Category: Press Releases

Foreign and Commonwealth Office – 2019 Press Release on Low Emission Cars for Diplomats

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 26/12/2019.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is replacing diplomats’ official cars with low-carbon vehicles as part of an ambitious programme to cut emissions and become the greenest diplomatic service in the world.

The UK’s Oslo and Holy See Embassies have already replaced their cars, and 30 other UK posts around the world will be among the first to receive either an all-electric or hybrid Jaguar I-Pace by April 2020. Fast charging stations will be installed at posts as part of the programme.

Converting to low-emission vehicles for its entire fleet is part of a wider Foreign Office effort to improve its environmental footprint.

The FCO is committed to achieving the targets set for all government departments to have a 25% electric fleet by 2022 and an all-electric fleet by 2030.

The FCO is also extending the use of solar energy on its buildings to reduce its carbon footprint and eliminating the use of single-use plastics across its global estate – saving 142,000 items from going to landfill every year.

Sir Simon McDonald, Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, said:

Climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, and our fleet of flag cars is a high-profile tool for demonstrating the UK’s international leadership on climate change diplomacy.

I want us to be the greenest diplomatic service in the world. Shifting our vehicles away from petrol to all-electric will help us achieve this.

The UK will host COP26 in 2020. The event in Glasgow next year will be the UN’s 26th climate change conference, and bring together over 30,000 delegates from around the world, including climate experts, business leaders and citizens to agree ambitious action to tackle climate change.

Notes to editors:

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that transportation is responsible for 24 per cent of all global CO2 emissions.

In 2018-19, the FCO UK/domestic greenhouse gas emissions were 7,753 tCO2e (tonnes of Carbon Dioxide equivalent), representing a 60 per cent reduction compared to 2009-10 and ahead of the 2020 Greener Government Commitment target. Of this, the FCO fleet accounted for 94 tCO2e.

The first 30 Posts set to receive a low-emission flag vehicles are: 1) Abu Dhabi 2) Atlanta 3) Brasilia 4) Brussels 5) Bucharest 6) Calgary 7) Chicago 8) Colombo 9) Dubai 10) Hanoi 11) Kiev 12) Kingston 13) Lisbon 14) Madrid 15) Mexico City 16) Montreal 17) Moscow 18) Paris 19) Pristina 20) Riga 21) Rio De Janeiro 22) Sao Paulo 23) Singapore 24) Stockholm 25) Sydney 26) Taiwan 27) Tallinn 28) The Hague 29) Vilnius 30) Zagreb

Embassies can now only purchase petrol or diesel vehicles as a last resort in locations where electric vehicles are not serviceable or available.

Action taken to eliminate single-use plastics across the FCO global estate has seen a 98% reduction in the UK of single-use plastics, and 15 Posts now operate entirely free of single-use plastics. Upon completion, the campaign is expected to see the FCO’s single-use plastic footprint cut by 99%, saving 142,000 items from entering local landfills per year.

January 1, 2020
Foreign and Commonwealth Office – 2019 Press Release on Requests from Brits Abroad

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 28/12/2019.

As 2019 draws to a close, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has released details of some of the oddest requests, demands and enquiries it has received from Brits abroad this year and highlighted what it can and can’t help with when British people run into trouble abroad.

Of the 330,000 calls taken by the FCO this year, 10 of the more unusual ones were:

A man rang to complain about the aeroplane food on the way to his holiday destination, asking us to change him to a different airline for the return journey.

A customer calling from Nigeria wanted to speak to the rapper 50 Cent and asked the British Consulate to share his phone number.

A woman emailed to ask if she could buy 30 sheets of A4 paper from the British Consulate, as she couldn’t find any where she was in Texas.

A caller rang to say they had left their headphones in their hotel room in France and asked if Embassy staff could pop round and see if they were still there.

A couple thinking of moving to Portugal contacted the British Embassy to ask how removal companies got large items of furniture into small flats in Lisbon.

A caller wanted to ask about getting British nationality for his son, who had recently been born overseas. He hoped the child would qualify for citizenship on the basis his parents were certain he’d been conceived in the UK.

A man rang to ask us to provide a television for his friend who had been hospitalised in Australia because the one in his ward was broken.

A woman rang from Qatar to ask how we could help deal with a make-up artist for her wedding as she wasn’t happy with the service she’d received.

