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Tag: 2025

  • Keir Starmer – 2025 Letter to Angela Rayner Accepting Her Resignation

    Keir Starmer – 2025 Letter to Angela Rayner Accepting Her Resignation

    The letter sent by Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, to Angela Rayner, on 5 September 2025.

    Letter (in .pdf format)

  • Laurie Magnus – 2025 Letter to the Prime Minister on Angela Rayner’s Flat Purchase

    Laurie Magnus – 2025 Letter to the Prime Minister on Angela Rayner’s Flat Purchase

    The letter sent by Laurie Magnus, the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards, to Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, on 5 September 2025.

    Letter (in .pdf format)

  • PRESS RELEASE : Parole Board – appointment of members [September 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : Parole Board – appointment of members [September 2025]

    The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 5 September 2025.

    The Secretary of State has approved the appointments of Parole Board Members. These comprise psychologist, psychiatrist and retired judicial members as set out below.

    The Secretary of State has approved the appointments of 29 Psychologist members, 5 Psychiatrist members, and 7 Judicial members.

    Parole Board members are appointed, by ministers, under Schedule 19 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. The appointment of Parole Board members – save for judicial members – is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments (CPA). Recruitment processes comply with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

    The Parole Board is an independent body that works with its criminal justice partners to protect the public by risk assessing prisoners to decide whether they can be safely released into the community.

    The Parole Board was established by the Criminal Justice Act 1967. It is an executive Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice

    New member appointments

    The following members below have been appointed for five-year terms from 4 November 2025 to 3 November 2030:

    Psychologist Members

    • Eleni Belivanaki
    • Catherine Bell
    • Carol Bond
    • Lucy Courtney-Brisbane
    • Kate Geraghty
    • Charlotte Griffiths
    • Madeleine Hamilton
    • Eliza Harris
    • Ionnie Henry
    • James Jackman
    • Nicola Jackson
    • Rupi Johal
    • Sharon Jones
    • Jacqueline Kennedy
    • Sarah Khan
    • Suzanne Lee
    • Leiya Lemkey
    • Avril McAlees
    • Amy Meeson
    • Khyati Patel
    • Emma Pearce
    • Sanjit Saraw
    • Samantha Scott
    • Diarmuid Sheehan
    • Yvonne Shell
    • Annita Tasker
    • James Taylor
    • Nicola Wallis
    • Rachael Wheatley

    Psychiatrist Members

    • Jonathan Barker
    • Christine Brown
    • Caroline Mulligan
    • Samrat Sengupta
    • Rosalyn Tavernor

    The following members below have been appointed for five-year terms from 20 January 2026 to 19 January 2031:

    Judicial Members

    • Andrew Bright KC
    • Francis Burrell KC
    • Patrick Fields
    • Michael Hopmeier
    • Judith Hughes KC
    • Richard Parkes KC
    • Caroline Wright
  • PRESS RELEASE : Yorkshire’s natural beauty recognised as Ingleborough NNR expands [September 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : Yorkshire’s natural beauty recognised as Ingleborough NNR expands [September 2025]

    The press release issued by Natural England on 5 September 2025.

    Ingleborough National Nature Reserve (NNR) becomes part of the King’s Series of NNRs, established to celebrate His Majesty the King’s Coronation in 2023.

    Over 179 hectares of Yorkshire’s iconic upland landscape has been recognised for its importance as a haven for rare wildlife and unique habitats, through the extension of Ingleborough National Nature Reserve (NNR).

    The expansion brings the total safeguarded area to 1186 hectares, a third of the size of York or equivalent to 2.2 billion Yorkshire Tea bags, making it one of the largest and most wildlife-rich landscapes in northern England.

    Ingleborough now becomes part of the King’s Series of National Nature Reserves, established to celebrate His Majesty the King’s Coronation in 2023. It brings together decades of work by Natural England and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, to tackle the climate crisis, restore degraded habitats, and create a resilient landscape for people and nature.

    Ingleborough National Nature Reserve is one of the best places to see a mosaic of nature in action, from moorland fell top, blanket bog and heath to rush pasture, fen and woodland and then to species rich meadows and rivers. They are all found in a single section of valley.

