Tag: News Story

STORY

International manufacturer Knauf Insulation today confirmed a £170 million investment in a cutting-edge rock mineral wool factory at its Deeside site in Shotton, pledging to create around 140 direct jobs and bolster the local supply chain. The new facility, due to begin production in 2026, will use UK-First Submerged Arc Furnace technology to churn out over 100,000 tonnes of non-combustible, low-carbon, recyclable insulation each year. Knauf’s expansion is backed by the UK and Welsh Governments through the North Wales Growth Deal and the Flintshire and Wrexham Investment Zone, reflecting ministers’ drive to attract inward investment and support advanced manufacturing hubs across Wales.

Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens said:

“This £170 million investment by Knauf Insulation is fantastic news for North Wales and our UK Government mission to drive economic growth. It’s a vote of confidence in the Welsh economy and our plan to make Britain the destination of choice for industrial investment.”

Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales Ken Skates added that the project “is a testament to the skills and facilities we have here” and pledged continued support as construction gets underway.

Baroness Gustafsson, Minister for Investment, emphasised Knauf’s role in the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy, which identifies advanced manufacturing as one of eight priority sectors:

“The UK is open for business, and this is yet another vote of confidence in North Wales and its thriving advanced manufacturing sector, which will boost jobs and prosperity across the region.”

Neil Hargreaves, Managing Director of Knauf Insulation Northern Europe, noted the company’s long heritage in Wales and its commitment to sustainability:

“Using cutting-edge furnace technology, the factory will support safer, more energy-efficient and sustainable buildings—aligning with both Welsh and UK government visions for industry.”

STORY

In a decisive regulatory action, the Deputy Traffic Commissioner for the East of England has revoked the operator’s licence of Transglobal Solutions Ltd (licence OF2038634) and indefinitely disqualified its sole director and transport manager, Maricel Taranu, following a public inquiry into widespread safety and compliance breaches.

Key Findings & Timeline

DVSA probes began in May 2024 when an HGV was stopped with its tachograph undownloaded for 155 days and driven 580 km without a driver’s card. Subsequent checks revealed unlicensed, untaxed vehicles operating without MOTs and serious maintenance defects—including loose wheel nuts and a disintegrated tyre—posing “a serious danger to road safety”.

Repeated non-engagement: Taranu failed to supply drivers’ hours and maintenance records, missed arranged inspections, and falsely claimed his vehicles were off the road while ANPR data proved otherwise. In a public inquiry held on 29 April 2025 in Cambridge, the inquiry proceeded in Taranu’s absence after the operator neglected to attend or submit evidence. A Romanian police website later revealed a warrant for Taranu’s arrest on drink-driving and licence-offence convictions in Romania.

Regulatory Action

Deputy Traffic Commissioner Nicolas Denton concluded that Transglobal Solutions lacked both a stable UK establishment and the requisite financial standing, and that Taranu had demonstrably lost the repute required of a transport manager. Denton revoked the operator’s licence with immediate effect and imposed indefinite disqualifications on both the company and Taranu from holding any operator licence, as well as barring Taranu from acting as a transport manager or director of any transport-licensing company.

“This is one of the worst operators I have ever come across”, Denton said. “Mr Taranu has shown an utter indifference to the law and to road safety. There should be no room in the industry for such reckless behaviour.”

DVSA inspectors have been instructed to impound any Transglobal-operated HGVs found on the road post-revocation. This landmark decision underscores the regulator’s zero-tolerance stance on operator non-compliance and dangerous vehicle maintenance standards.

STORY

A Court of Appeal panel has today extended the sentence of Jordan Crewe (27), from Caerphilly, after Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC MP referred his case under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme. Crewe was originally sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on 18 February 2025 to two years’ custody for a series of offences against his former partner, including harassment, strangulation, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and controlling or coercive behaviour. He was also made subject to a 12-year restraining order.

In March 2022, while on licence from that first sentence, Crewe forced his way into his ex-partner’s home, attacked her and slashed her tyres. Even after being recalled to prison, he continued to send abusive letters, texts and phone calls, and unwarranted location-tracking messages. He later escalated his campaign by sharing videos simulating suicide, groping and biting his victim in public, and threatening her family on New Year’s Eve, culminating in a physical assault in her car.

Delivering judgment, the Court of Appeal agreed with the Solicitor General’s intervention, noting the “systematic campaign of violence and coercive control” and the profound psychological harm inflicted. Crewe’s custodial term was raised by ten months, to two years and ten months’ imprisonment. Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC MP said:

“Jordan Crewe’s tirade of abuse against his ex-partner was appalling. He carried out a systematic campaign of violence and coercive control. Thankfully the Court has recognised the severity of Crewe’s actions and increased his sentence.”

STORY

The UK and the European Union are today expected to sign what leaders described as the most significant overhaul of their relationship since Brexit, securing agreements on defence, trade and fisheries at a summit in London. Under the deal, the UK will grant EU fishing vessels access to British waters for 12 years, up from a previously proposed five-year term, in a concession aimed at removing cumbersome border checks that have hampered UK food exporters since 2020. In return, the EU agreed to an open-ended veterinary accord that will ease sanitary inspections on UK-bound agricultural products, helping safeguard food and drink trade.

