UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Press Release

  • PRESS RELEASE : UK cracks down on illicit ‘shadow fleet’ transporting Russian oil globally [September 2024]

    PRESS RELEASE : UK cracks down on illicit ‘shadow fleet’ transporting Russian oil globally [September 2024]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 September 2024.

    The UK has sanctioned 10 vessels in Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’, a group of ships that use illicit practices to avoid sanctions on Russian oil.

    • UK sanctions 10 vessels in Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’, a group of ships that use illicit practices to avoid sanctions on Russian oil
    • new sanctions further crack down on Russian oil revenues, Putin’s most critical source of funding for his illegal war in Ukraine
    • today marks the third time the UK has used its bespoke powers to sanction individual vessels, targeting those who undermine sanctions and facilitate Russia’s oil trade

    The UK has today (11 September) sanctioned 10 vessels operating as part of Putin’s ‘shadow fleet’, in the latest crack down on critical revenue sources funding Putin’s war machine.

    Today’s action will directly target vessels in Putin’s ‘shadow fleet’, used by Russia as a desperate attempt to undermine UK and G7 sanctions and continue unfettered trade in Russian oil.

    Russia’s oil exports are Putin’s most critical revenue source for funding his illegal war in Ukraine, accounting for roughly a quarter of the Russian budget in 2023. Today we are taking decisive action to limit that revenue.

    The ships targeted are all ‘high-volume offenders’ – vessels operating around the clock to transport as much Russian oil as possible. These ships will now be barred from entering UK ports and will be refused access to the UK Ship Register.

    Just 3 of the vessels targeted today; NICOLAY ZUYEV (IMO 9610781), NS ASIA (IMO 9413561) and ZALIV ANIVA (IMO 9418494), have collectively carried more than $5 billion worth of Russian oil since Russia’s full-scale illegal invasion begun.

    Foreign Secretary David Lammy said:

    Putin’s war machine is funded by a dark and illicit economic system that this government is committed to destabilising.

    Today’s sanctions further undermine Russia’s ability to trade in oil via its shadow fleet. Alongside our partners, we will continue to send a stark message to Russia that the international community stands with Ukraine and we will not tolerate this illicit fleet.

    Russia has been forced to spend over $8 billion amassing this shadow fleet. But with sanctioned tankers loitering and unable to load oil, we are determined to make Putin’s investment an expensive misstep for the Kremlin. Our action will help to counter Russian attempts to undermine and dodge economic sanctions.

    Previous UK action against individual shadow ships have left vessels materially disrupted, with the vast majority of them idling outside ports, and unable to carry on their trade in Russian oil.

    Today’s announcement brings the total number of ‘shadow fleet’ ships specified to 25 and follows the UK’s ‘call to action’ in July which aims to bring a halt to this dangerous trade.

    The vessels sanctioned today are:

    • NIKOLAY ZUYEV (IMO 9610781)
    • NS CLIPPER (IMO 9341081)
    • NS CORONA (IMO 9341079)
    • ZALIV ANIVA (IMO 9418494)
    • OLYMPIYSKY PROSPECT (IMO 9511387)
    • LEONID LOZA (IMO 9412347)
    • NS ASIA (IMO 9413561)
    • SCF BALTICA (IMO 9305568)
    • VLADIMIR TIKHONOV (IMO 9311622)
    • SCF VANKOR (IMO 9316127)

    Background

    • so far, sanctions have deprived Russia of over $400 billion worth of assets and revenues since February 2022. That’s equivalent to 4 more years of funding for the invasion. The UK has sanctioned over 2,000 individuals and entities under our Russia sanctions regime
    • ships specified under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 are prohibited from entering a port in the UK, may be given a movement or a port entry direction, can be detained, and will be refused permission to register on the UK Ship Register or have its existing registration terminated. In addition, the Oil Price Cap exception is not applicable to services in relation to specified ships, or to the supply or delivery of Russian oil or oil products in specified ships
    • The Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation has published guidance on the Russian Oil Services ban. Limited exceptions apply and licences may be granted for specified ships, as set out in Part 7 of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
  • PRESS RELEASE : Lynne Baird’s story – Knife Crime [September 2024]

    PRESS RELEASE : Lynne Baird’s story – Knife Crime [September 2024]

    The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 11 September 2024.