    The extension will allow for improved public access to nature with visitors to the reserve benefiting from closer access from Ribblehead railway station on the famous Settle–Carlisle line.

    The Yorkshire Dales are home to a third of the UK’s remaining limestone pavements, famous for being tooth-like structures, and Ingleborough has some of the finest and best-preserved examples: although this is a fraction – just 8% – of what was once there.  Between 34,000 and 41,000 tonnes of limestone pavement was removed from Ingleborough until it became protected in the 1990s – the equivalent weight of around four Eiffel towers.

    Today, the Nature Reserve is a vital lifeline for threatened species, from delicate ferns, mosses and lichens to flowers so rare that they are endemic to Ingleborough, meaning they can be found in this area of the world alone.

    Ingleborough is the only place where you can discover the tiny white stars of Yorkshire sandwort. It’s just one of four places in the UK you can see Teesdale violets, and one of two places in Yorkshire where purple saxifrage grows. Ingleborough’s limestone pavements, in their natural, undisturbed state host a rich variety of plant life including rare holly ferns, lichens and mosses, as well as patches of sweet-smelling wild thyme and rock-rose, the main food source of the rare northern brown argus butterfly.

    The site supports nationally important wildlife species including curlew, whose evocative call is fading as populations decline across the UK, as well as the black grouse and ring ouzel – both on the red list of threatened birds.

    The reserve is also trailing sustainable farming practices with local tenants, including low intensity cattle grazing with native breed cows that mimic natural processes. Additionally, landowners and reserve staff have been experimenting with different grazing approaches that have helped create a patchwork of different habitats, with areas of wildflower-rich grassland mixed with areas of shrub and woodland. These practices will now be extended into the new areas of protected land, to allow further reduction in grazing pressure on the limestone pavement.

    Natural England Chair Tony Juniper said:

    The breathtaking beauty and rich natural wonders of the Yorkshire Dales are national treasures. Today’s extension to the Ingleborough National Nature Reserve brings more of this wonderful place into active Nature recovery, in the process helping safeguard species found nowhere else in the UK.

    Natural England is delighted to be working with such excellent partners who are so passionately committed to halting and reversing wildlife decline, while reconnecting people with the natural world.

    Nature Minister Mary Creagh said:

    Ingleborough is one of our most dramatic and beautiful landscapes, and I’m delighted this reserve is going to support thriving nature across an even larger area.

    This government is committed to turning the tide on nature’s decline after years of neglect. New and expanded National Nature Reserves are improving access to nature and protecting nature-rich habitats, such as the limestone pavements found at Ingleborough.

    Rachael Bice, CEO at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said:

    Working together to create space for nature is vital and further protection for Ingleborough’s stunning landscape follows years of dedicated commitment to bring back more diverse and abundant wildlife to a nature-rich upland limestone landscape.

    We’re thrilled the vision and work of our partnership, volunteers, members and supporters has been recognised. This area is one of the most exciting and inviting places to enjoy the wilder side of our rich natural heritage.

    A partnership has formed between Natural England’s Ingleborough National Nature Reserve team, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust), The University of Leeds, UBoC, The Woodland Trust, and WWF to further the restoration of wildlife habitats around Ingleborough in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The Wild Ingleborough partnership aims to restore wildlife on a landscape scale — from valley floor to mountain top.

  • PRESS RELEASE : People across the country set to benefit from £4 million boost to improve accessibility and increase access to arts and culture [September 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : People across the country set to benefit from £4 million boost to improve accessibility and increase access to arts and culture [September 2025]

    The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 5 September 2025.

    Funding available to support regional museums and galleries to ensure collections are more accessible to the public.

    • Applications are open for a share of £4 million through a partnership between charity the Wolfson Foundation and DCMS
    • The partnership will boost people’s access to art and culture, delivering on both the government’s Plan for Change to increase opportunities for all and the Wolfson Foundation’s charitable objectives

    People across the country will soon benefit from a £4 million boost for regional museums and galleries through the joint DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund. This is part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to ensure everyone, everywhere has access to arts and culture in the place they call home.

    The £4 million DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund is made up of £2 million in match funding and provides support to local people by improving displays, enhancing collections care and making exhibitions more accessible to visitors. Over the last 20 years, more than 440 projects have benefitted from over £50 million in funding.