A cornerstone of the reset is a new defence and security pact that opens the door for British firms to participate in a €150 billion European rearmament fund, reflecting London’s bid to bolster collective European security amid rising geopolitical tensions. The agreement also lays the groundwork for a limited youth mobility scheme and faster e-gate access for UK travellers at EU airports, though details of each programme will be negotiated in the coming months. Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed the package as a “common-sense, practical solution” that will cut red tape and deliver economic and security benefits for British citizens, even as some critics warn the concessions amount to an erosion of sovereignty. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the reset demonstrated Brussels’ willingness to pragmatically cooperate with a close neighbour “while respecting each other’s autonomy.”

STORY

Walkers can today set foot on a brand-new 47-mile (75 km) stretch of the King Charles III England Coast Path, linking the traditional seaside resort of Mablethorpe all the way to the iconic Humber Bridge for the first time. This latest section takes ramblers through a rich tapestry of landscapes: from the golden sands and donkey-ride attractions of Mablethorpe, across expansive dune systems and nationally protected nature reserves, before threading past the industrial heritage of the Humber estuary. With this opening, almost 160 miles of continuous coastal walking are now available between Sutton Bridge and Easington, leaving only two short inland diversions at Gibraltar Point bridge and Immingham.

Victoria Manton, Deputy Director for Natural England in the East Midlands, said:

“This new stretch of the King Charles III England Coast Path will give people from all over the country access to our beautiful local coastline, connecting them with nature and providing health and wellbeing benefits. The trail will also support the local economy—bringing walkers and visitors to the towns and villages for day trips, refreshments and places to stay.”

Chris Miller, Head of Environment at Lincolnshire County Council, added:

“With these latest additions to the King Charles III England Coast Path coming to fruition we can now provide one of the most spectacular walks anywhere in the country. This is the outcome of several agencies working together to give legal access to a unique part of the country for people to enjoy.”

Along the route, visitors can spot around 2,000 grey seal pups each autumn at Donna Nook bombing range, then continue north to the resort of Cleethorpes and the fishing port of Grimsby, before eventually arriving at the engineering marvel of the Humber Bridge. When the final 41-mile link between Easington and Bridlington North Sands opens later this year, more than 450 miles of continuous cliff-top and sea-edge paths will span from Sutton Bridge all the way to the Scottish border—making the King Charles III England Coast Path the longest continuous coastal walking route in the UK.

STORY

The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has formally accepted the Trade Remedies Authority’s (TRA) recommendation to impose definitive anti-dumping and countervailing duties on imports of Chinese excavators, in a bid to shield UK manufacturers from unfairly low-priced competition. Under the measures, anti-dumping duties will range between 18.81% for a sampled exporter and 40.08% for the residual rate, while countervailing duties to offset state subsidies will span from 0% up to 2.98%. The TRA estimates these tariffs could bolster domestic excavator producers by as much as £26 million annually.

The duties target imports of excavators weighing between 11 and 80 tonnes—machines for which the TRA found there is an established UK industry—while exempting larger models, as no home-grown production exists for excavators over 80 tonnes. The investigation, launched in November 2023 following an application by Staffordshire-based manufacturer JCB, concluded that Chinese exporters were leveraging artificially low production costs to undercut UK rivals on price.

In February, Caterpillar (Xuzhou) Ltd. sought judicial review of the TRA’s provisional measures, challenging both the authority’s and the Department of Business and Trade’s decisions. On 9 May, the High Court dismissed the claims as “unarguable,” confirming the TRA acted lawfully, rationally and with procedural fairness—paving the way for the duties to come into effect without further delay. The TRA’s intervention sets a precedent for robust defence of UK heavy-machinery sectors against injurious dumping and unfair subsidy practices, and signals the government’s readiness to deploy trade remedies where domestic industries face significant risk.

STORY

On the first ever official visit by a British Prime Minister to Albania, Keir Starmer today announced a major expansion of the Joint Migration Task Force aimed at dismantling organised people-smuggling networks across the Western Balkans. The task force which is now to include Kosovo, North Macedonia and progressing talks with Montenegro will pool UK intelligence with local law enforcement and deploy UK-funded drones to intercept migrants upstream before they attempt the perilous Channel crossing.

Starmer toured the Port of Durrës to witness “upstream” operations credited with a 95 percent drop in small-boat arrivals from Albania over the past three years, and a doubling of returns—from 2,035 Albanian nationals in 2022 to 5,294 in 2024. He stressed that the government’s new Immigration White Paper underpins this “intercept and deter” strategy, and pledged to reinforce border checks with additional forgery-detection machines donated to the Albanian State Police.

