Tag: News Story

STORY

The Food Standards Agency has published the results of its sixth annual retail surveillance survey, which found most food tested was safe and authentic but identified problems with Dubai-style chocolate, goat meat and some slush-ice drinks. The targeted programme sampled 845 products from national supermarkets, independent retailers and online sellers between July and December 2025.

The agency said products were checked to ensure they were safe, accurately labelled and contained what they claimed to contain. Unsatisfactory results from the survey were shared with local authorities so that they could consider whether further action was required.

The survey found significant issues with Dubai-style chocolate, with only one of 45 samples passing every test and labelling requirement. The Food Standards Agency said the results led it to issue consumer warnings before Christmas 2025.

Labelling problems were found in 42 of the 45 Dubai-style chocolate samples. These included incorrect or missing use-by and best-before dates, allergens not being clearly highlighted, ingredients not being listed in the correct order and missing UK importer details.

The agency said it advised businesses to be vigilant and warned people with allergies not to eat Dubai-style chocolate. Rebecca Sudworth, the Food Standards Agency’s director of policy, said consumer safety was the agency’s biggest priority and that immediate action had been taken when the problems were identified.

The survey also found authenticity problems in goat meat products. Of 40 goat meat samples tested, 20 contained only sheep, while one contained a mixture of sheep and goat meat and another was found to be wholly deer.

STORY

A Hampshire-based goods vehicle operator has had its licence revoked after repeatedly failing to engage with the Traffic Commissioner and the Office of the Traffic Commissioner. Hampshire Group Southern Ltd, which held a restricted operator’s licence authorising two vehicles, will lose its licence from 11.45pm on 2 August 2026.

Traffic Commissioner Miles Dorrington made the decision following a public inquiry in Bristol on 3 June 2026. He also proposed disqualifying the company and its sole director, Vicky Steere, from holding or obtaining any operator’s licence for two years, unless a hearing is requested by 13 July 2026.

The company, which was previously known as JCT Group Holdings Ltd, had been granted its licence in July 2025. The licence was subject to an undertaking that a director would complete an approved operator licence management course and provide evidence of attendance, but the Commissioner found that the undertaking had been breached and that no satisfactory explanation had been provided.

The inquiry heard that the operator had failed to respond properly to regulatory correspondence. The Office of the Traffic Commissioner had sent reminders, warning letters and a formal request for explanation, but key questions remained unanswered.

Further concerns were raised after the company failed to comply with case management directions ahead of the public inquiry. Required maintenance and drivers’ hours records were not submitted in advance, and much of the requested evidence was still missing on the day of the hearing.

Dorrington said the case was unusual because it centred on the operator’s failure to co-operate with the Office of the Traffic Commissioner and the Traffic Commissioner, rather than on evidence from a Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency investigation. He said he had “absolutely no confidence or trust” that the operator would comply with the licensing regime in future.

STORY

Kismet Kebabs Limited has been fined £500,000 after a major Trading Standards investigation exposed fraudulent food mislabelling involving kebab products sold to food outlets across the UK. The Chelmsford-based company was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court after pleading guilty to one offence of fraud by false representation.

The case is a deeply damaging example of food fraud, with customers, retailers and consumers misled over what was actually being supplied. Swansea Council said products marketed and sold as lamb were found in many cases to contain little or no lamb, with lower-grade ingredients including skin, fat and other meats used instead.

Kismet Kebabs was also ordered to pay £259,298.67 in costs, taking the financial penalty to more than £759,000. The fine reflected the seriousness of the offending, which involved products being misdescribed and incorrectly labelled in relation to their meat content and composition.

The investigation was launched by Swansea Council’s Trading Standards team in 2020/21 after samples taken during a regional exercise raised concerns that products labelled as lamb kebabs did not match their declared contents. Further enquiries and formal analysis found significant discrepancies between the labels and the actual composition of the products.

Evidence gathered by the council included product samples, production records, recipes, invoices and material recovered during a multi-agency visit to the company’s premises. The court was told that the company had been manufacturing and supplying kebab products to food outlets across the UK with labels that falsely described the meat content.