    This new round of funding will deliver on both the Government’s Plan for Change by breaking down barriers to opportunity and the new Strategic Framework for the Wolfson Foundation, ensuring that collections are more accessible to the public, whether that be through investment in gallery spaces, accessibility measures and collection care.

    In the previous round of funding, organisations including People’s History Museum in Manchester received over £200,000 for their Welcome Project, which focused on key improvements to the building as identified in an independent access audit. In line with the museum’s commitment to improving access for all, the project installed a new accessible front door, full toilet renovation including installation of a changing places facility, accessible furniture and updated all signage around the museum.

    The Food Museum in Suffolk received more than £89,000 in funding for the Abbot’s Hall estate and its listed gardens, which feature a canal with an early 18th-century fishing lodge. The lodge had been inaccessible to visitors since the 1990s due to the deteriorating condition of the access bridge. With support from the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, the museum built a new bridge that allows visitors to access the island.

    Experience Barnsley Museum used over £37,000 of funding from the previous round for their Chamber of Treasures project, which transformed an underused space in the permanent main gallery with new displays and interpretation of social history collections created with Barnsley’s communities. The project improved access and interpretation for people with disabilities to enhance visitor experiences, whilst improving care of the collection.

    Arts Minister Sir Chris Bryant said:

    We want everyone, everywhere to be able to enjoy culture and the arts – and this fund helps us achieve that mission.

    It is a great example of combining public funding with private philanthropy to help deliver on our Plan for Change by ensuring that people who may find accessing museums and galleries difficult have the opportunity to enjoy the incredible collections we have on offer in this country.

    Paul Ramsbottom, Chief Executive of the Wolfson Foundation, said:

    Museums and galleries play a vital role in deepening our understanding of the past and our shared culture. For over twenty years we have worked with DCMS to support museums and galleries as they improve access and enable more visitors to discover, understand and enjoy our country’s remarkable collections. We’re delighted to continue our partnership with this new round of funding.

    From today (Friday 5 September), the fund is open for applications until Friday 14 November.

    Notes to editors:

    Full guidance, including eligibility criteria and details of how to apply can be found on GOV.UK.

    About DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund

    The DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund provides capital funding for museums and galleries across England to improve displays, protect collections and make exhibitions more accessible to visitors. For 2025-27, DCMS and the Wolfson Foundation have each contributed £2 million to the Fund, which has benefitted more than 440 projects in its more than 20-year history.

    About the Wolfson Foundation

    The Wolfson Foundation is an independent grant-making charity with a focus on research and education. Its aim is to contribute to civil society by supporting high-quality projects in science, health, heritage, humanities and the arts.

    Since it was established in 1955, the Wolfson Foundation has awarded some £1 billion (£2 billion in real terms) to more than 14,000 projects throughout the UK, all on the basis of expert review.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Defence dividend delivers thousands of UK jobs following exceptional foreign investment [September 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : Defence dividend delivers thousands of UK jobs following exceptional foreign investment [September 2025]

    The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 4 September 2025.

    The UK defence sector has driven unprecedented growth across the country following at least £1.4 billion foreign investment being announced since July 2024.

    • Unprecedented UK defence sector growth with more than £1.4 billion in foreign direct investment committed in just 12 months.
    • More than 1,700 new jobs being created across the UK, delivering on this Government’s Plan for Change.
    • Ministers saw British innovation and investment in action with visits to Greenford and Farringdon.

    More than 1,700 new jobs are being created as the UK’s defence sector drives unprecedented growth across the country, following at least £1.4 billion foreign direct investment being announced since July 2024.

    This success reflects the Government’s commitment to making defence an engine for economic growth across the UK. The increase in annual foreign direct investment from international companies demonstrates the confidence that companies feel to invest in the UK, alongside the Government’s historic uplift in defence spending, providing a significant boost to the UK economy and showing more countries are choosing to invest in facilities in Britain.

    The increased investment is supporting the UK’s defence industrial base, with thousands of new jobs created and supported across the country, including manufacturing, engineering, and business service roles. Recent investments include an expanded drone manufacturing facility in Hampshire, shipbuilding secured in Belfast, and the investment in artillery systems manufacture in Telford.

