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  • PRESS RELEASE : Report by OSCE Special Representative on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings – UK Statement [December 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : Report by OSCE Special Representative on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings – UK Statement [December 2025]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 December 2025.

    The UK reaffirms our thanks to Special Representative Dr Kari Johnstone for the work of her Office.

    Thank you Chair and thank you, Special Representative, for your report. The UK recognises and welcomes the valuable contribution of your Office to anti-trafficking efforts across the OSCE region.

    It is critical that we continue to monitor emerging risks of trafficking and exploitation resulting from conflicts and humanitarian crises. Russia’s war against Ukraine leaves many vulnerable, particularly women and children. Russian authorities have forcibly deported over 19,500 Ukrainian children to Russia or the temporarily occupied territories. We must strengthen protection measures, and we commend your Office’s efforts in supporting states to do so. With that in mind what innovative approaches can you see frontline actors adopting to detect and prevent trafficking during humanitarian and conflict crises, and how can these practices be scaled across the OSCE region?

    In line with the UK’s commitment to UN Sustainable Development Goal Target 8.7, we work with international partners, including the OSCE, to eradicate modern slavery, forced labour, and human trafficking. We face increasingly complex forms of exploitation, including a rise in trafficking for forced criminality. The UK is proud to support your Office’s work on forced criminality in online scamming operations. We must enhance prevention, early identification, and reintegration for victims and survivors across the OSCE region.

    We also welcome your Office’s efforts to include survivors and those with lived experience. Their voices and expertise are vital to tackling and preventing modern slavery. The UK is supporting UNDP to develop guidance for investors on engaging survivors in human rights due diligence and grievance mechanisms.

    Special Representative, thank you again for your report. It highlights the impressive contributions of your Office and reminds OSCE states of the need for greater cooperation on this agenda. We look forward to continued UK engagement with your Office to support its valuable work.

  • Priti Patel – 2025 Speech on the Jimmy Lai Conviction

    Priti Patel – 2025 Speech on the Jimmy Lai Conviction

    The speech made by Priti Patel, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, in the House of Commons on 15 December 2025.

    On behalf of His Majesty’s Opposition and with your permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to give our condolences following the antisemitic targeted murder of 15 people from the Jewish community in the shooting in Bondi Beach yesterday. This atrocity was absolutely appalling, and as the Jewish community comes together this Hanukkah, we honour a tradition that symbolises resilience, faith and the triumph of light over darkness.

    In the early hours of this morning, Jimmy Lai was convicted, following a shameful show trial under the repressive national security law imposed on Hong Kong in breach of the Sino-British joint declaration. Jimmy Lai’s imprisonment, trial and conviction mark a new low in the Chinese Communist party’s shameful attempts to extinguish freedom, democracy and the rule of law in Hong Kong. They are yet more serious violations of the Sino-British joint declaration. The scenes of Jimmy, a 78-year-old man, being paraded around in chains are disturbing, but his defiance stands as a source of hope for those who still believe in freedom, democracy and human rights.

    Despite all the pain and suffering, despite being persecuted at the hands of the Chinese Communist party, despite being held in solitary confinement for more than 1,800 days, and despite his health deteriorating, Jimmy’s spirit remains unbroken. Throughout the last few years, his son Sebastien, his family and supporters have fought hard for his freedom and to raise awareness of his appalling treatment. I pay tribute to them. The whole House will stand behind them as their fight to free Jimmy continues.

    Jimmy should be freed and allowed to come home to the United Kingdom to be with his family. We need to know what action the Government will now take to do everything possible to secure his release and to seriously ratchet up the pressure to end the disgraceful and draconian national security law. What will the consequences be if Beijing does not change its position?

    When was the last time the Prime Minister raised Jimmy Lai’s imprisonment directly with President Xi? Has he called President Xi today, in the aftermath of the conviction, to demand Jimmy’s release and to demand that Jimmy be free to come home to the UK? How often has the Prime Minister raised this case directly since July 2024? What was President Xi’s response to him on the occasions that the case was raised, either publicly or in private?

    What assurances have been given about Jimmy Lai’s treatment in prison? We know that his health is deteriorating and that he is being kept in absolutely cruel conditions, so what medical help and access to him is the Prime Minister pursuing, and what has been the response of the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities? Has the Prime Minister told President Xi, face to face and directly, that we will oppose this political show trial, and condemn China for breaching the Sino-British joint declaration with its national security law?

