output as leads and read the source against OWASP and CWE frameworks, a chain-investigation stage that composed individual findings into attack paths via per-chain sub-agents, and a triage stage that confirmed the finding viability.

Codifying a multi-service audit into reusable skills. Another department developed five domain-specific Claude Skills. The Skills distil an organisation wide audit across hundreds of services into something repeatable. Skills enabled a reusable, scoped, and consistent approach across every repository and operator.

What we found

Participants identified 407 findings in total, including critical weaknesses exposing services to authentication bypass, data exposure and remote code execution. Some were already understood and mitigated by compensating controls while others were previously unknown. All critical weaknesses have been remediated, and no evidence of exploitation was identified for any finding.

AI models traced vulnerabilities across service boundaries, which traditional scanners can’t do, and linked business logic with technical detail. Departments prioritised validation and remediation through existing frameworks, patching critical and high-risk issues assessed as exploitable.

It cost us £13,000 in tokens to find these weaknesses, working across nine government organisations for the month.

Identifying Critical vulnerabilities: One notable finding affected legacy GitHub Actions in a repository supporting a key government digital service. The issue allowed an external user to trigger a workflow chain by posting a specially structured comment on an open pull request. This bypassed the usual protections for pull requests from unknown contributors because the workflow was triggered by a comment, not by the pull request itself.

The impact was arbitrary remote code execution on the GitHub Actions runner. The workflow took content from the comment, passed it into deployment parameters, and used it in an environment substitution step that executed during the workflow. By placing executable content in the comment field, an external user could cause their input to run on the GitHub runner.

This created a route for malicious actors to potentially extract secrets and tokens available to the workflow, including the GitHub token used by the automation. With that level of access, the issue could support wider repository compromise, including manipulating pull requests, approving workflow activity, altering trusted contributor status, and exploit further secrets available to the automation environment.

What we learnt

Across teams, the common thread was structure. Models were used as components, using Skills, running in parallel across repositories, and a human expert kept in the loop on anything that mattered. We learnt that:
- Architecture matters the most. The strongest results came from using frontier models as tightly scoped components inside a structured pipeline. Breaking traditional vulnerability management workflows into discrete, task-specific harnesses let teams scale while controlling false positives and hallucination.
- The model matters less than how it’s used. AISI’s research, borne out here, shows that with the right architecture and task design many near-frontier and frontier models perform comparably at scanning code. The best findings still lean heavily on human expertise in breaking the problem down and identifying wider context.
- Triage is essential. Agents generate candidate findings far faster than humans can validate them. Poorly scoped runs burn tokens on low-value targets; weak review dumps the load onto stretched security teams. Careful upfront scoping and structured internal filtering of low-confidence findings kept human review focused. As in traditional vulnerability management, it’s not how many issues are found, but whether triage points limited resource where it matters.
- Finding isn’t the same as fixing. Findings still had to enter the patch pipeline for remediation. AI shows promise here too, but today prioritisation, review and patch-generation all must integrate without overwhelming human-centred processes.
What next

GC3 will kick off a second phase of this pilot, with more departments, additional models, and an extension from public code to closed-source estates. Identifying vulnerabilities early on, raising the consistency of defensive practice, and helping departments share on proven techniques is how we put the Government Cyber Action Plan into practice.

AISI and NCSC’s involvement will also deepen as we continue to evaluate AI as a tool for cyber defence in applied settings, closing the gap between a theoretical benchmark and a real reduction in risk.

This pilot was a test of how government can adopt new capabilities responsibly, learn quickly, and share what works.
13/06/2026
PRESS RELEASE : Russia is not serious about peace and its war against Ukraine is increasingly unsustainable – UK statement to the OSCE [June 2026]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 12 June 2026.

Politico-Military Counsellor, Ankur Narayan, highlights E3 leaders’ reaffirmation of unwavering support for Ukraine’s defence, underscores the unsustainability of Russia’s war effort in the face of mounting casualties and minimal territorial gains, condemns continued Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, and calls on Russia to agree an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.

On 7 June, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the President of France and the Chancellor of Germany met President Zelenskyy in London and reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s illegal invasion and set out the conditions for a just and lasting peace. Ukraine’s is a State that is serious about ending this war. A war remember that it never wanted in the first place. It has consistently demonstrated its readiness to pursue peace through diplomatic means, including by agreeing to a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire.