    Dr Lynne Baird MBE set up the Daniel Baird Foundation after her son was killed in 2017. On Monday 9 September, she attended the first annual Knife Crime Summit at Downing Street.

    Daniel had got a new job on the day he died.

    He was a very happy go lucky lad and that day he was particularly full of joy – he’d been after that role for a long time and had finally passed the interview stage.

    “I’ll be able to get married now, Mum”, he said. “I’ll be able to get a mortgage and do everything I planned.”

    He said he wouldn’t be out for long when he went out that night to celebrate, but I never saw him again.

    I found out on a Saturday morning. I hadn’t been able to sleep for some reason. I remember the sun was very bright, it was a beautiful sunrise – but I had an uneasy feeling. I heard a car door outside, and I looked out the window. There was a police car and a female officer walking towards the door. I had the most awful feeling. She didn’t need to say anything.

    “Are you Dan Baird’s mum,” she asked.

    I said yes and she told me I needed to get to the hospital quickly, and to phone any other family members who should be there. That was it, she didn’t give me any more information.

    By the time we got to the hospital it was too late.

    The days following were awful. I don’t remember very much – I think I was in shock – but it was like someone had stuffed my head full of cotton wool, I couldn’t even hear properly.

    At this point I had already started asking questions. What more could have been done to save Daniel after he had been stabbed? I think asking questions was the only thing that kept me sane.

    I asked Dan’s brother, Tom, who is a doctor at the hospital Dan was taken to that night, what more could have been done for him.

    He told me that if someone who knew what to do in case of a severe bleed had been there, or there had been some special equipment there he could have saved Dan, there might have been a different outcome.

    Daniel died in the early hours of July 8th, 2017. We didn’t get his body back until the 13th of September 2017, and by November of that year we had the first bleed control kit in this country.

    I was relentless. I spoke to everybody I possibly could. At first, it felt like nobody wanted to give me answers. It was very difficult, but you must do these things right.

    In the end, I managed to get an interview with the Chief Executive of West Midlands Ambulance at the time, who agreed that there should be an advanced first aid kit to control severe bleeds available for members of the public.

    It was decided they would develop a bleed control kit now available in various locations worldwide. They contain very simple components which can be used to stop severe bleeding, and they save lives.

    The kits are designed so that in the event of an emergency, you don’t need any training to know what to do. That has always been the foundation of our campaign, and it has grown from there. We’ve worked with the police and fire service and have done lots of work with our local MP, Jess Phillips.

    The West Midlands has developed a very advanced model, where a person can call the emergency services, say there has been a severe bleed, be directed to their nearest kit and given instructions on how to use it.

    Severe bleeds can happen all the time – in workplaces, car accidents and dog attacks – and if there had been one available when Daniel was stabbed, things might have been very different for him and our family.

    It’s always positive to get certain people round the table, as we did today, and I agree with many of the points made – primarily that prevention needs to start very early on in primary school, because by the time children reach secondary school it’s often difficult to reach them.

    I believe that legislation announced by the Prime Minister is a step in the right direction – though we must always keep doing more.

  • PRESS RELEASE : UK, US and Australia sign supply chain resilience pact [September 2024]

    PRESS RELEASE : UK, US and Australia sign supply chain resilience pact [September 2024]

    The press release issued by the Department for Business and Trade on 11 September 2024.

    The United Kingdom, United States and Australia sign Memorandum of Understanding on Supply Chain Resilience.

    On Monday 9 September 2024, the United Kingdom, United States and Australia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishing a new trilateral collaboration that will strengthen strategic cooperation and address risks to critical supply chains.

    The MoU includes the establishment of the Australia-United Kingdom-United States Supply Chain Resilience Cooperation Group to cooperate on data sharing and joint action to build resilience in priority supply chains, enhancing our mutual ability to identify and address risks, threats and disruption to our critical supply chains.

    The Group will develop an early warning pilot focused on the telecommunications supply chain, essential for our global, digitised economies. By identifying and monitoring disruption risks to the telecommunications supply chain, this pilot will enhance all three countries’ knowledge of the vulnerabilities, criticality and residual risks. It will develop procedures for sharing this information and responding cooperatively to disruptions.

    Strengthening critical supply chains is vital for ensuring the stability and resilience needed to meet the UK’s growth mission. This agreement signifies a deepening of the important and historic relationship between the UK, US, and Australia and reinforces our mutual commitment to tackling supply chains challenges.