    This House has previously been informed that Ministers constantly raise this case and have been in touch with their Chinese counterparts, so can the Foreign Secretary tell us whether the National Security Adviser raised it on his recent visit to China? Did he have any discussions about Jimmy’s case? Has the Prime Minister continued to raise our concerns that the national security law breaches the joint declaration? What discussions are taking place with international partners, including the United States, to pressure China to release Jimmy and scrap its oppressive national security law?

    The immediate release of Jimmy Lai has to be a priority for this Government, but the case raises wider issues with UK-China relations. The Prime Minister is clearly seeking significantly closer relations with Beijing, and has, for economic reasons, effectively ended the policy of trying to reduce strategic dependency, even though the economic impact has been negligible and will not be felt in people’s pockets. The Foreign Secretary stands here condemning China, but she wrote a letter supportive of their super-embassy spy hub. Today shows exactly why that approach is deeply foolhardy.

    This morning Sebastien Lai asked how we can normalise relationships if the British Government cannot put a 78-year-old man, who is in seriously bad health, on a plane and send him back to the UK. He asked how, if they cannot even do something as simple as that, we can talk about closer relations. He has called for the release to be a precondition of any further talks with China. Do the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister agree?

    With the Chinese Communist party continuing to imprison Jimmy Lai and undermine freedom in Hong Kong, will the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister send a signal of our disgust to the CCP by cancelling the Prime Minister’s planned visit to China next January unless Jimmy Lai is released, blocking China’s super-embassy planning application and placing it on the enhanced tier of the foreign influence registration scheme?

    Yvette Cooper 

    I thank the right hon. Lady for her support for the victims of the appalling terrorist attack in Bondi Beach in Sydney. I also welcome her support for the release of Jimmy Lai. That should be something that unites the entire House, and the whole House should support the calls for his freedom.

    The right hon. Lady asks what action the Government are taking and have continued to take. The Foreign Office has today summoned the Chinese ambassador to convey the full strength of our feeling about this decision and about the politically motivated prosecution under the national security law. Not only has the Prime Minister raised this, and not only have I recently raised it directly with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, but a whole succession of Government Ministers have raised it with their counterparts in the Chinese Government. We see this not simply as a foreign policy matter, but as a matter that affects the entire Government relationship.

    The right hon. Lady seems to suggest that we should then have no further engagement, but actually the opposite is true: we need to ensure that we are conveying the strength of our feeling, exactly because this is so important. We have been engaging with our international counterparts. The EU has today said that it “deplores the conviction”, and that this prosecution

    “is politically motivated and emblematic of the erosion of democracy and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong since the imposition of the National Security Law in 2020.”

    I have raised this matter at the G7, including with my G7 counterparts. She will know the strength of feeling on this issue in the US, where I have discussed it with counterparts. We will continue to raise this issue not just directly in our relationship with China, but in international discussions, to maintain pressure on China.

    Chinese authorities have said that they want China to be a country that respects the international rule of law. Well, we need to hold them to that, then. At the heart of international law are the legal requirements, which they signed up to and which still stand in international law, as a result of the 1984 declaration. However, the declaration is not being respected, and it is being repeatedly violated. If China wants to uphold international law on the world stage, it should uphold those commitments in Hong Kong, it should uphold the rights and the freedoms of the people of Hong Kong, and it should release Jimmy Lai.

  • Yvette Cooper – 2025 Statement on the Jimmy Lai Conviction

    Yvette Cooper – 2025 Statement on the Jimmy Lai Conviction

    The statement made by Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, in the House of Commons on 15 December 2025.

    With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will first address the horrific attack that took place yesterday at Bondi Beach in Sydney. Across the UK, and across the world, people have been shocked and appalled by this vile antisemitic terrorist attack, targeting Jewish families who were celebrating on the beach on the first day of Hanukkah. New South Wales authorities have confirmed that 15 people have been killed, in addition to one of the two gunmen, and 27 people remain in hospital. It is a devastating loss of life, including a Holocaust survivor and a little girl just 10 years old. It has also now been confirmed that one of the victims of the Bondi attack was a British national, bringing this tragedy even closer to home. We have offered support to the family following their tragic loss. I have offered my Australian counterpart, Foreign Minister Penny Wong, the United Kingdom’s full support in Australia’s response, and the Prime Minister and His Majesty the King have both shared their condolences.