A woman calling from Sweden had been invited to an event at Windsor Castle and wanted advice on what to wear for it.

A couple in China who had engaged the services of a sperm donor wanted to know if our staff could verify the nationality of the sperm as British.

While the FCO cannot help with the types of problems listed above, we can help British people who run into trouble abroad in a number of ways. These include:

issuing an Emergency Travel Document (ETD) if people lose their passport. We issued more than 27,000 ETDs in 2019

visiting people who have been admitted to hospital. More than 3,400 people contacted us after being hospitalised abroad in 2019

offering advice to people who have been imprisoned. More than 5,000 people asked us for assistance after being jailed in 2019

getting in touch with family or friends if people can’t contact them themselves

providing details of local services such as lawyers, interpreters and doctors

Sadly, more than 20,000 calls received by the FCO this year were from people ringing to intentionally waste our time or be abusive to staff members.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said:

While we can’t hand out famous rappers’ phone numbers, collect your lost property or advise on Windsor Castle’s dress code, our dedicated consular staff are there to help Brits who run into trouble when they’re abroad.

Read our travel advice before you go away, make sure you have appropriate travel insurance, and if you get into difficulty, you can call the nearest British Embassy, High Commission or Consulate.

Background

in the 12 months to December 2019, the FCO received 17 compliments for every 1 complaint from people who received consular services

if you are in the UK and worried about someone overseas, you can call the FCO on 020 7008 1500
British people in another country who needs our help should contact the nearest British Embassy, High Commission or Consulate

we recommend people read our travel advice before going abroad. Read our FCO Travel Advice

January 1, 2020
Foreign and Commonwealth Office – 2019 Press Release on Iraqi Military Base

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 30/12/2019.

Foreign Office spokesperson said:

The UK condemns the recent rocket attack by Kataib Hizballah on the Iraqi military base near Kirkuk. We support US action yesterday to defend Coalition forces.

Coalition forces, including UK, are in Iraq at the request of the Iraqi Government to defeat Daesh and to build a secure and prosperous Iraq.

January 1, 2020
Foreign and Commonwealth Office – 2019 Press Release on Ukrainian Prisoners

Below is a press release issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 30/12/2019.

An FCO spokesperson said:

“We welcome the recent prisoner exchange in Ukraine. The return of Ukrainians detained by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine is long overdue. This prisoner exchange is another example of President Zelenskyy’s determination to bring an end to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, and we commend his commitment to seek justice for those protestors murdered in 2014. Russia must fulfil its obligations under the Minsk agreements and immediately release all remaining Ukrainian political prisoners.”

January 1, 2020
Jeremy Corbyn – 2019 Press Release on the Chagos Islands

Below is a press release issued by the Labour Party on 22/11/2019.

Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, responding to news that the UK has ignored a deadline to give up control of the Chagos Islands, said:

“It’s clear that in refusing to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and defying the UN General Assembly and International Court of Justice, this Conservative government shamefully considers itself to be above international law.

“A Labour government will end colonial rule. We immediately will enact our manifesto promise to allow the people of the Chagos Islands and their descendants the right to return to the lands from which they should never have been removed.”

November 23, 2019
Andrew Gwynne – 2019 Press Release on the Conservative Party Manifesto

Below is a press release issued by the Labour Party on 23/11/2019.

“This is a no-hope manifesto, from a party that has nothing to offer the country, after spending ten years cutting our public services to the bone. This pathetic offer from Boris Johnson’s Tories means more cuts, more failure and more years of Brexit uncertainty.

“Young people can’t afford to buy a home, older people are going without the care they need, our NHS is heading into the worst winter crisis on record and millions of children are growing up in poverty.

“The only people who benefit from this no hope manifesto are big business and the super-rich who don’t want to see the real change this country needs.

“This election is a once-in-a-generation chance to elect a Labour government that will transform our country, with a manifesto that offers real change, and take on the vested interests holding people back.”

November 23, 2019
Angela Rayner – 2019 Press Release on Tuition Fees

Below is a press release issued by the Labour Party on 19/11/2019.

Angela Rayner, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, commenting on the launch of the Lib-Dems’ manifesto tomorrow and their new announcement on schools, said:

“This is an austerity manifesto from a party that has recently welcomed in many former Tory MPs with open arms.