Russia is not serious about peace, as has been the case throughout the war. Most recently, at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum last week, President Putin dismissed proposals for direct engagement. Russia continues to refuse a ceasefire and continues to call for Ukraine to withdraw from its own internationally-recognised territory. This land is Ukraine, not Russia. It is no coincidence that it contains the ‘Fortress Belt’ of cities vital for Ukraine’s defence; demands that they hand these over are effectively a demand for Ukraine’s surrender.

While Russia demands that Ukraine withdraws from its sovereign territory, it is facing increasing setbacks on the battlefield. Still suffering 30,000 casualties a month, up to half of which are fatalities, Russia’s battlefield advances have slowed to a crawl. And Ukraine has demonstrated its continued ability to counterattack, as we have seen recently in Stepnohirsk. Having suffered 420,000 casualties to only occupy an additional 0.8% of Ukraine in 2025, Russia is on track to match these record casualty rates for an even smaller gain in 2026. Occupying less than 19.5% of Ukraine at the cost of 1.3 million casualties so far, this rate of loss will become increasingly unsustainable the longer Putin pursues this illegal invasion. As the United Kingdom said at the Permanent Council a fortnight ago, this is not to gloat at such tragic figures, it is to point out the utter futility of continuing this war as if it can be won.

Russia has failed to take by force the Ukrainian land that it asks Ukraine to withdraw from through negotiations. Meanwhile, Russia continues to intensify its attacks, injuring and killing Ukrainian civilians. May saw the most drones fired into Ukraine since the invasion began, and the highest reported civilian casualty figures since April 2022. Regrettably, June looks set to continue this trend, with over 2,400 drones and 77 missiles fired between the 1st and 9th, killing 98 civilians and injuring over 680 more. The mass attack on the night of 1–2 June saw the largest ballistic and hypersonic missile strike of the entire war. The international community has condemned these attacks, including the repeated reckless use of Oreshnik nuclear-capable intermediate range ballistic missiles, on Ukrainian cities, as well as irresponsible and dangerous Russian drone incursions into NATO territory. This is the conduct of a state compensating for failure on the battlefield with violence against the people of Ukraine.

Russia’s maximalist demands, coupled with its rejection of a full and unconditional ceasefire and the intensifying violence that is harming civilians, stand in clear contradiction to its commitments under the Helsinki Final Act, including respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the peaceful settlement of disputes, as well as to its broader obligations under international law. Russia is neither engaging seriously in negotiations nor acknowledging the hard realities on the ground.

The path to peace has been clearly set out, by Ukraine, by the E3 leaders in London, and by partners across the international community. Russia can choose to take it at any time, by agreeing to an immediate, unconditional and complete ceasefire and engaging meaningfully in negotiations. The United Kingdom will continue to support Ukraine’s inherent right to self-defence, to maintain pressure on the Kremlin, and to act in solidarity with Ukraine and with partners in this Forum.

13/06/2026
PRESS RELEASE : Government welcomes hospitality and tourism sector plans to further strengthen its safety standards to prevent violence against women and girls [June 2026]

The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 12 June 2026.

At a meeting of leading figures from the UK’s hospitality, tourism and night-time economy sectors, ministers heard the industry’s plans to further bolster safety standards across the industry.

UKHospitality and its members have driven forward a proactive programme of further work to promote the safety and security of women and girls, including enhancing guidance on guest safety.

Government and industry agreed to work together to build on existing partnership work at both national and local level to protect guests and teams, as well as share best practice to prevent any opportunities for perpetrators in or outside of venues.

An updated guest safety protocol, developed by UKHospitality, is currently out for consultation with the sector and will set out guidance covering room access procedures, protection of guest privacy and the responsibilities of staff.

The framework will also highlight additional vulnerability training and safety protocols available, in order to complement other safety procedures and support teams on the frontline.

Businesses will be supported by third-sector organisations including Rape Crisis and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust in how to identify and report abuse.

The roundtable, held at 11 Downing Street, was attended by representatives from across accommodation, short-term lets, bars, nightclubs, and charities dedicated to tackling violence against women and girls.

It was chaired by Stephanie Peacock, Minister for Sport, Tourism, Civil Society and Youth, and co-hosted by Kate Dearden, Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection; Catherine Atkinson, Minister for Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls; and Natalie Fleet, Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls.

Tourism Minister Stephanie Peacock said:

It is vital that everyone, whether a visitor, a guest or a member of staff, feels safe and secure.

