Category: Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE : A hitchhiker’s guide to floating marine debris [January 2023]

The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 6 January 2023.

Invasive species are recognised as one of the greatest threats to marine biodiversity worldwide, second only to habitat loss, and cost the UK economy £120 million a year.

But the threat to UK waters could be reduced as pioneering research led by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and funded by Defra sheds new light on invasive species ‘hitchhiking’ across the sea on floating marine debris, such as plastics. In some cases, certain species are thought to have travelled from as far as the east coast of America, thousands of miles away.

By adapting a computer model originally designed to predict the distribution of oil following an oil spill, Cefas scientists were able to uncover the origin of floating marine debris and track how invasive species enter UK waters.

There are 39 recorded marine non-native species, including the Slipper Limpet and Signal Crayfish, considered as harmful to UK native marine biodiversity. It is hoped this advanced modelling technique will enable the UK and countries worldwide to more accurately track the movements of debris and pave the way for an early warning system to prevent and respond to emerging threats from non-native species.

With 80% of marine debris made up of marine plastics, and over 800 million tonnes of plastic ending up in our oceans each year, this research reiterates the importance of tackling global plastic pollution, supporting calls from Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey at the UN Conference of Biological Diversity (CBD) COP15 last year for greater ambition and support to protect 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030.

International Marine Minister Lord Benyon said:

This research sheds light on a lesser-known consequence of plastics and litter entering our ocean, with floating debris threatening valuable marine biodiversity by transporting invasive, non-native species into the UK.

It underlines the importance of global action that impacts our marine life and the UK is at the forefront of these efforts, mostly recently in championing calls to end plastic pollution by 2040.

In this first of a series of leading research papers, Cefas scientists used a large piece of marine debris collected off the southwest coast of the UK to identify animals, including goose barnacles, hitchhiking their way into UK waters from sub-tropical and tropical waters generally below 40 degrees latitude.

Using the date the piece of debris was found and growth rates of the animals attached to the debris, scientists were able to calculate the time the debris had travelled through the ocean and ‘back-track’ its journey and likely origin. This has enabled the identification of ‘hot spot zones’ along the south west coast (where many of these species from the tropics make first landfall) containing a high concentration of marine debris that can pose a greater risk of transportation of invasive, non-native species.

Dr. Peter Barry, Marine Ecology Scientist at Cefas and lead author of the report said:

While this type of hitchhiking movement has been identified among various species and regions before, there is still a lot we don’t know about how invasive species enter our waters. A real challenge for scientists has been to identify where the hitchhikers have come from. This model allows us to retrace their journey to understand where and how an invasion pathway is operating”.

Although not all non-native species entering the UK will become established, those that do can be incredibly harmful for the environment. With the increase in marine litter in our seas, it’s important for us to understand how these species are being transported, and to identify areas most at risk to help prevent their spread.

Cefas will now research how invasive species can be transported on other marine debris such as seafloor litter, complementing work taking place internationally to better understand the sources of marine debris and how these enable invasive species to spread.

The UK continues to be a leading voice in tackling marine plastic pollution, co-sponsoring the proposal to prepare a new international, legally binding plastics treaty and is a founding member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, a group of 50 countries calling for a target under the treaty to stop plastic from flowing into our lands and ocean by 2040.

The UK took an ambitious stance at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC1) in November last year, pushing for a treaty that will restrain the production and consumption of plastic to sustainable levels, address plastic design, and encourage more recycling and re-use of plastic.

In December last year, the Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey attended the UN Conference of Biological Diversity (CBD) COP15 in Montreal where she called for greater ambition and urged more countries to join the more than 120 nations who already support the pledge to protect 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030.

January 6, 2023
HISTORIC PRESS RELEASE : Prime Minister Gordon Brown presents award to Jenson Button [December 2009]

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 7 December 2009.

The Prime Minister has presented an award to Formula 1 driver Jenson Button recognising his championship-winning performance this year.

Gordon Brown told guests at the annual British Racing Drivers’ Club Awards that the driver was a “brilliant ambassador for British sport” before presenting him with the Richard Seaman Trophy, named after the pre-war Grand Prix driver.