    Hanukkah should be a time of celebration and joy, yet Jewish people are again confronted with vile acts of hatred simply for being Jews, with further distress for our British Jewish communities just a couple of months after the Manchester synagogue attack on Yom Kippur. We stand in solidarity with Australia’s Jewish communities and with Jewish communities here and across the world as they continue to mark Hanukkah, and we stand in solidarity with the Australian people. Our thoughts are with all those affected. We must continue and increase work to root out antisemitism in all its forms, here and abroad, because we will never let hatred win.

    With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will now turn to today’s verdict in the trial of Jimmy Lai. Today, Hong Kong’s courts ruled that Jimmy Lai was guilty of foreign collusion under the national security law, which Beijing imposed on the city five years ago. They also found him guilty of conspiring to publish seditious materials. Jimmy Lai is a British citizen. He has been targeted by the Chinese and Hong Kong Governments for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression. This was a politically motivated prosecution that I strongly condemn. Jimmy Lai now faces the prospect of a sentence that, for a man of 78 years, could mean the rest of his life in prison. I call again for Jimmy Lai’s immediate release. On my instruction, the Foreign Office has today summoned the Chinese ambassador to underline our position in the strongest terms. My acting consul-general was present at court today to bear witness.

    For many in this House and for the large diaspora community living in the UK, it is heartbreaking that such a violation of a British man’s rights could occur in Hong Kong, because the Hong Kong of Jimmy Lai’s childhood was a city where a 12-year-old boy seeking opportunity could go on to build a business empire and then a media platform. It was a city of freedom, and that freedom brought great prosperity. When the joint declaration was signed by the United Kingdom and China in 1984, both nations declared their commitment to that prosperity. Our countries agreed that Hong Kong’s uniqueness—its high degree of autonomy; its executive, legislative and independent judicial power; and its rights and freedoms, including freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly and of association—was the foundation of its success, and that those things were to be enshrined in law.

    For many years, Hong Kong was the embodiment of the commitments made in that joint declaration. The city, the economy and, most importantly, the people thrived. It was a remarkable, shining example to the world of what Hong Kong’s people, and co-operation between the UK and China, could achieve. Indeed, it is partly because of our important history with Hong Kong—economic as well as political—that China remains our third largest trading partner today.

    In 2020, however, China began to break the commitments in that declaration. Hong Kong’s free media spoke out, and they were punished for it. In June 2020 China breached the joint declaration by imposing its national security law on the city. It was a law imposed on Hong Kong to silence China’s critics, and one that undermined Hong Kong’s autonomy and threatened the rights that China had once freely committed to upholding. It was not long before the new law was applied and Jimmy Lai was arrested, along with other advocates of democracy, free speech and freedom of assembly.

    This British citizen—this businessman and journalist; this father, husband and grandfather—has endured five years of incarceration. Meanwhile, his supporters around the world have campaigned tirelessly for justice. I pay particular tribute to Jimmy’s son, Sebastien Lai, who has endured such pain and shown such determination and dignity in fighting for his father and for the wider rights and principles at stake. I know that many honourable colleagues have had the privilege of meeting this determined man, who has endured so much to take on his father’s mantle, speaking up where his father cannot.

    The Government have continually and repeatedly raised Jimmy Lai’s case with China at every opportunity, urging the authorities to agree his release, yet the Hong Kong authorities continue to refuse us consular access to our citizen—a 78-year-old man whose health is suffering. Jimmy Lai remains imprisoned, despite international calls for his release and concerns regarding his health; despite UK Ministers raising our concerns directly and privately with Hong Kong and Chinese officials; and despite our repeated requests for consular access, the most recent of which was submitted on Thursday. Once again, I call for Jimmy Lai to be granted full access to independent medical professionals to assess his health and ensure that he receives adequate treatment.

    Today’s verdict is sadly not a surprise, but no state can bully and persecute the British people for exercising their basic rights. We have seen how the Hong Kong authorities have tried to use the national security law to target even those living on British soil for speaking up. The UK has repeatedly called for the national security law to be repealed, and for an end to the prosecution of all individuals charged under it. It remains imperative that the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities end the deliberate targeting of opposition voices through arrest warrants and bounties in the UK and elsewhere.