  • PRESS RELEASE : How we’re protecting renters [September 2024]

    PRESS RELEASE : How we’re protecting renters [September 2024]

    The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 11 September 2024.

    We’re giving greater rights and protections to people renting their homes.

    New laws will ban unfair no-fault evictions and help protect tenants from discriminatory treatment and poor living conditions.

    Our Renters’ Rights Bill will put an end to bad practices, such as landlords and letting agents forcing bidding wars to drive up rents, and unreasonable mid-tenancy rent increases often used to force out tenants.

    This Bill will overhaul the private rented sector in England, with the government determined to address the insecurity and injustice that far too many renters experience, by:

    Ending no fault evictions

    More than 11 million people in England live day in, day out with the knowledge that they could be uprooted from their home with little notice and no justification.

    Our new Bill will end Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions for new and existing tenancies, giving all private renters security and assurance.

    The Bill will give renters much greater stability – so they can build lives in their communities, and reduce the risk of homelessness.

    What does the Bill do?

    The Bill will:

    • Abolish unfair no fault evictions
    • Ban rental bidding wars
    • Ban in-tenancy rent increases written in to contracts
    • Create a new Private Rented Sector Database to help landlords and tenants
    • Abolish rental discrimination on tenants with children or those in receipt of benefits
    • Apply Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector
    • Give tenants the right to request a pet
    • Apply a Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector for the first time
    • Support quicker, cheaper resolution when there are disputes

    End bidding wars and mid-tenancy price increases

    We will empower tenants to challenge rent increases designed to force them out by the backdoor and introduce new laws to end the practice of rental bidding wars by landlords and letting agents.

    This Bill will crack down on those who exploit the housing crisis by forcing tenants to bid for their properties. Landlords and letting agents will be legally required to publish an asking rent for their property. They will also be banned from asking for, encouraging, or accepting any bids above this price.

    It’ll also ban in-tenancy rent increases written into contracts to prevent landlords implementing too high rents mid-tenancy, often to push out the current tenants. Under these reforms, landlords will only be allowed to raise the rent once a year, and to the market rate.

    Greater rights and protection

    The Renters’ Rights Bill will make it illegal for landlords to discriminate against tenants in receipt of benefits, or with children when choosing to let their property – so no family is discriminated against and denied a home when they need it.

    It’ll also apply ‘Awaab’s Law’ to the sector, setting clear legal expectations about the timeframes within which landlords must make sure homes containing serious hazards are safe.

    The new Bill will also give tenants the right to request a pet, which landlords must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse.

    It will also apply a Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector. This will make sure that homes are safe, secure and hazard free.

  • PRESS RELEASE : The warring parties must ensure Sudanese civilians are protected: UK explanation of vote at the UN Security Council [September 2024]

    PRESS RELEASE : The warring parties must ensure Sudanese civilians are protected: UK explanation of vote at the UN Security Council [September 2024]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 September 2024.

    UK explanation of vote delivered by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, following the UN Security Council vote to renew the 1591 sanctions regime on Sudan.

    President,

    We welcome the adoption of this resolution renewing the 1591 sanctions regime, and we thank the U.S. for leading us in these negotiations.

    Let me make two points.

    First, the Sudanese people have suffered from this man-made conflict for over eighteen months. Last week the UN Fact-Finding Mission reported systematic human rights abuses are being carried out by both the RSF and SAF on Sudanese civilians on a daily basis, including sexual and gender-based violence, torture, mass civilian casualties and displacement, and the destruction of critical civilian infrastructure.

    With both sides continuing to believe that the solution to this conflict will be on the battleground, we urgently call on States to refrain from enhancing either side’s fighting capability. Instead, those who have influence with the parties must use it to bring them to the negotiating table.

    We also recall the importance of today’s renewal of the arms embargo on Darfur.

    Second, President, we welcome today’s reaffirmation of the importance of the warring parties ensuring the protection of civilians. International humanitarian law is the cornerstone of our efforts to protect civilians during armed conflicts, and its principles must be rigorously upheld and enforced in Sudan.

    The UK will continue to press all parties on this matter.

  • PRESS RELEASE : UK Foreign Secretary and US Secretary of State in Kyiv in first ever joint visit, as David Lammy announces over £600 million worth of support for Ukraine [September 2024]

    PRESS RELEASE : UK Foreign Secretary and US Secretary of State in Kyiv in first ever joint visit, as David Lammy announces over £600 million worth of support for Ukraine [September 2024]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 September 2024.