Last year, the Prime Minister presented the same award to last year’s F1 champion Lewis Hamilton.

Speaking at this year’s ceremony, the PM said:

“What motor racing does is combine the great sporting talent of individuals, who are the drivers themselves, with the brilliant teamwork for which Britain is famous as well: the engineering and the team genius that makes up for a successful motor racing team. Jenson Button had probably one of the most difficult starts to a season that a driver could ever have had. He had to fight back against the loss of his team to start with. He took a salary cut. He fought back, and then had a brilliant start to the season, and then went on to win.”

The awards came on the day that it was announced that the British Grand Prix will remain at Silverstone for the next 17 years.

The PM said:

“I believe that all those who have contributed to that success and to that announcement today deserve our praise. It puts Britain right at the centre of world racing for seventeen years to come.”

January 6, 2023
HISTORIC PRESS RELEASE : 2009 Pre-Budget Report [December 2009]
The press release issued by Downing Street on 9 December 2009.

The Chancellor has said the Pre-Budget Report sets out plans to protect frontline services while halving the deficit.

Alistair Darling presented the report to Parliament today, which included plans to help the unemployed, reduce borrowing, and secure growth.

As part of the plan, the Chancellor said that from today, a one-off levy on bank bonuses over £25,000 would be used to pay for measures to help the young and older unemployed back into work.

The Chancellor said he expects the UK economy to return to growth in the fourth quarter of this year, and growth next year is forecast to be between one per cent and 1.5 per cent, he said.

The Chancellor outlined a number of measures in the Pre-Budget Report:
- VAT will return to 17.5 per cent on 1 January, as planned
- Support for the Mortgage Interest Scheme would be extended for a further six months
- From next month, anyone under 24 unemployed for longer than six months will be guaranteed work
- The minimum number of hours over 65s need to work before receiving Working Tax Credit will be reduced
- The UK will finance four Carbon Capture and Storage demonstration projects
- An additional £200 million will be made available to help with energy efficiency
- Up to 125,000 homes will receive help to replace the most inefficient boilers and an extra 75,000 households will benefit from an extension of the Warm Front scheme
- A 10 per cent corporation tax rate on income which stems from patents in the UK will be introduced
- Plans for rail electrification between Liverpool, Manchester and Preston will go-ahead
- Government measures mean more than half of additional revenue raised will be paid by the top two per cent of earners
- No one earning under £20,000 will pay any more NI contributions
- Free school meals will be extended to half a million primary school children of low income working parents
- A further £2.5 billion will be set aside for military operations in Afghanistan
January 6, 2023
HISTORIC PRESS RELEASE : Gordon Brown’s message on the Pre-Budget Report [December 2009]

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 9 December 2009.

Today’s Pre-Budget Report shows the Government is committed to growth and supporting families and frontline services, the Prime Minister has said.

In a message following the Chancellor’s speech to the House of Commons today, Gordon Brown said Government’s priorities were to secure economic recovery, halve the deficit and protect the services people rely on.

He added that the Pre-Budget Report had also sent a clear message to the banks about the consequences of paying big cash bonuses.

The PM said:

“Today we set out our three-point plan for Britain’s future. Our priorities are securing the recovery and going for growth; making the tough choices necessary to halve the deficit in four years; and putting frontline services first.

“All the measures are underpinned by our core values – those values we share with you – of fairness and responsibility. Our actions so far have helped keep you in your jobs and homes, protected your savings and kept many small businesses afloat. And we have prevented recession turning to depression.

“But the recovery is still fragile and so we will continue our support until it is secured – to do otherwise would be reckless and dangerous. And as we emerge from recession, we will make sure we lock in economic growth by giving businesses room to flourish and by investing in new green technologies to make the most of the enormous potential of a low carbon economy.

“Strong growth will be vital to getting the public finances back in shape. But on its own it won’t be enough to meet our commitment, which we are enshrining in law, to halve the deficit in four years. That will mean fair taxes – and by fair we mean that those most able to pay will pay the most – ruthless efficiencies by Whitehall, and tough decisions to make cuts to some budgets and scrap some programmes no longer needed. But I assure you that all along we will protect schools, Sure Start centres, and frontline NHS and policing – those essential services which we all pay for and all need at times.