I am encouraged by the ambition shown by businesses building on the work the sector is already doing to protect guests and visitors and look forward to seeing these further commitments translate into meaningful, measurable change.

Minister for Safeguarding and Violence against Women and Girls, Natalie Fleet, said:

Women should be able to sleep at night knowing they are safe.

As Minister for Safeguarding – and as a Mum and Nana – I am excited about the work we are doing to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. We’re working cross-government to deliver our ambitious strategy, but we cannot keep women safe alone, that’s why this meeting was so important.

It was great to talk to representatives from across the hospitality sector to reflect on how we had got here, and what we can do to avoid this happening again.

I really did leave the meeting feeling optimistic about next steps. Violence against women and girls is a national emergency that every one of us has a responsibility to tackle.

Kate Nicholls, Chair of UKHospitality, said:

The safety of our guests is our utmost priority, and it’s a responsibility that the entire hospitality sector takes incredibly seriously.

Together with our members, we have been enhancing existing guidance on guest safety and we’ve been pleased to share our plans with Ministers.

It’s positive to hear recognition of the sector’s ongoing work in this area and it’s critical we work together to support our teams on the frontline, including the need to expand protections for retail staff to hospitality.

Currently out for consultation with the sector, we look forward to finalising this in the coming weeks and continuing our dialogue with the Government on this issue.

Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Minister Catherine Atkinson said:

Every woman should be able to check into a hotel, enjoy a night out or dinner, or book a short-term let without fear for her safety.

I am pleased to see major businesses stepping up alongside expert organisations to ensure that staff at every level are equipped to identify abuse and take action.

That kind of joined-up approach is exactly what tackling VAWG demands and this Government will pull every lever at its disposal.

Kate Dearden, Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer protection, said:

We’re showing how government and the hospitality sector can work together so that everyone, including women and girls can enjoy the nighttime economy whilst feeling safe and supported. Working with our tourism and hospitality sector is essential in keeping our towns and cities safe.

Initiatives delivered by the sector include the Ask Angela, Best Bar None, Pubwatch and Purple Flag.

Businesses also agreed to continue to promote the government’s Enough campaign and to deepen existing co-operation with specialist third sector organisations.

In the year ending March 2025, around 5.1 million people experienced domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking – approximately 10.6% of adults aged 16 and over.

The Government is treating tackling VAWG as a top priority, committing £550 million into victim support over the next three years and setting out its ambition to halve VAWG within a decade through its strategy published in December 2025.

The hospitality and tourism sector – which contributed £64.3 billion to the UK economy in 2024 and employs 1.3 million people, over half of whom are women – has a critical role to play in meeting that ambition.

The roundtable marks the beginning of an ongoing dialogue between government and the sector.

13/06/2026

PRESS RELEASE : Change of Governor of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha: Belinda Lewis [June 2026]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 12 June 2026.

Ms Belinda Lewis has been selected to become the next Governor of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in succession to Mr Nigel Phillips CBE, who will be retiring from the Diplomatic Service. Ms Lewis will take up her appointment during September 2026.

Curriculum vitae

Full name: Belinda Lewis

2025 to 2026	FCDO, Director Special Projects and pre-posting preparation
2021 to 2025	Kuwait City, His Majesty’s Ambassador
2018 to 2021	FCO, Deputy Director, Human Resources (followed by maternity leave)
2016 to 2018	Karachi, Deputy High Commissioner and Trade Director for Pakistan (followed by maternity leave)
2014 to 2016	Baghdad, Deputy Head of Mission
2012 to 2014	Lashkar Gah, Director Rule of Law and Operations, later Head of Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team
2010 to 2012	MoJ, Deputy Director, International Justice Policy
2009 to 2010	MoJ, Deputy Director, Information Rights Policy
2008 to 2009	Immigration Service, Border Security and Visa Policy
2007	Washington, Secondment to US Department of Homeland Security
2006 to 2007	MoJ, Head of EU and International Data Policy
2005 to 2006	MoJ, Team Leader, Information Rights Department
2003 to 2005	DCMS, Fast Stream policy roles
2001 to 2003	Edinburgh, Milan and London, HSBC Bank

13/06/2026

Author: admin

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said:

Further information

At the opening of the USC, Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis MP said:

From frontier models to front-line impact

What we did

What we found

What we learnt

What next

Curriculum vitae