    Foreign Secretary David Lammy is visiting Kyiv today, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, to demonstrate Western support for Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression.

    • Foreign Secretary David Lammy is visiting Kyiv today [11 September], with US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, to demonstrate Western support for Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression
    • together, they are 2 of the first to meet with new ministers
    • the UK announces at least £242 million of funding to support Ukraine in the face of relentless Russian attacks, and the deployment of $484 million of fiscal support and military equipment deliveries

    Foreign Secretary David Lammy and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will reiterate united UK and US support for Ukraine in a joint visit to Kyiv today. This is the first ever joint visit by a UK Foreign Secretary and a US Secretary of State, highlighting the UK and US’s unshakeable resolve to support Ukraine.

    The pair were seeing first-hand the enduring resilience of Ukraine’s defence of its borders and independence and were due to meet with President Zelenskyy, and Foreign Minister Sybiha, becoming the first foreign ministers to meet with their new counterpart.

    In his first visit as Foreign Secretary, Mr Lammy will announce at least £600 million worth of support to Ukraine against Putin’s illegal invasion. The Prime Minister Keir Starmer committed to £3 billion a year of military support for Ukraine for as long as needed earlier this year.

    This confirms the £242 million announced for 2024 to 2025 for immediate humanitarian, energy and stabilisation needs as well as support to reforms, recovery and reconstruction. As Russian missile and drone attacks continue to kill civilians and destroy vital infrastructure, the commitment will ensure support to the most vulnerable in Ukraine, as well as support for longer-term economic, reconstruction and energy needs.

    The Foreign Secretary also announced the intention to deploy $484 million worth of loan guarantees for World Bank lending before the end of the year, to bolster Ukraine’s economic stability. It will support vital public services, including keeping schools and hospitals open, paying civil servants, and funding pensions. The loan guarantee, delivered by the World Bank, is the second deployment of the $3 billion package the UK committed at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London last year.

    Foreign Secretary David Lammy said:

    The UK’s support to Ukraine is unwavering. Our commitment of over £600 million worth of support is the latest installment in our enduring support to Ukraine. This will provide vital support to Ukrainians as they continue to endure relentless Russian attacks.

    It is a privilege to be one of the first to meet my new counterparts. The bravery and resilience of the Ukrainian people is inspiring. Alongside the United States, we are committed to giving Ukraine what it needs to resist Russia’s illegal invasion. Their fight for freedom, liberty and democracy is also a fight for British security, European security, and global security. With the US, we stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes.

    This year’s bilateral funding includes £100 million of humanitarian funding which will support the most vulnerable Ukrainians, including those living in communities at the frontline of relentless Russian attacks and those displaced to neighbouring countries and communities. This includes helps to evacuate, emergency responses to Russian missile attacks across Ukraine, and life-saving help for displaced persons.

    A further £20 million will double this year’s support to essential repairs and protection to the power network, restore access to vital power supplies and strengthen Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Ongoing UK support has funded rooftop solar panels to power hospitals, back-up generators to keep the lights on, and power generation equipment in Kharkiv and Odesa. As Ukrainians continue to live through black-outs, and vital services are left without power, UK support to bolster Ukraine’s energy system will Ukraine keep the lights on.

    £40 million will fund stabilisation and early recovery, to ensure Ukraine not only wins the war, but can make a head-start on winning the peace. This funding includes vital assistance to Ukraine to resist Russian aggression, support to stabilise newly liberated territories, and funding to support work to hold those responsible to account for war crimes committed in Ukraine.

    Whilst in Kyiv the Foreign Secretary was due to attend the International Crimea Platform’s annual summit to demonstrate international unity in condemning Putin’s illegal annexation of Crimea 10 years ago. The UK and international partners are united in efforts to restore Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

    The Foreign Secretary will also announce the first investment into Ukraine by British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institute under the G7 initiated Ukraine Investment Platform. This £30 million of support to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)’s Trade Facilitation Programme will support trade flows of critical goods, including food, in Ukraine. This is the first allocation of funding of the £250 million of capital to BII that the UK announced at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London last year.