“The global economic crisis, which began with a catastrophic failure in the banking sector, has hit many hard through no fault of their own. So today was also important because we sent a clear message to the banks: that if they insist on paying big cash bonuses there will be consequences.

“The biggest risk for Britain is a decade of austerity – of limited growth, limited employment and limited opportunity. The Pre-Budget Report shows that we are a government committed to growth, living within our means and at all times supporting you, your families and those services on which you rely.”

January 6, 2023
HISTORIC PRESS RELEASE : Gordon Brown and President Sarkozy call for global banking compact [December 2009]

The press release issued by the Department for International Trade on 10 December 2009.

Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have called for a “global compact” to regulate the banking sector and ensure financial institutions are operating on a level playing field across the world.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal ahead of the European Council meeting today, the two leaders said the compact should recognise the risks to taxpayers if banks fail and the imbalance between risks and rewards in the banking system.

They added that a one-off tax on bank bonuses should be considered as a priority as this year’s bonuses had arisen partly because of governments bailing out banks.

They said:

“We propose a long term global compact that will encapsulate both the responsibilities of the banking system and the risk they pose to the economy as a whole. Various proposals have been put forward and deserve examination. They include resolution funds, insurance premiums, financial transaction levies and a tax on bonuses.

“Among these proposals, we agree that a one-off tax in relation to bonuses should be considered a priority due to the fact that bonuses for 2009 have arisen partly because of government support for the banking system.”

The Prime Minister and President Sarkozy will be among the European leaders taking part in the two-day European Council meeting, which begins today in Brussels.

January 6, 2023
HISTORIC PRESS RELEASE : Government launches plan for “people-centred” NHS [December 2009]
The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 10 December 2009.

Gordon Brown and Health Secretary Andy Burnham today spoke of their five-year plans for the NHS during a visit to King’s College Hospital in London.

Mr Burnham today launched a new strategy document which lays out plans for the NHS until 2015 and includes a greater emphasis on patient choice, particularly for those with serious long-term conditions.

The Prime Minister said that plans focused on “making the health service far more personal to people’s needs” and “giving people the security to know the health service is always there when they need it”.

The strategy document ‘NHS 2010-2015: from good to great. Preventative, people-centred, productive,’ includes:
- A greater emphasis on patient satisfaction
- Increased out-of-hours access to GPs
- One-to-one carers and health professionals for patients with serious long-term conditions
- The ability for patients with terminal conditions to choose where they spend their final days
- Improved job security for frontline staff
- The ability for the best hospitals to extend their reach through their local community via GPs
- More control and choice for patients over the care they receive
- Legislation to limit waiting times, particularly for cancer treatment
- NHS Health Checks for all patients between 40 and 74 by April 2012
During the hospital visit, Gordon Brown and Andy Burnham met staff working in a haematology unit where doctors are using pioneering techniques to treat patients with blood cancers.

The Health Secretary said of the plans:

“For the NHS to become truly great, it must become more preventative and people-centred … This means top quality care is our goal and patient safety our top priority. This is right for our times. Quality care is not always about spending more money, but about spending it in the right places. Moving care from hospitals into homes and communities is better for patients and more efficient.”
January 6, 2023
HISTORIC PRESS RELEASE : New Business Ambassadors to promote UK excellence abroad [December 2009]

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 10 December 2009.

Gordon Brown has announced the appointment of six new Business Ambassadors to help promote UK industry abroad.

They will join an existing 18 Ambassadors and will be responsible for promoting key business areas such as Life Sciences, Information and Communications Technology, the Creative Industries and the Low Carbon Industries.

The Business Ambassadors Network was launched in 2008, specifically to provide support to small and medium-sized enterprises, which traditionally face greater challenges promoting themselves internationally than their larger counterparts.

The Prime Minister said of the network:

“Since the UK Business Ambassadors network was set up just over a year ago, its members have carried out over 70 international engagements in some 25 different markets, promoting British trade across the globe and playing an important role in championing UK business.

“I am delighted that a further six leaders from business and academia will be joining the team, promoting our businesses and working with them to develop opportunities worldwide and boost growth.”