    The soon to be published Defence Industrial Strategy will set out how the UK will further strengthen its defence industrial base and supply chains, enhance sovereign capabilities, and position Britain as a global leader in defence technology whilst creating high-skilled jobs and driving economic growth across the country.

    Defence Secretary John Healey MP, said:

    This record new investment is a confirmed vote of confidence in Britain.

    In a new era for defence, I am backing British industry, British innovators and British jobs.

    A strong defence industrial base helps keep Britain safe and makes defence an engine for growth.

    Ministers showcased this momentum yesterday with visits highlighting new British defence innovation sites.

    The Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, Rt Hon Maria Eagle MP, opened Ultra Maritime’s new £20 million manufacturing facility in Greenford, London, which will employ 100 staff including 35 new manufacturing and testing roles focused on producing cutting-edge sonobuoys for anti-submarine warfare systems.

    Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, Rt Hon Maria Eagle MP, said:

    Ultra Maritime’s innovative work supports the Royal Navy to help keep the UK safe, whilst backing dozens of skilled manufacturing jobs.

    By deepening their investment in state-of-the-art facilities, it is another demonstration of the confidence defence firms have in growing their companies in the UK.

    The Defence Industrial Strategy will ensure we continue to attract world-class companies to the UK, creating high-skilled jobs and cementing Britain’s position as a global defence technology leader.

    The Minister for Veterans and People, Alistair Carns DSO OBE MC MP, opened Arondite’s new Farringdon office, celebrating a British defence-tech company building AI software to connect autonomous systems. Veteran-founded Arondite announced a £100 million investment in advanced R&D, expanding its UK footprint and creating 100 new high-skilled jobs.

    Minister for Veterans and People, Alistair Carns DSO OBE MC MP, said:

    Arondite’s expansion represents exactly the kind of British innovation and entrepreneurship that exemplifies Defence as an engine for growth – combining cutting-edge AI technology with job creation and sovereign capability development.

    As outlined in the SDR, we are creating a new partnership with business and making it easier for SMEs to do business with Defence. Through our Defence Industrial Strategy, we’re backing brilliant British companies like veteran-founded Arondite to scale up, create careers, and keep our nation secure in an increasingly complex world.

    These developments build on the Government’s delivery of the Strategic Defence Review, which provided the strategic framework for strengthening Britain’s defence capabilities to meet the new era of threat, whilst harnessing the Prime Minister’s historic defence investment to create jobs and opportunity in communities nationwide.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Putin needs to agree to an unconditional ceasefire and withdraw forces from all of Ukraine – UK statement at the UN General Assembly [September 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : Putin needs to agree to an unconditional ceasefire and withdraw forces from all of Ukraine – UK statement at the UN General Assembly [September 2025]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 4 September 2025.

    Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward, UK Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN General Assembly meeting on the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

    It is 1,289 days since the start of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

    So the timing of today’s debate underlines for all of us what is at stake when we talk about ongoing peace efforts.

    Russia’s war in Ukraine is a manifest violation of the UN Charter and a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

    Both of which, for all of us, are enshrined in the UN Charter,

    The truth is that the Russian state has temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories, and has sought to consolidate control within them with violence.

    They have sought to eliminate any trace of Ukrainian statehood and identity through repression.

    We know exactly what Russia’s invasion and violation of the UN Charter mean for Ukrainian civilians in these territories.

    It means severe restrictions on their freedom of association, their freedom of movement, and their freedom of religious belief.

    It means systematic detention of innocent civilians, and forced deportation and indoctrination of Ukrainian children.

    It means lack of access to humanitarian aid for the most vulnerable.

    It means erasure of Ukrainian cultural heritage, and despicable attempts to militarise their youth.

    It means rape and sexual violence, which have been used repeatedly by Russia as tools of war.

    The human toll of President Putin’s continued illegal, unjustifiable invasion against Ukraine is immense.

    For many of the 1.5 million people living in the temporarily occupied territories, these horrors are a daily reality.

    This reality is unacceptable.

    As the Russian state continues to terrorise civilians in the territories it occupies, using arbitrary detention, torture, and indoctrination as instruments of control, Ukraine has consistently sought a commitment to peace.

    But the appalling attacks on civilians over the last week have made Russia’s intentions clearer than ever.