    The safety of the Hong Kong community in the UK is a top priority for this Government and, as the Prime Minister has recently said, protecting our security is non-negotiable—it is our first duty. This Government are unequivocally clear that China poses a series of national security threats to the United Kingdom. That is why we have taken further steps and tougher measures to defend our democracy by disrupting and deterring threats from China and other state actors, including upgrading sovereign technology; removing Chinese-made surveillance equipment from sensitive sites; drawing up new legislation modelled on counter-terrorism powers to tackle state threats; rolling out new training to police forces across the country on tackling state threats and protecting individuals from transnational repression; and continuing to support the Hong Kong British national overseas route, which has welcomed over 200,000 Hongkongers to the UK. As part of the earned settlement consultation, the Home Office has confirmed that Hongkongers will retain a five-year settlement route in the UK.

    China has not upheld its commitments to the people of Hong Kong, but we will. Jimmy Lai chose to remain in Hong Kong to speak up for what was right, and he is currently paying the price. For the sake of Jimmy Lai and his family, but also for the people of Hong Kong, for the joint declaration we signed and for the rule of law, we will not relent on this. Joined by nations across the world, we call again for the immediate release of Jimmy Lai. I commend this statement to the House.

  • Wes Streeting – 2025 Speech on the Winter Preparedness of the NHS

    Wes Streeting – 2025 Speech on the Winter Preparedness of the NHS

    The speech made by Wes Streeting, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the House of Commons on 15 December 2025.

    The NHS’s national medical director says:

    “This unprecedented wave of super flu is leaving the NHS facing a worst-case scenario”.

    This is backed up by the data. On any given day last week, an average of 2,500 patients were in hospital beds—a 55% increase on the week before, and almost double the number from 2023. One hundred and six flu patients are in intensive care, compared with 69 the previous week. There are 1,300 more staff off than in the week before, and the number of calls received by NHS 111 last week was 446,000—8% higher than at this time last year.

    It is clear from both the NHS and UK Health Security Agency data that there is a real risk for the NHS and for patients, and it is at this moment of maximum danger that the British Medical Association has chosen to go ahead with Christmas strikes, when they will inflict the greatest level of damage on the NHS.

    The BMA said this dispute was about pay, but we gave doctors a 28.9% pay rise. Then it said it was also about jobs, so I offered a deal to halve the competition for jobs to less than two applicants per post. It is now clear what these strikes are really about—the BMA’s fantasy demand for another 26% pay rise on top of the 28.9% doctors have already received. I also offered to extend the BMA strike mandate, so it could postpone this action and go ahead once flu has subsided. The fact that it also rejected that offer shows a shocking disregard for patient safety. Since this strike represents a different magnitude of risk from previous industrial action, I am appealing to ordinary resident doctors to ignore the BMA strike and go to work this week. Abandoning patients in their hour of greatest need goes against everything that a career in medicine is meant to be about.

    The entire focus of my Department and the NHS team is now on getting the health service through the double whammy of flu and strikes. We have already vaccinated 17 million people, which is 170,000 more than last year, and 60,000 more NHS staff. We have invested in 500 new ambulances, 40 new same-day emergency care and urgent treatment centres, and 15 mental health crisis assessment centres. The NHS will also be recalling resident doctors to work in emergency situations, and we will not tolerate the dangerous attempts to block such requests that we have seen from the BMA in the past.

    I am proud of the way that the NHS team has pulled together through strike action in the past, and I know they will move heaven and earth to keep patients as safe as they can this winter. I am just appalled that they are having to do so without the support of their colleagues in the BMA.

    Stuart Andrew

    This winter, a serious flu wave and rising respiratory syncytial virus infections are pushing the NHS to its limits. Flu admissions, as we have heard, are up 55% in a week, and RSV cases are rising, especially in older people. However, the Government have failed to prepare, as we pointed out earlier in the year.

    In July, the Health Secretary accepted Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation advice to expand the RSV vaccine to over-80s, but that expansion seems to have been quietly dropped. Flu vaccine uptake remains dangerously low, with fewer than 30% of some key groups vaccinated. Most worryingly, that includes NHS staff, who are going off sick because of flu, adding to staffing pressures. Delayed discharges are worsening: 19,000 more bed days have been lost this year. Still there is no winter discharge plan, no new funding and no clarity—and today, yes, resident doctors confirmed further strike action this week, which will add pressure to a system already under significant strain. That is why we would ban strike action, but at the same time this Government are literally making it easier for unions through their Employment Rights Bill.

    When the NHS is under this level of pressure, families deserve the reassurance that care will be there when they need it, so I ask the Secretary of State: will he now publish the Government’s plan for managing winter pressures, including on delayed discharges and emergency care? Given that he is worried about a double whammy of rising flu cases and a strike, what extra resources is he providing, and if he is not, where is the money coming from? What action will he take to ensure RSV vaccine access for older people, and what will he do to raise flu vaccine uptake in vulnerable groups, particularly in NHS staff? Families are frightened, and some are already grieving. This crisis was not inevitable, but the Government’s failure to prepare has made it much worse.