The new Business Ambassadors are:

•           Chris Brinsmead, Chairman, Astra Zeneca UK
•           Lord Ara Darzi, Professor, Imperial College and Former Health Minister
•           Larry Hirst, Chairman, IBM Europe, Middle East and Africa
•           Lady Barbara Judge, Chairman, UK Atomic Energy Authority
•           Professor Julia King, Vice-Chancellor Aston University; author, King Review of low carbon transport
•           Sir John Sorrell, Chairman, London Design Festival; co-Chair, Sorrell Foundation

January 6, 2023
HISTORIC PRESS RELEASE : UK and France working closely together [December 2009]

The press release issued by the Department of Trade on 10 December 2009.

The Prime Minister has said the UK and France are working closely together on a range of issues from climate change to curbing bank bonuses.

Gordon Brown held talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy before the start of an EU summit in Brussels.

Earlier today the two leaders set out their shared aims on the economy in a joint article in the Wall Street Journal and called for a “long-term global compact” to regulate the banking sector.

Speaking after the meeting, the PM said:

“When you talk about climate change, about international development, about what we are doing about the recovery and, today, about bank bonuses and the scale of them, the common ground (between the UK and France) has been proven by what actions we have taken together.”

Both leaders said in their article today that a one-off tax on bank bonuses should be considered by governments as a priority. It follows the Chancellor’s announcement in the Pre-Budget Report on Wednesday that a one-off levy on bank bonuses over £25,000 would be used to pay for measures to help the young and older unemployed back into work.

The PM said:

“I think the French agreement to support what we are doing on one-off bonuses is very important. There is a one-off National Insurance Premium to be paid by the City, and that will happen in France as well. I believe other countries will now want to look at it and we have also an agreement in the international community to look at the relationship between banks and the service they owe to society.”

January 6, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : 10-year bankruptcy restrictions for Muhammad Arif, Uxbridge clothes wholesaler who abused Bounce Back Loan [January 2023]

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 6 January 2023.

Muhammad Arif, 57, from Uxbridge, has been made subject to 10 years of bankruptcy restrictions for claiming a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan to which he was not entitled.

Arif had run a wholesale clothing business in west London, trading as Ayesha Boutique, from April 2012 until his bankruptcy in December 2021.

In June 2020, he had applied for a Bounce Back Loan, stating that his turnover for the previous year had been £219,000.

Bounce Back Loans were a government scheme to help businesses stay afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic. Businesses could apply for loans of between £2,000 and a maximum of £50,000, up to 25% of their 2019 turnover.

However, Arif later filed a petition for bankruptcy, and was made bankrupt in December 2021 owing around £56,200, and triggering an investigation by the Insolvency Service. The investigation found that Arif’s actual turnover in 2019 was £21,604 – around 10 times less than he had claimed in the application.

Arif told investigators that around £34,200 of the £50,000 loan money was used to pay a supplier, including £19,000 for gold purchases, and around £8,900 in cash withdrawals. More than £15,500 had also gone to family members, which he said had been to repay loans.

The Official Receiver is continuing her enquiries into the payments to Arif’s family, but was unable to verify the explanation he gave to account for the remaining payments.

Under the rules of the Bounce Back Loan scheme, the money was to be used for the economic benefit of the business, but the Official Receiver was unable to determine whether any of the £50,000 loan was used to support Ayesha Boutique.

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a Bankruptcy Restrictions Undertaking from Muhammad Arif, which runs from 11 November 2022 and lasts for 10 years.

Mitzi Mace, Official Receiver at the Insolvency Service, said:

This scheme was specifically set up to support existing viable businesses through a challenging economic period and not for individuals’ personal benefit.

Muhammad Arif’s actions have led to losses to taxpayers while he has enjoyed the benefit of £50,000 to which he was not fully entitled.

January 6, 2023
PRESS RELEASE : New partnership to boost research into vaccines for cancer [January 2023]
The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 6 January 2023.
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Steve Barclay to sign Memorandum of Understanding with BioNTech SE today to bring innovative vaccine research to England with the potential to transform outcomes for cancer patients.