“Young people getting into debts today of over £55,000 will never forget the Lib-Dems’ betrayal on tuition fees and austerity.

“Voting for the Lib-Dems in this election is a wasted vote that will only open the door to a post-Brexit Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage alliance with Donald Trump to sell off our NHS.”

November 19, 2019
John McDonnell – 2019 Press Release on Poverty

Below is a press release issued by the Labour Party on 19/11/2019.

Labour is tomorrow pledging to wage war on the “ten modern scourges of poverty” and reverse the damage that a decade of austerity under the Tories has caused.

The party is publishing a new Report – “Poverty Britain” – which highlights ten ways the Tories have failed to tackle poverty and entrenched hardship in society.

The report includes new analysis that shows:

Wage stagnation under the Tories has cost the average worker around £6,300 in lost wages.

Food banks have given out 65 million meals in the last five years, the equivalent of a meal for every person in the whole of the UK.

There are now over 20 million adults with no savings, an increase of nearly three million since 2010/11.

A near 50 per cent increase in the number of children in severe low income and deprivation between 2011/12 and 2017/18.

Poverty in families where someone is disabled has risen by over a million since 2010.

In-work poverty has increased by 1.5 million since 2010/11.

John McDonnell, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, said:

“Poverty in Britain is now the most visible and widespread it has been in decades.

“This new report shows the Tories have failed to tackle ten modern scourges of poverty, each becoming more entrenched on their watch.

“The next Labour government will wage war on poverty in all its forms, eliminating in-work poverty, ending austerity and raising living standards across the country.

“The choice at this election couldn’t be clearer: more stress and struggle for millions to make ends meet under the Tories or real change with Labour.”

Labour will:

Introduce immediately a Real Living Wage of £10 an hour for everyone over 16

Eliminate in-work poverty over the course of our first parliament

Scrap Universal Credit, the benefit cap, the Two Child limit and end the freeze on working-age benefits.

Rebuild a social security system dedicated to dignity, universalism and ending poverty.

Clamp down on problem debt by capping credit card and overdraft repayments so that borrowers never repay more in interest than they originally borrowed.

Expand free childcare, open 1,000 new Sure Start centres and provide universal Free School Meals for all primary school children

Tackle the Tories’ productivity crisis with a programme of large scale investment in skills, infrastructure and innovation

Set a target for ending the need for food banks altogether within our first three years, and halve food bank usage within our first year.

End rough sleeping within a Parliament, starting with a plan to ring-fence an extra 8,000 homes for people with a history of rough sleeping and £100 million to tackle immediate winter pressures.

Protect pensioner incomes by legislating to keep the Triple Lock on state pensions as well as guaranteeing free TV licences, free bus passes and Winter Fuel Payments.

Bring justice for women born in the 1950s affected by the Tories’ changes to the State Pension age

November 19, 2019
Conservative Party – 2019 Press Release on Labour’s Pension Plans

Below is a press release issued by the Conservative Party on 19/11/2019.

New analysis of Corbyn’s tax raid on pensions reveals that 10 million savers could lose an average of over £11,000 and be forced to delay retirement by almost three and a half years.

Labour’s plans for a massive tax raid on the retirement savings of more than 10 million British people include a Financial Transactions Tax which experts have warned will hit pensions the hardest.

On top of this their plans to seize ten per cent of private firms would see shares tumbling – undermining the savings of hardworking people.

Analysis from the Conservative Research Department found that savers in the South East will be the hardest hit with a loss of over £14,000 whilst those in the East Midlands face the longest delay to their retirement, having to work for another four years.

On top of this, nearly eight in ten of those saving for retirement would be hit with a double whammy with Labour’s plans to renationalise the assets they have invested in – a move the CBI said would mean ‘workers and older generations could end up poorer as a result’.

‍Region Labour’s Pension Tax (£) Extra Months to Work

England 11,167 44
East Midlands 6,150 50
Greater London 12,871 45
North East 9,758 38
North West 6,835 47
South East 14,270 40
South West 7,407 45
West Midlands 10,729 41
Northern Ireland 13,718 35
Scotland 10,653 41
Wales 11,691 36
United Kingdom 11,253 43

Commenting, Therese Coffey, Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions, said:

“Corbyn’s Pension Tax will see ten million savers facing a huge bill forcing them to delay their retirement for almost three and a half years.