    The Defence Secretary has also today confirmed, as part of the Government’s commitment to ramp up and speed up deliveries of military support for Ukraine, that support announced in April – including air defence missiles, equipment for F16 fighter jets, AS90 self-propelled guns and spare barrels, military boats, and maritime guns – have now been delivered.

    On top of this, the Defence Secretary has today also announced that hundreds of additional air defence missiles, tens of thousands of additional artillery ammunition rounds, and more armoured vehicles will be delivered to Ukraine by the end of the year.

    Defence Secretary John Healey MP said:

    This government’s support for Ukraine is ironclad. On our second day in office I promised President Zelenskyy we would speed up UK deliveries of military aid – and we are delivering on that commitment.

    Russia’s indiscriminate attacks on Ukraine’s people and infrastructure, often far behind the front line, highlights the urgent need to continue stepping up our support to Ukraine. So I am pleased to confirm additional aid will reach Ukraine by the end of this year.

    Meeting with my Ukrainian counterpart in London last week and with 50 nations at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Germany, I made clear that UK support will continue for as long as it takes. We stand united in the face of Putin’s illegal war. The defence of the UK and Europe starts in Ukraine.

    John Healey made the commitment to speed up deliveries on his second day as Defence Secretary when he visited Odesa and spent the afternoon with President Zelenskyy.

    Background

    • since February 2022, the UK has provided £695 million on bilateral non-military support, alongside $2.5 billion in fiscal support (loan guarantees), which will rise to $5 billion by 2027
  • PRESS RELEASE : Government kick-starts plan to restore neighbourhood policing [September 2024]

    PRESS RELEASE : Government kick-starts plan to restore neighbourhood policing [September 2024]

    The press release issued by the Home Office on 10 September 2024.

    Specialist neighbourhood policing training will be rolled out across the country as the government kicks off its pledge to restore neighbourhood policing.

    With crimes that blight communities on the rise, like shoplifting, snatch theft and antisocial behaviour, the government has pledged to put thousands more neighbourhood police officers, community support officers and special constables are out patrolling streets and town centres.

    As a first step towards this goal, the Policing Minister will today announce nationwide rollout of a new training programme for neighbourhood policing officers developed by the College of Policing, to improve standards and consistency across forces.

    The Neighbourhood Policing Pathway, which is currently being trialled and based on evidence of what works, will help officers build on the core skills they need to tackle the issues communities face every day. This will include helping officers build relationships across local communities and give them the skills and confidence they need to solve issues that affect local residents.

    In a speech delivered at the Police Superintendents’ Conference today, Dame Diana Johnson, the Crime and Policing Minister said:

    Too many town centres and high streets across the country have been gripped by an epidemic of anti-social behaviour, theft and shoplifting which is corroding our communities and cannot be allowed to continue.

    There are thousands of incredible police officers and support staff doing an admirable job. But we have to face the reality that there are still too many victims of anti-social behaviour who feel that when they call the police, no one listens and no one comes.

    Our neighbourhoods and police forces have suffered enough after a decade of decline, and this government will help restore neighbourhood policing, with skilled, resilient and dedicated local cops.

    Every community deserves local officers who understand what is needed to keep them safe, and with this new training and our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, we will deliver the change our towns and villages are desperate for.

    The College of Policing’s Neighbourhood Policing Programme Career Pathway focuses on problem solving the issues that affect local residents, like drug dealing or drug use in public places, nuisance behaviour on our streets which causes harassment and street drinking. It will also cover community engagement, supporting officers to build relationships which help to gather intelligence, cut crime and develop plans to address local issues. There is also specific training for those who lead neighbourhood teams.

    The most recent crime figures showed that 35% of people have experienced or witnessed anti-social behaviour in their local community in the last year alongside a 30% annual rise in shoplifting, which remains at a record high.

    Chief Constable at the College of Policing, Sir Andy Marsh, said:

    Dedicated training for neighbourhood officers by the College of Policing will help transform the service policing provides to local communities and help deliver trusted and effective policing that cuts crime and keeps people safe. This programme is based on years of evidence of what works and I’m confident it will make a real difference.

    This is a welcome investment by the government and the College of Policing, that will support dedicated and hardworking officers and staff to protect their communities, cut crime and rebuild trust and confidence.

    Good neighbourhood policing, which, at its core is about engaging with local people on local issues, is a vital part of any police force, if they are to be effective and help people feel safe.