    Yet the strength and endless determination of the Ukrainian people, both in Kyiv and across the temporarily occupied territories continues to inspire us.

    So we call on Russia to comply with international law, to comply with the UN Charter.

    President Putin has the power to end this war today.

    The next steps are clear. Putin needs to agree to an immediate, full, and unconditional ceasefire and withdraw Russian forces from all of Ukraine’s territory.

    Ukraine needs security guarantees to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Fourth UK-Laos Political Dialogue – FCDO statement [September 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : Fourth UK-Laos Political Dialogue – FCDO statement [September 2025]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 4 September 2025.

    The UK and Laos held the fourth biennial Political Dialogue on 3 September, covering topics including trade, regional security, climate and consular issues.

    The fourth United Kingdom (UK) – Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) biennial Political Dialogue took place in London on 3 September 2025. The meeting was co-chaired by UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Indo-Pacific, Catherine West MP, and Lao Deputy Foreign Minister Maythong Thammavongsa, and coincided with the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

    UK Ambassador to Lao PDR H.E Mel Barlow and Lao Ambassador to the UK H.E Douangmany Gnotsyoudom also participated in the discussions.

    The two Ministers discussed a range of bilateral issues including trade and investment, regional security and climate. During the meeting, Minister West raised key consular issues, including methanol poisoning and recent methanol poisoning cases.

    The Dialogue also included exchanges on regional and international matters of mutual concern. The Deputy Foreign Minister welcomed the UK’s continued engagement in the Mekong sub-region, including its recent accession as a Development Partner to the Mekong River Commission in June 2025.

    In a separate meeting, Deputy Foreign Minister Maythong Thammavongsa met with Matt Western MP, the UK’s newly appointed Trade Envoy to Lao PDR. They discussed opportunities to deepen trade and investment cooperation as Lao PDR prepares to graduate from Least Developed Country status in 2026.

    The United Kingdom looks forward to continued collaboration with Lao PDR across a broad range of shared priorities including growing people-to-people links, which will be supported by the newly established UK-Lao Friendship Society.

  • PRESS RELEASE : 100,000 more people get quicker care thanks to GP funding reform [September 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : 100,000 more people get quicker care thanks to GP funding reform [September 2025]

    The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 4 September 2025.

    An ‘Advice and Guidance’ scheme – backed by £80 million – that enables GPs to liaise with specialists, saw 113,000 more patients receive quicker care in April.

    Thousands more people are being treated quicker by community-based services rather than waiting for hospital care thanks to increased use of GP guidance
    GPs are getting early expert advice to help direct patients to the care they need quicker including services like dietitians, physiotherapists and sexual health experts
    Part of the Plan for Change to rebuild the NHS, the common sense approach means patients get seen quicker and unnecessary pressure is reduced on hospital services
    Over 113,000 more people got appropriate care quicker in April thanks to the common sense ‘Advice and Guidance’ scheme that enables GP to lean on specialists straight after seeing patients rather than sending them to wait for a hospital appointment.

    GPs can quickly consult clinicians who advise if patients need to be treated in hospital or not – referring them to wider services instead, like dietitians, physiotherapists and sexual health experts.

    This means patients can start more appropriate treatment sooner, stopping thousands waiting weeks unnecessarily for a hospital appointment, only to be referred back.

    With 99% of general practices now signed up since incentives were announced in April, this has allowed thousands more patients to receive care for conditions months sooner, avoiding an average 13-week wait to begin treatment.

    Health Minister Stephen Kinnock said:

    Through our Plan for Change, we’re taking a common sense approach that’s tapping into existing expertise in the system, making use of wider services, and getting patients the right care faster.

    Over 100,000 people have avoided unnecessary hospital queues because GPs are bypassing waiting lists and going direct to specialists for expert advice. It means quicker care for patients closer to home, less pressure on hospitals and more time for doctors to focus on those who need them most.

    It’s a win-win to deliver care closer to home, and create a more efficient, joined-up NHS that’s improving patient outcomes.

    The scheme has been backed by £80 million by this government, with GP surgeries benefiting from £20 for each referral made under the system.

    The number of patients bypassing waiting lists through this system and benefiting from earlier specialist input via Advice and Guidance increased by 14% in 2024/25 compared with the previous financial year – with the new financial incentives set to supercharge this.