    Wes Streeting

    I will ignore the political nonsense about banning strikes and clamping down on trade unions. I will, however, take on directly the charge that we have not prepared for this winter.

    We have delivered over 17 million flu vaccinations this season—hundreds of thousands more than this time last year—and 60,000 more NHS staff than last year are also getting their jab. We are on track to deliver the 5 percentage points increase in flu vaccine uptake in healthcare workers, as set out in our urgent and emergency care plan. On children and young people, half a million two to three-year-olds have been vaccinated, which is the same as last year, and 3.6 million school-age children have been vaccinated, which is up 100,000 on last year. We will be going back to schools to do repeat visits in areas where uptake in schools has not been as high as we would like. For care home residents, flu vaccination uptake is 71%. We are on track to meet the RSV vaccination uptake target for 2025-26 in the published urgent and emergency care plan, so we are doing a lot on the vaccination front to prepare.

    In fact, on winter planning more generally, we started earlier and did more than ever to prepare for this winter. We had stress-tested winter plans trust by trust. Local NHS leaders ran scenario-based exercises, including managing surges in demand and responding to virus outbreaks to test and strengthen their winter readiness plans, which are now being put into action. We have strengthened access by boosting GP access to keep people well and out of hospital. Through advertising campaigns, new online access routes and more GP practices open for longer hours over the Christmas period, we are making sure more people can be seen closer to home. That matters, because when people can get help early from their GP, they are less likely to end up in A&E.

    We are also going further to improve our urgent and emergency care performance this winter. That is set out in our urgent and emergency care plan. We are investing almost £450 million into UEC this winter, meaning: 500 new ambulances on the roads; expanding same-day and urgent treatment centres; providing targeted support to the most challenged trusts; creating capacity and keeping flow moving by sharing weekly data with trusts; encouraging the use of alternative community services; and streamlining in-hospital discharge processes to get patients discharged more quickly from hospital when it is safe to do so, including joining up the NHS and social care, where relationships between health and social care have been improving year on year. If I think about where we are this year compared to last year, there has been sustained improvement. A lot done; more to do.

    Of course our job is made harder by strike action. That is why the Government are doing everything we possibly can to get the NHS through this winter. I just wish we were doing it with the BMA, rather than against the BMA.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Major potato pest eradicated from UK [December 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : Major potato pest eradicated from UK [December 2025]

    The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 11 December 2025.

    The Colorado beetle, a major threat to potato crops, was found in Kent in 2023.

    A major potato pest has been eradicated from the UK, the government has outlined today (Thursday 11 December 2025), following extensive operational investigative work and surveillance.

    The Colorado beetle was discovered in Kent in July 2023 following laboratory diagnosis of samples, with one finding later that year. The beetle can completely strip the leaves from potato plants and several other crops, including tomatoes, aubergines and peppers, and can have a significant economic impact if left uncontrolled.

    No further beetles have been found in the space of two years, in a boost for farmers, gardeners and allotment holders who grow potatoes. This has meant eradication status has been reached.

    Colorado beetle, which does not pose a risk to human health, has previously been detected on imported plant products, such as leafy vegetables, salad leaves and fresh herbs. The beetle is highly distinctive: orange-yellow in colour with 10 characteristic black stripes on its body.

    The co-operation and vigilance of farmers, gardeners and allotment holders has played a key part in the eradication campaign along with effective biosecurity measures from the Animal and Plant Health Agency and Defra.

    Farming Minister Angela Eagle said:

    “This is great news for British farmers. We will continue to work with partners and stakeholders to maintain UK biosecurity and protect British crops from future threats.”

    Defra Chief Plant Health Officer Professor Nicola Spence said:

    “Colorado beetle can pose a significant threat to plants and the wider potato industry, and I’m grateful for the role of farmers, home gardeners and allotment holders in helping us take the action needed to protect our national crops.

    “This has been a huge team effort and is good news for the potato industry, but in order to prevent further outbreaks, it is vital the public continue to be vigilant and report suspected sightings to the Animal and Plant Health Agency with a photo and location details.”

    Animal and Plant Health Agency Chief Executive Richard Lewis said:

    “This is a significant achievement for APHA operational teams, working with Defra, the potato industry, farmers, home gardeners and allotment holders.”