The Prime Minister also revealed a fresh £1 million UK investment to upgrade Albania’s forensics, biometrics and digital capabilities, including a joint DNA-swabbing programme. Since its rollout, the initiative has generated 1,000 hits on UK databases and led to the arrest of 55 serious offenders—ranging from murderers to rapists—thanks to enhanced cross-border cooperation. Beyond migration, Starmer and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama will build on a broader strategic partnership encompassing defence, security and economic growth. Tomorrow, Starmer convenes a roundtable at the European Political Community summit, aiming to harness regional collaboration against shared challenges such as foreign interference and organised crime.

STORY

The Home Office today announced the creation of the Organised Immigration Crime Domestic Taskforce, aimed at overhauling the police response to UK-based people-smuggling networks facilitating Channel crossings.

The unit will be led by Deputy Chief Constable Wendy Gunney, National Lead for Serious Organised Crime at the National Police Chiefs’ Council, supported by a full-time assistant chief constable. Together, they will report regularly to Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to ensure swift progress against organised immigration crime.

This initiative responds directly to ten key recommendations from a January–July 2024 inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, which concluded that while police forces had made headway, a more unified approach was essential to disrupt smuggling gangs operating on UK soil.

Under the new framework, every regional police force will work in concert with the National Crime Agency, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force. Enhanced information-sharing protocols and coordinated tasking are designed to harness all available tools—from intelligence gathering to targeted enforcement—to root out and dismantle organised immigration criminals.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:

“This specialist taskforce marks a significant step in our Plan for Change to secure Britain’s borders. By uniting expertise under Deputy Chief Constable Gunney’s leadership, we’re ensuring organised immigration crime sits at the very top of policing priorities and giving our officers the tools they need to protect lives and uphold the law.”

Deputy Chief Constable Gunney added that the taskforce will build on existing NPCC programmes tackling modern slavery and organised immigration crime, accelerating intelligence flows and maximising multi-agency disruption. Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt praised Wendy Gunney’s “wealth of experience” as vital to the government’s “whole-system approach” to border security.

STORY

An investigation by the Guardian newspaper has cast serious doubts on the integrity of sports hospitality provider Seat Unique after its use of a controversial “dynamic pricing” model saw fans charged exorbitant sums for FA Cup final packages only to witness dramatic price drops days later. The story reveals that Seat Unique, backed by high-profile athletes including England captain Harry Kane and former cricket captain Ben Stokes, sold two VIP hospitality tickets for over £1,500 each, before slashing the same package to £399 less than a fortnight later. In email exchanges seen by The Guardian, a company employee admitted the pricing structure could be “confusing”, likening it to airline fare fluctuations.

Fans describe the practice as indistinguishable from ticket-touting. One purchaser, identified only as Gabrielle, told The Guardian she felt “exploited” when she realised a package bought to cheer up her football-mad nephew had plunged in price—yet Seat Unique declined her request for a partial refund or upgrade and ceased responding to her follow-ups. Consumer group Which? warned that obscuring dynamic pricing is “unacceptable” especially for flagship events such as the FA Cup Final, calling on Seat Unique to be “upfront about its pricing practices so fans can make informed decisions”. Despite the flak, Seat Unique maintains it is an “official platform” offering “fair, transparent and accessible” bookings, insisting that “prices are always clearly advertised with no hidden booking fees” and pledging to “rectify” any unfulfilled promises. However, sceptics argue that undisclosed price volatility undermines consumer trust and demands for regulatory scrutiny are mounting.

STORY

In a statement to the UN Security Council today, Ambassador James Kariuki, the UK Deputy Permanent Representative, underlined Britain’s determination to restore freedom of navigation and maritime security in the Red Sea, describing it as “essential in upholding stability in the region.” He welcomed recent de-escalation efforts around Yemen and urged that they serve as a pathway to sustainable peace, while warning that “the risk of escalation remains” given continued threats and worrying military posturing on the frontlines.

Highlighting practical support, Ambassador Kariuki announced that the UK continues to back the Yemen Coast Guard in safeguarding maritime borders and confirmed plans to launch the Yemen Maritime Security Partnership in June, alongside the Yemeni government and international partners. Turning to the humanitarian dimension, he drew attention to the disproportionate impact of the conflict on women, noting that 4.8 million internally displaced people are women, and 6.2 million women and girls remain at risk of gender-based violence—statistics drawn from the UN’s Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan.

He also highlighted that UK funding in 2024 provided lifesaving services to nearly 1.5 million women and children and enabled 15,000 to access protection and gender-based violence response services, reaffirming the UK’s commitment to championing women’s roles in peacebuilding. Ambassador Kariuki condemned the ongoing detention of aid workers by the Houthis, calling for their “immediate and unconditional release” and warned that such actions further constrict humanitarian access at a time when nearly 20 million Yemenis are in dire need of assistance. Finally, he expressed gratitude to Dr Ahmad bin Mubarak, the outgoing Yemeni Prime Minister, and welcomed the new Prime Minister, Salem Bin Breik, pledging continued UK support for Yemen’s ambitious reform programme under the new administration.