STORY

A Derby builder who took more than £200,000 from homeowners while knowing his company was insolvent has been jailed for fraudulent trading. Michael Haslam, of Oaklands Avenue, Littleover, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison at Derby Crown Court on Wednesday 1 July after pleading guilty in May.

The Insolvency Service said Haslam ran M&J Builders Limited while it was insolvent, taking money upfront from seven customers between 2020 and 2022. Victims were left with unfinished and dangerous building work, including unsafe structures, homes without running water and projects which required thousands of pounds in additional repair work.

One victim from Darley Abbey paid more than £150,000 for work on a property she had intended to renovate for her retirement, but received about £40,000 worth of work. Another victim in Allestree paid for an extension and garage refurbishment before being left without running water for seven months, while a further household was told by council inspectors that botched work might need to be demolished entirely.

Investigators found that money from the company’s accounts was used for cash withdrawals, Amazon and eBay purchases and payments to Haslam’s family. The Insolvency Service said almost £400,000 was paid from the M&J Builders Limited business account under the reference ‘MG Haslam Expenses’, while a personal account used by some customers showed £164,229 in cash withdrawals and £77,376 paid to the couple’s daughter.

Haslam was also disqualified from acting as a company director for 15 years. Mark Stephens, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said the case showed the human cost of fraudulent trading and said the agency would continue to pursue fraudsters who exploited innocent people.

STORY

Changes to councils’ financial reporting are being proposed by CIPFA in an effort to improve transparency and reduce the risk of future financial failures on the scale of Woking Borough Council.

The MJ reported that the proposed changes to the prudential code are intended to strengthen reporting around council borrowing and investment decisions. Woking’s financial collapse has remained a significant reference point in debate about local authority risk management.

The proposals come as councils continue to face pressure over debt, commercial investments and long-term financial sustainability. Any changes would be closely watched by section 151 officers, auditors and councillors responsible for financial oversight.

STORY

The Council of the EU and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement on targeted changes to the Eurovignette directive, which governs road tolls and user charges for heavy-duty vehicles.

The Council said the agreement clarified parts of the charging regime and formed part of wider transport policy work. The measure still needs formal confirmation by the institutions before it can become law.

The proposal sits within broader EU efforts to manage road transport costs, infrastructure charging and environmental policy. The final rules are expected to affect how member states apply tolls and user charges to certain heavy vehicles.

STORY

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said the European Union is determined to help resolve the deadlock over the appointment of a new international peace envoy for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The role became vacant after German diplomat Christian Schmidt resigned in May. Reuters reported that EU countries and the United States have backed different candidates, creating an impasse over the future High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Kallas said during a visit to Bosnia that the role remained important for stability and for the country’s EU accession path. She also warned that delays to reforms could put further EU funding at risk.

STORY

The Council of the EU has moved to reinstate an interim measure allowing online service providers voluntarily to detect, report and remove child sexual abuse material from their services.

The measure is a derogation from electronic communications data protection rules. The Council said voluntary detection and reporting by providers played a role in identifying offenders, supporting investigations, rescuing victims and reducing the spread of abusive material online.

The proposal is part of continuing EU work on child protection and online safety. It comes while institutions continue to debate longer-term rules on the detection and reporting of online child sexual abuse material.

STORY

The Prime Minister met Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik Al Said of Oman in Downing Street on 2 July, with discussions focused on regional security and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Downing Street said the Prime Minister reiterated solidarity with Oman and other regional partners. He also thanked Oman for its mediation efforts, which the Government said had contributed to a deal between the United States and Iran.

The two leaders discussed efforts to give shipping greater reassurance when transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Downing Street said they agreed to continue working closely and to remain in contact.

STORY

The UK and Greece have signed a memorandum of understanding intended to strengthen tourism cooperation, with ministers saying the agreement will support sustainable growth and closer links between the two visitor economies.

The five-year agreement covers institutional cooperation, tourism promotion, sustainability, investment, digitalisation and vocational training. It also includes work on special interest tourism, including film, culture, gastronomy, wine, rural tourism, mountain tourism and hiking.

Tourism Minister Stephanie Peacock said the UK and Greece shared strong tourism links and a long history of visitors travelling between the two countries. Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni said the agreement established a modern framework for cooperation beyond promotion alone.