    First launched in June, the training has been piloted in 11 forces, including Northumbria, North Wales, Derbyshire and the Metropolitan Police. When fully rolled out, the training programme will be available to police forces across the country to enrol any neighbourhood officer or PCSO on.

    The pilots are expected to finish at the end of March 2025, after which the training programme will be refined before being expanded across the country.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Steve Reed – Investors vital for water infrastructure, growth and jobs [September 2024]

    PRESS RELEASE : Steve Reed – Investors vital for water infrastructure, growth and jobs [September 2024]

    The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 10 September 2024.

    Environment Secretary and Financial Secretary to the Treasury met with water industry investors today.

    The Government has today (10 September 2024) taken further steps to attract billions in private-sector investment into the water sector to rebuild broken water infrastructure and clean up Britain’s rivers, lakes and seas.

    A roundtable with water investors this afternoon was hosted by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs Steve Reed and Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Lord Livermore in the City of London.

    Ministers discussed the importance of private sector investment into water companies and how they can work together to clean up our rivers, boost economic growth around the country by creating tens of thousands of jobs, and increase the resilience of our water supply that underpins every single home and business in the UK.

    This meeting follows the publication of the landmark Water (Special Measures) Bill last week that will deliver a strong, level regulatory playing field. This is part of the government’s work to create long-term stability and attract billions of private-sector investment into the sector.

    The discussion marks a step-change as the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs repositions itself as a key economic growth department.

    Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Steve Reed said:

    With the new Government, the water sector will become one of growth and opportunity.

    Working with investors, we will attract billions in private-sector investment that is desperately needed to upgrade our broken water infrastructure and clean up Britain’s rivers, lakes and seas.

    Growth Minister Lord Spencer Livermore said:

    Private investment is at the core of how we grow our economy, rebuild Britain and make every part of the country better off.

    The water industry has a vital role to play which is why creating a stable and investable water sector is long overdue.

    The Global Infrastructure Investor Association represents more than 25 investors in the UK water industry. Chief executive Jon Phillips said:

    The roundtable was an important opportunity for the government to hear directly from private investors in the UK water industry. By working together we can attract the investment that is necessary.

    We fully support the government’s ambition to put the sector on a stronger footing.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Pooja Kanda’s story – Knife Crime Summit [September 2024]

    PRESS RELEASE : Pooja Kanda’s story – Knife Crime Summit [September 2024]

    The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 10 September 2024.

    Pooja’s son Ronan was fatally stabbed in 2022. On Monday 9 September, Pooja attended the first annual Knife Crime Summit at Downing Street.

    Within seconds, my whole life was shattered.

    I miss talking to him. I miss hugging him, hearing his giggles, his laugh, his loud noise, his cheeky look in his eyes.

    It’s horrifying to know that a beautiful child of yours – a good person, a good human being – has been taken by something so cruel and for no reason. Because they mistook him for somebody else.

    On the evening of 29th June 2022, Ronan went to play snooker with his friend. It was the first time he’d gone out after finishing his GCSEs. It was a treat.

    I was out of the house at a meditation class. My neighbour, who was at the class with me, got a call. I got up, hearing the commotion.

    “What’s happened?” I asked.

    “There’s been a stabbing on our street, we need to get home,” she replied.

    I didn’t know then that it was my own child. You don’t think it can happen to you.

    I remember ringing Ronan, but he wasn’t picking up the phone. That’s not like Ronan – Ronan knows, he knows me, he knows to answer. But he didn’t.

    My husband was at home, so I rang him and asked him to go outside to find out what was happening. He told me that Ronan had popped out for five minutes to go to his friend’s house. We both agreed to phone Ronan to tell him to get home as soon as possible.

    My husband rang back crying.

    “It’s Ronan, Pooja. They’re saying it’s an Asian-Indian boy.”

    The perpetrators had stabbed him in his abdomen, 20 centimetres deep with a 20 inch Ninja sword. When he turned around, they stabbed him again with a Ninja sword that went through his heart. The blood was pouring out of his body.

    He tried running home, but he collapsed two doors away from his house.

    On my way from class, I remember asking my friend to drive me quicker and I jumped out of the moving car. Running towards the police taped area and begging the police officers to let me through, to let me hold my child.

    Even though the paramedics tried to operate to save him, my Ronan died on the very street he grew up. He didn’t stand a chance.

    An innocent child walking home. Murdered, just like that.