    Surveillance activities included regular inspections of original outbreak fields and selected potato fields in Kent to rule out incursions resulting from blow over from mainland Europe. Periodic outbreaks of the pest between 1901 and the 1970s also saw it swiftly eradicated due to inspections and public vigilance.

    Additional information:

  • NEWS STORY : Outrage After Trump Mocks Death of Rob Reiner and His Wife

    NEWS STORY : Outrage After Trump Mocks Death of Rob Reiner and His Wife

    STORY

    US President Donald Trump has ignited an international firestorm of outrage across the nation by publishing a post on his social media platform just hours after the shocking deaths of director and actor Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were confirmed. In a statement widely condemned as utterly disgraceful and lacking any trace of human decency, the President not only failed to offer condolences but instead used the tragedy to attack his longtime political adversary.

    Rob Reiner and his wife were found dead on Sunday afternoon in their Brentwood home in what is reportedly a double homicide, with their son taken into custody as a person of interest. Instead of acknowledging the horrific nature of the crime and offering sympathy to the Reiner family, Trump posted a venomous message alleging that Reiner died “reportedly due to the anger he had built up over the years”.

    The scandal hit US President, who has been a frequent target of Reiner’s sharp political criticism, reportedly called the legendary director a “tortured and struggling star”. He went on to mock Reiner’s well-known opposition by blaming his death on a fictitious malady he often refers to: “Trump Derangement Syndrome”.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Derby fraudster, Temidola Ojelabi, jailed after using Covid loan funds on share dealing platforms [December 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : Derby fraudster, Temidola Ojelabi, jailed after using Covid loan funds on share dealing platforms [December 2025]

    The press release issued by the Insolvency Service on 11 December 2025.

    • Derby-based Temidola Ojelabi illegally obtained £80,000 in Covid support by making two separate Bounce Back Loan applications 
    • Funds were spent on share dealing platforms instead of supporting his business through the pandemic 
    • The 43-year-old has been jailed and banned as a company director following investigations by the Insolvency Service

    A Derby businessman who used Covid support scheme funds on online trading platforms has been jailed. 

    Temidola Ojelabi secured £80,000 across two Bounce Back Loan applications for Platinum Gates Limited in 2020 when businesses were only entitled to a single loan. 

    Money from the loans was then used on online trading platforms when it should have been spent supporting his business. 

    Ojelabi, 43, of Glossop Street, Derby, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison at Derby Crown Court on Wednesday 10 December. 

    He was also disqualified as a company director for eight years. 

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

    Temidola Ojelabi exploited a scheme designed to support small and medium-sized businesses through the pandemic, securing two Bounce Back Loans when you were only allowed one. 

    Two different turnover figures were given on each application, and the funds were not used for the economic benefit of his business – a fundamental requirement of the scheme. Instead, money was spent on online trading platforms. 

    Ojelabi’s actions showed a complete disregard for taxpayer money and the rules designed to support legitimate businesses.

    Platinum Gates Limited was set up in October 2018 with Ojelabi as its sole director. Ojelabi said the company was an e-commerce venture and would buy and sell goods from various warehouse premises. 

    In May 2020, Ojelabi secured £35,000 in Bounce Back Loan funds for the company after declaring its turnover was £150,000. 

    Within one week, £34,000 of the funds were transferred to his personal bank account. 

    Later the same month, £29,800 was moved from his personal account to a share dealing service. 

    Ojelabi made a second Bounce Back Loan application in June 2020, this time applying for £45,000 and claiming his company’s turnover was £180,000. 

    All the money was transferred to Ojelabi’s personal account within eight days. 

    In interviews, Ojelabi accepted he took out the Bounce Back Loans but denied this was done fraudulently. 

    Platinum Gates Limited entered liquidation in May 2021, with both loans unpaid. 

    The Insolvency Service is seeking to recover the fraudulently obtained funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

  • PRESS RELEASE : UK government backs first project at Grangemouth site [December 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : UK government backs first project at Grangemouth site [December 2025]

    The press release issued by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 11 December 2025.

    Grangemouth workers and the community will benefit from jobs and investment as UK government backs a new biotech project on the site.

    • Scottish biotech company MiAlgae backed with up to £1.5 million to develop an innovative new project on the Grangemouth site, using byproducts from whisky distillation
    • funding from UK government will help to support around 310 jobs over the next 5 years and help catalyse further investment into the site
    • Grangemouth Investment Taskforce is working to identify more projects to help secure Grangemouth’s long-term industrial future

    Grangemouth workers and the community will benefit from jobs and investment as the UK government backs a new biotech project with up to £1.5 million grant funding package.