The collaboration will aim to deliver 10,000 personalised therapies to UK patients by 2030 through a new research and development hub creating jobs and strengthening the UK’s position as a leader in global life sciences.

The new partnership will help accelerate clinical trials of personalised immunotherapies for cancer and infectious disease vaccines.

Trials into vaccines for cancer and wider diseases will accelerate after the government reached a historic agreement with a leading biopharmaceutical firm to bring revolutionary research to England.

A Memorandum of Understanding will be signed today by Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Steve Barclay and the Germany-based company BioNTech that previously developed a world-leading Covid-19 vaccine with Pfizer.

The agreement means cancer patients will get early access to trials exploring personalised mRNA therapies, like cancer vaccines. No two cancers are the same and mRNA vaccines will contain a genetic blueprint to stimulate the immune system to attack cancer cells.

Access to the trials will be via the Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad which is being developed by NHS England and Genomics England.

The launch pad will help to rapidly identify large numbers of cancer patients who could be eligible for the trials and explore potential vaccines across multiple types of cancer. Trials for innovative treatments could start as early as Autumn 2023.

The partnership will aim to help patients with early and late-stage cancers. If successfully developed, the cancer vaccines could become part of standard care.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay said:

Once cancer is detected, we need to ensure the best possible treatments are available as soon as possible, including for breast, lung and pancreatic cancer.

BioNTech helped lead the world on a Covid-19 vaccine and they share our commitment to scientific advancement, innovation and cutting-edge scientific technology, making them perfect partners for a deal to work together on cancer vaccines.

This partnership will mean that, from as early as September, our patients will be among the first to participate in trials and tests to provide targeted, personalised and precision treatments using transformative new therapies to both treat the existing cancer and help stop it returning.

This agreement builds on this government’s promise to increase research and development spending to £20 billion per year and demonstrates the UK remains one of the most attractive places in the world for innovative companies to invest in research, trial new treatments and treat patients more effectively

Building on the lessons learnt during the pandemic – including the development of a Covid-19 vaccine – the partnership will enable the government and BioNTech to harness the country’s world-leading expertise in organisations such as the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and Genomics England.

The launch pad will complement the ongoing work of the NHS Genomic Medicine Service which helps patients access the latest testing technologies and ensures they are given more targeted precision treatments for their cancer with transformative approaches and better outcomes.

BioNTech’s investment will include setting up a new research and development hub and offices in the UK creating jobs and strengthening the UK’s position as a leader in global life sciences.

Minister for Health and Secondary Care, Will Quince said:

Getting a cancer diagnosis can be heart-breaking for patients and families. This partnership represents a giant leap towards achieving better outcomes for patients.

BioNTech has a proven and distinguished record in vaccine technology and contributed significantly to the development of a Covid-19 vaccine.

This partnership now has the potential to develop research leading to cancer therapies which could save lives.

Prof. Ugur Sahin, M.D, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of BioNTech:

The UK successfully delivered Covid-19 vaccines so quickly because the National Health Service, academia, the regulator and the private sector worked together in an exemplary way.

This agreement is a result of the lessons learnt from the Covid-19 pandemic. Drug development can be accelerated without cutting corners if everyone works seamlessly together towards the same goal. Today’s agreement shows we are committed to do the same for cancer patients.

Our goal is to accelerate the development of immunotherapies and vaccines using technologies we have been researching for over 20 years. The collaboration will cover various cancer types and infectious diseases affecting collectively hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

If successful, this collaboration has the potential to improve outcomes for patients and provide early access to our suite of cancer immunotherapies as well as to innovative vaccines against infectious diseases – in the UK and worldwide.

National Clinical Director for Cancer, Professor Peter Johnson said:

As we continue to drive forward efforts to diagnose cancers at the earliest possible stage, we also need to make sure we are looking at every opportunity to improve treatments. This new partnership will unlock the potential to develop revolutionary treatments in the UK to benefit NHS patients.

mRNA technology has the potential to be a transformative approach in a number of illnesses, and we hope that by finding out how to vaccinate people against their own cancers we can further improve their chances of staying cancer-free.
January 6, 2023