    In the court case, we found out how the online sale of these threatening bladed articles played a massive role in my son’s murder. Since then, we have been and will continue fighting for a ban on machetes, zombie knives, Ninja swords and other bladed weapons. There is no need for these deadly knives to be in our society. In the wrong hands they are lethal weapons.

    For each murder that happens, there have been clear failures in our system. Ronan’s murder happened because a Ninja sword was bought using a parent’s credit card with no ID checks. We also hear about the failures within the education system, within the policing system, within online sales and more. Now all these failures are being addressed so we can start correcting them.

    We’re going down the right path.

    If it takes a bit of time, so be it. But we need to understand that this needs to be dealt with from now on.

    I would like to thank Sir Keir Starmer, the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Idris Elba and my MP Pat McFadden. These are the people who are passionate about this issue and do want to make a difference. So, thank you to them.

    I feel very grateful to be here, so I can share my child’s story and can fight for him. I feel like there are other people who don’t get heard.

    What happened to Ronan should never have happened. My Ronan was a good, funny, humble, charismatic, intelligent and kind boy. He was every mother’s dream son.

    From his school, a mother approached me to tell me how Ronan stopped their child getting bullied – now that child remembers my child and was heartbroken to learn what had happened.

    He was a beautiful person and he was too good for this world. I apologise to him every morning for bringing him into this cruel world and not being able to protect him. So, this is my way of doing something for him.

    Ronan’s Law will be a strong move and bring, I hope, much-needed change. Banning these weapons should be the basic start to combatting knife crime.

    In my son’s memory, I have a tattoo on my arm of his heartbeat – the words underneath say: ‘Mom is proud of you, Ronan’ and his name is in his own writing. His mantra was to make me proud.

    I’d give my life today for Ronan, if I could. I wish I gave my heart to him to save him. Every child deserves to grow up safely and I wish my son had this opportunity. I am the proud mother of Ronan Kanda.

    I’m just a mother fighting for what’s right.

  • PRESS RELEASE : UK’s key allies come together to fight public sector fraud [September 2024]

    PRESS RELEASE : UK’s key allies come together to fight public sector fraud [September 2024]

    The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 10 September 2024.

    Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States join UK Government for counter fraud summit in London.

    • Senior government officials from UK’s closest intelligence allies meet to coordinate fight against fraud
    • Meeting, chaired by Cabinet Office Minister Georgia Gould, forms centrepiece of five day summit in London
    • Discussions will focus on fighting fraud committed during the pandemic, with the government currently recruiting a Covid Counter Fraud Commissioner

    Tuesday 10th September

    Cabinet Office Minister Georgia Gould will today convene senior officials from the UK’s closest intelligence allies to coordinate the fight against Covid fraud.

    The meeting of Five Eyes – an intelligence alliance between the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States – will help to identify ways governments have been successfully detecting, recouping and prosecuting fraud committed during the pandemic.

    Lessons learnt during today’s meeting will contribute to the ongoing work of the Public Sector Fraud Authority as it seeks to further support departments to prevent, detect and recover fraud and error.

    The meeting forms the centrepiece of the fourth summit of the International Public Sector Fraud Forum held this week in London.

    The Forum was originally set up by the UK Government in 2018 to encourage cooperation between the Five Eyes to reduce public sector fraud within member countries and across borders.

    This is also the first time the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will attend the summit. The OECD’s Anti-Corruption and Integrity Division has collaborated with the Public Sector Fraud Authority to lead talks on the pivotal role of advanced analytics and artificial intelligence in fraud prevention.

    Today’s meeting comes as the UK Government redoubles efforts to tackle Covid fraud.

    The Chancellor of the Exchequer recently announced recruitment for a fixed term Covid Counter Fraud Commissioner to scrutinise contracts awarded during the pandemic and ensure that everything possible is done to recover money lost to fraud.

    Minister Gould, Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office, said:

    Criminal networks threaten governments around the world and don’t respect international borders, so it’s vital we work with our allies to keep public money safe.

    Through today’s meeting we will learn from our closest intelligence partners to help us redouble our efforts to track and recover public money lost to fraud during the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Mark Cheeseman, Chief Executive of the Public Sector Fraud Authority, said:

    In the modern world, the threat of fraud against public bodies is a known issue that requires collaboration.

    This week brings together leading experts from across partner countries to drive ourselves further in stopping those who attack the system dishonestly.