    Thanks to this government’s focus on Advice and Guidance, waits for first outpatient appoints fell by 10 weeks at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, for patients with liver, stomach and bowel conditions are now waiting 10 weeks less for treatment. Over 3,100 advice requests were processed in April, resulting in more than 1,000 patients being diverted away from elective waiting lists.

    One example of how the scheme works would be for a GP to quickly consult a hospital specialist digitally after seeing a patient presenting with gastrointestinal issues. They would give advice on whether to refer the patient to them, or to out of hospital services, such as a dietitian, to receive more appropriate care.

    As well as meaning faster care for patients, this has saved them both time and money – thanks to avoiding the need to travel up to 80 miles for a potentially unnecessary hospital appointments.

    Dr Matt Warren and Dr Richard Thomson, consultant gastroenterologists at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said:

    We are proud and delighted the work we have been doing with our GPs is reflected in the trust performance.

    We have made the most of digital health records and modern diagnostics to get specialist opinions to GPs more quickly. This means patients are getting faster, personalised, and effective care.

    Putting patients first is our guiding principle and this new way of collaborating feels professionally rewarding. We are committed to continuing to learn and improve the services for our patients.

    Since the government announced the boost for the scheme in April, there has been a widespread increase in GPs using the scheme across the country compared to April last year – with 21% more patients benefitting in the South West, an 8% increase in the North East and Yorkshire and an 8% increase in London.

    It supports the government’s 10 Year Health Plan to move more care from hospital to community and is progress towards its target of increasing diversions from elective waiting lists to up to two million by the end of 2025-26.

    The Advice and Guidance programme forms part of the government’s Plan for Change, which sets out how mission-led government will get patients seen quicker and make the NHS fit for the future.

  • PRESS RELEASE : UK and Norway sign historic deal strengthening NATO’s northern flank and boosting jobs and growth [September 2025]

    PRESS RELEASE : UK and Norway sign historic deal strengthening NATO’s northern flank and boosting jobs and growth [September 2025]

    The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 4 September 2025.

    The Defence Secretary, John Healey, and his Norwegian counterpart, Tore O. Sandvik, today signed an historic agreement to enhance the strategic partnership between the UK and Norway

    • Prime Minister visited BAE Scotstoun to meet the team who helped to land the biggest ever warship export deal worth £10bn – supporting over 4,000 UK jobs and delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change.
    • Comes as the Defence Secretary and his Norwegian counterpart signed the deal today in Stavanger, Norway.
    • Deal cements deep strategic partnership and will boost national defence through strengthened security in North Sea, Baltic Sea, and High North.

    UK and European security was bolstered today following the signing of a new deal for Norway to purchase at least five Type 26 frigates from British shipbuilders, in a move that will create a combined fleet to better counter Russia on NATO’s northern flank.

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited BAE Scotstoun to say thank you to the those who helped get this huge contract to build the cutting-edge vessels, which will support 4,000 jobs across the UK well into the next decade — including 2,000 in Scotland.

    The Defence Secretary, John Healey, and his Norwegian counterpart, Tore O. Sandvik, today signed the historic agreement to enhance the strategic partnership between the UK and Norway, strengthening NATO in the region and providing more opportunities for joint training and personnel exchanges between the two nations.

    At today’s signing in Norway, the Defence Secretary and the Norwegian Minister of Defence Tore O. Sandvik discussed further joint operations through this deepened partnership.

    The Defence Secretary also met Norwegian Navy recruits undergoing basic training who will in future likely serve on the Type 26 frigates built under this agreement.

    Defence Secretary, John Healey MP, said:

    This deal will support thousands of UK jobs for many years to come and boosts our strategic partnership with Norway.

    Our close bonds are built on a shared geography and history, and this deal will see our navies work as one, creating a combined fleet to defend NATO’s northern flank and strengthen our deterrence against Russian aggression.

    The programme is also expected to support 432 business, including 222 small and medium enterprises, across the UK.

    The £10 billion deal delivers on the Government’s Plan for Change – creating jobs, driving growth and protecting national security for working people. It is a striking vote of confidence in the UK’s world-class shipbuilding industry.