    Scottish company MiAlgae makes fish-free Omega 3 out of algae by repurposing whisky byproducts, with Grangemouth’s position in the Central Belt providing an ideal location to source by-products from Scotland’s distilleries.  

    This environmentally friendly alternative to sourcing Omega 3 from fish oil is estimated to save 30 tonnes of fish for every tonne of algae produced. 

    The first investment allocation from the Grangemouth Investment Taskforce will start creating new jobs on the site from next year, supporting around 310 jobs over the next five years and delivering an additional £53 million into the Scottish economy. 

    As a condition of the grant funding, eligible Grangemouth workers will be given priority during recruitment, including a job interview guarantee. 

    The funding aims to support the company’s plans to construct its first commercial-scale manufacturing facility, accelerate production and support research and development. The grant funding will also help catalyse further investment into the site and demonstrate its long-term potential. 

    UK government Energy Minister Michael Shanks is expected to visit the site today (Thursday 11 December) as MiAlgae breaks ground on the new facility. 

    The funding forms part of the Chancellor’s announcement at Budget of £14.5 million in funding to help transform Grangemouth into a low-carbon tech hub and deliver the jobs of the future. The funding is in addition to £200 million already pledged by the Prime Minister from the National Wealth Fund to unlock Grangemouth’s huge potential. 

    Securing the first investment is a landmark moment as the Grangemouth Investment Taskforce works at pace to unlock more opportunities to bring a bright future to Grangemouth, with around 140 enquiries already received. This includes working closely with several other projects, with further announcements expected in the near future.    

    Energy Minister Michael Shanks said:

    When we came into office there was no plan for Grangemouth. That’s why we quickly took action to secure the site’s long-term future, while supporting affected workers into new jobs.  

    Today we’re taking another step forward as we back the first new project at the site, creating hundreds of new, decent jobs and attracting further investment in the area. 

    This project, alongside the £200 million of funding pledged from the National Wealth Fund, is part of our clear strategy for Grangemouth’s industrial future. A strategy with workers, unions, businesses, and the wider community at its heart.

    Douglas Martin, Founder and CEO of MiAlgae, said:  

    Breaking ground at Grangemouth marks an exciting new chapter for MiAlgae. Our mission has always been to make a meaningful impact, tackling overfishing, reducing waste, and creating sustainable value from industrial by-products. This new facility is a huge step towards delivering that mission at scale, bringing new, high-quality green jobs to the local area, and helping Scotland lead the way in this exciting new biotech industry.

    Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said:

    This £1.5 million UK government investment will support MiAlgae’s innovative green technology and boost jobs and investment in Grangemouth.

    The UK government is backing Grangemouth’s future with real investment and a clear plan. We promised to secure the site’s long-term future and create good jobs, and that’s exactly what we’re doing – supporting new industries, creating opportunities, and ensuring this site remains a vital part of Scotland’s industrial heartland for generations to come.

    It is just one of many projects we are working to bring to the site. At the Budget the Chancellor announced £14.5 million for green industrial projects on the site.

    Meanwhile, the UK and Scottish governments’  training guarantee, is continuing to support Grangemouth workers into new high-skilled jobs – already 296 workers have received one-to-support and 269 are currently taking part in or have completed training.

    The UK and Scottish governments also signed the £100 million Falkirk and Grangemouth Growth Deal in November 2024, to support the community by investing in local projects to create new opportunities for growth. 

    Notes to editors 

    The project will create around 130 direct full-time jobs at Grangemouth over the next 5 years, alongside supporting an additional 180 roles across Scotland.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Stronger, faster trade defences for UK businesses [December 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : Stronger, faster trade defences for UK businesses [December 2025]

    The press release issued by the Department for Business and Trade on 11 December 2025.

    Government’s first steer to the Trade Remedies Authority to make trade defence system simpler and faster for UK producers and manufacturers.

    • Business Secretary sets new direction to make the UK’s trade defence system simpler, faster and more responsive to business needs, delivering on the Trade Strategy
    • UK producers and manufacturers, including SMEs, to benefit from streamlined investigations, and more support from the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA), and a new Import Monitoring Tool to help identify risks
    • New powers bring UK trade remedies into line with international peers, with greater discretion to impose higher duties under certain circumstances, and initiate cases under WTO rules

    UK producers and manufacturers will benefit from a simpler and faster system for tackling unfair trade practices, as the Government issues its first strategic steer to the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA), delivering commitments set out in the Trade Strategy.