“This is just one of the ways a Corbyn government would hammer hardworking people on top of his plans to hike up taxes by £2,400 a year, as well as the cost of his plan for unlimited immigration and the chaos of 2020 being dominated by two more referendums – one on Brexit and another on Scottish independence.

“Only Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party can get Brexit done with a deal, get parliament working again and turbocharge our economy to unleash Britain’s potential.”

November 19, 2019
Conservative Party – 2019 Press Release on Child Murderers

Below is a press release issued by the Conservative Party on 19/11/2019.

Adults who murder children will be imprisoned for life, without parole, under tough new justice plans to be introduced by a Conservative majority Government.

Whilst murder already attracts a mandatory life sentence, the vast majority of convicted murderers do not spend their whole life in prison.

The next Conservative majority Government will reform the law to make sure that the premeditated murder of a child is set a Whole Life Order – meaning that a prisoner will never be eligible for release.

This follows a commitment already made by the Government to toughen sentences for the most serious violent and sexual offenders by abolishing early release at the half way point of a convicted criminal’s sentence.

The move is part of a package of measures to improve the way justice works for law abiding British people. As well as clamping down on the early release of serious criminals, it contains plans to cut crime by reducing reoffending through a doubling of the number of prisoners in employment six weeks after their release. These include:

A dedicated Prison Education Service to oversee the education and skills training offered across all jails.
Prisoners to be offered more hours of work whilst in jail to provide them with the opportunity to learn new skills and better prepare them for employment on release.

More prison workshops where prisoners can be employed in dedicated workspaces

A dedicated work coach in every prison to link inmates with local jobcentres ahead of their release.

Commenting on the new announcements, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said:

There can be no more sickening injustice than that of heartbroken parents watching the killer of their child walk free.

That’s why under a Conservative majority Government the law will be rewritten to be absolutely clear: any murderer who denies a young, innocent child the right to life surrenders their own right to liberty. They do so permanently, and they do so without exception.

There is nothing we can do to take away the pain of the families of murdered children. So we must do everything in our power not to compound it.

What you need to know:

A Conservative majority Government will change the law so that adults who commit premeditated murder of children will serve their whole life in prison without parole.

‍We will change the law so that adults who murder children will be imprisoned for life without parole.

‍We will reform the life sentence regime for murder by revising Schedule 21 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and setting a Whole Life Order (a life sentence with no parole eligibility) as the starting point for all adults who murder children.

This would apply to all convicted adult murderers over 21 who commit the premeditated killing of a child aged under 16 with intent to kill. The current rules require the murder to be of multiple children, or to be sexually or sadistically motivated, to attract a Whole Life Order, which is too restrictive. The sentencing decision in any given case would continue to rest with the judge.

The new policy will be subject to the usual judicial discretion.

A Whole Life Order in these cases will be the starting tariff, however judges will be able to depart from this if there are exceptional mitigating circumstances in an individual child murder case.

A Conservative majority Government will introduce measures in prison to give better chances to offenders once they have been released, double the number of prisoners in employment six weeks after release and reduce reoffending.

We will create a dedicated Prison Education Service focused on work-based training and skills.

‍This new service will oversee the education and skills training offered across all jails. This will build upon the new Prison Education Framework issued in April 2019, and provide a new focus across the whole system on raising educational standards of all prisoners serving sentences in England and Wales. To track progress and ensure prison regimes are delivering good results, we now require basic literacy and numeracy testing on reception into prison and at point of release.

We will increase the hours worked by prisoners and give them the opportunity to develop new skills.‍

The next Conservative government will increase the total number of prisoners in prison-based industries, and the total number of hours worked, every year of the next Parliament.

More prison workshops to provide the setting for skills to be developed.

‍As our prison estate is expanded, renovated and modernised, with capital expenditure of £2.75 billion, we will be able to create more space for prison workshops where prisoners can be employed in dedicated workspaces. New prisons planned at Glen Parva in Leicestershire and at Wellingborough will include dedicated workshop facilities.

A dedicated work coach for every prison.

‍From 2020 we will guarantee a work coach in every prison in the country, to provide support from an early stage of an offender’s sentence, through to the point of release. This will involve CV support and opportunities to develop skills and links to employers in the community.

November 19, 2019