    These reforms mean UK producers – from industry giants in steel and ceramics to SMEs – will have clearer routes and more support to raise concerns with the TRA, the independent body that investigates unfair trade practices.

    By listening to industry needs, the steer will ensure faster decisions when unfair trade practices are identified and more support to access protections to safeguard jobs and investment.

    Producers still need to apply to the TRA and provide evidence, but the TRA is making this far easier. Through the new Advisory Service, launched in July, the TRA offers tailored guidance —helping firms navigate technical trade rules, horizon scanning for risks, and publishing trade data and research to support companies with faster, high-quality applications. These changes will ensure consistent support throughout a case and significantly reduce the administrative burden on businesses.

    Today, the TRA is going further with publication of their import monitoring analysis tool, which highlights trade patterns of data that may warrant further investigation. The TRA will work hand in hand with businesses to assess the data and identify risks of negative impacts on UK producers.

    By equipping the TRA with the tools to act decisively, the Government is ensuring the UK’s trade remedies system supports growth, strengthens competitiveness, and helps businesses thrive in global markets.

    Business & Trade Secretary Peter Kyle said: 

    “We are strengthening the UK’s system for tackling unfair trade to give our producers and manufacturers – especially SMEs who have less capacity and capability– the backing they need to grow and compete.

    “By streamlining processes and aligning our framework with international peers, we are ensuring UK industry has the tools to protect jobs, attract investment and thrive in a changing global economy.”

    The latest Finance Bill introduces changes to make the UK’s trade remedies system more flexible and aligned with international peers like the EU and Australia.

    These reforms will give the Government more options – within WTO rules – when setting duty levels or starting new cases. This means decisions can be made in a way that better supports UK businesses.

    The TRA’s Co-Chief Executives Jessica Blakely and Carmen Suarez said:

    “We welcome the government’s strategic steer, which marks a significant milestone in our shared goal to make the UK’s trade remedies regime more agile, accessible and assertive, as well as providing greater accountability. 

    “Further to our work to date, including the recently launched Trade Remedies Advisory Service and the Import Trends Monitor, we will continue to focus on delivering more efficiently and effectively on our mission to defend the UK economic interests against unfair international trade practices.”

    Industry voices across all sectors have welcomed the reforms as a vital step in making the trade remedies system faster and easier to navigate.

    Rob Flello, Ceramics UK said:

    “We are delighted that the Business Secretary has listened to us as the voice of UK ceramics manufacturers and made the system more responsive and easier to navigate.

    “At a time when the highest quality products made in Britain are under threat like never before from unfair dumping and other sharp practices by overseas competitors, this is very welcome news.”

    Notes to editors

    • Legislative changes announced in the Finance Bill will only take effect once approved by Parliament through the usual bill process and further secondary legislation. These reforms are separate from measures to improve speed and accessibility, and the new powers are expected to be used in limited circumstances.
    • The TRA is the independent UK government body that investigates whether trade remedy measures are needed to counter unfair import practices and unforeseen surges of imports.
  • NEWS STORY : Government Unveils Plans for New National Child Protection Authority

    NEWS STORY : Government Unveils Plans for New National Child Protection Authority

    STORY

    The Government has announced plans to create a new Child Protection Authority in England as part of a wider overhaul of how vulnerable children are safeguarded. The proposal, published by the Department for Education, sets out a public consultation on establishing a national body intended to provide stronger leadership, clearer oversight and greater consistency in child protection practice across the country.

    Ministers said the new authority is designed to address long standing weaknesses in the current multi agency system, where information can be fragmented and lessons from serious cases are not always acted upon. The reforms draw on recommendations from recent independent reviews into child exploitation and abuse, with the aim of ensuring vulnerable children are less likely to slip through the gaps between agencies.

    Under the plans, the Child Protection Authority would lead on national practice standards, improve data analysis, identify emerging threats and drive accountability across local authorities, social care, health, education and other statutory bodies. Officials say it will work alongside existing safeguarding partners rather than replace them, acting as a central hub for leadership and coordination.

    The consultation invites views from professionals, families, charities and survivors on how the authority should operate, how it should be governed and how it should interact with current safeguarding arrangements. The Government says the new body will form a key part of its wider reforms, which include measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill aimed at improving information sharing and collaboration across public services.