Tag: Press Release

PRESS RELEASE : UK opens electronic travel authorisation scheme [November 2023]

The press release issued by the Home Office on 15 November 2023.

The UK’s electronic travel authorisation (ETA) scheme has officially opened for Qatari nationals who, from today, need one to travel to the UK.

This landmark opening demonstrates the UK government’s delivery in transforming and digitising the UK border, enabling an increasingly seamless customer experience in the future for the millions of legitimate visitors who come to the UK.

Qataris have been able to apply for their ETA since 25 October 2023, with most doing so using the mobile app, which allows for a simple and fast application.

Last year, the UK welcomed almost 800,000 visitors from the Gulf, 45,000 of whom came from Qatar, with this set to increase over the next few years.

His Majesty’s Ambassador to State of Qatar, Jon Wilks CMG, said:

I am delighted to announce the official opening of the electronic travel authorisation scheme for Qatari nationals, who will be the first in the world to benefit from the scheme.

This initiative not only simplifies the travel process for Qataris visiting the UK but also reflects the strength of our bilateral relationship. We look forward to welcoming more visitors from Qatar, further building the human bridge between our two countries.

Nationals of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan will need an ETA if they’re visiting the UK from 22 February 2024, and can apply for their ETA from 1 February 2024.

ETAs are replacing Electronic Visa Waivers (EVW) which the majority of Gulf nationals currently apply for. An ETA is an improvement from the EVW, being a third of the price at £10 and allowing unlimited visits to the UK over two years, or until the holder’s passport expires – whichever is sooner. The move to the ETA scheme means that the visa requirement will be removed for short stays to the UK for nationals from the Gulf and Jordan.

When applying for an ETA, applicants need to provide biographic and biometric information, and answer questions on suitability and criminality. The application process ensures that those who pose a danger to the UK’s security, such as criminals, are not allowed to travel here. Once individuals have successfully applied, their ETA is digitally linked to their passport.

While the standard processing time for an application is 3 working days, the majority of applications so far have been decided within hours.

VisitBritain CEO, Patricia Yates, said:

It’s great to see the electronic travel authorisation scheme underway for Qatari visitors, making travel to the UK easier, cheaper and more flexible for them. We look forward to the scheme rolling out to more Gulf nationals from February 2024 which, combined with our strong airline connections, will further boost our competitive tourism offer and our welcome to visitors from the region.

VisitBritain’s priority has been to rebuild visitor value and we have been competing hard in the Gulf with our multi-million pound GREAT Britain marketing campaign and working with partners in market to drive bookings. We’re also working with the travel trade across the GCC so British destinations are sold internationally. We look forward to welcoming more visitors from the Gulf to experience Britain’s vibrant and exciting tourism offer into 2024 and beyond.

To ensure the scheme is implemented smoothly, the UK government is working closely with global airline, maritime and rail carriers, who are crucial to the successful delivery of the scheme.

In the future, the scheme will apply worldwide to those who do not currently need a visa to visit or transit through the UK or who do not hold a UK immigration status, including nationals from Europe and America. Other nationalities do not need to apply yet and timings for when the scheme opens for them will be confirmed in due course.

22/11/2023
PRESS RELEASE : UK Development Minister arrives in Egypt in push for more critical lifesaving aid for Gaza [November 2023]
The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 15 November 2023.

UK Development Minister Andrew Mitchell is in Cairo for talks with Egyptian counterparts and trusted partners, to get further aid into Gaza as quickly as possible.
- UK Development Minister Andrew Mitchell is in Cairo today (15 November) to hold talks with Egyptian counterparts and trusted partners
- he will push to get further lifesaving aid into Gaza as quickly as possible, through as many routes as possible
- the UK recently allocated £30 million in additional humanitarian aid to organisations doing lifesaving work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
UK Minister for Development and Africa Andrew Mitchell is in Cairo today for discussions on how to get significantly more aid into Gaza.

The Minister will discuss how to enact humanitarian pauses in the fighting as soon as possible so that aid, including fuel, can be delivered for hospitals and other needs and hostages can be released.

Minister Mitchell will also meet with the Egyptian Red Crescent Society (ERCS), the agency responsible for shipment of humanitarian goods across the Rafah border, as well as the United Nations Resident Coordinator (UNRC) in Egypt, Elena Panova, and OCHA.

UK Development Minister, Andrew Mitchell, said:

I thank Egypt for their sustained diplomatic efforts to get more lifesaving aid into Gaza as quickly as possible.

The UK has more than doubled our aid commitment to the Palestinian people this year and we call on all parties to allow the humanitarian pauses necessary to ensure this aid reaches those in need in Gaza.

The UK recently allocated £30 million in additional aid to the Occupied Palestinian Territories – more than doubling the existing aid commitment for this year (£27 million).

This will allow trusted partners, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and others, to provide Palestinians with essential humanitarian relief items and services such as food, water and shelter.

Three UK flights have already landed in Egypt carrying over 51 tonnes of aid since the crisis began, including lifesaving items such as wound care packs, water filters and solar powered lights.

The government has so far ensured over 150 British nationals and their dependants have safely left Gaza and the FCDO is using all channels available to it ensure any remaining registered British nationals are able to cross the Rafah border as soon as is possible. Royal Navy vessels are in the Middle East to deter further escalation.

The government continues to call on all parties to allow the humanitarian pauses necessary to allow more aid of this kind to enter Gaza. The Prime Minister has been clear that Israel’s forces must act within international law and stop extremist violence in the West Bank.

This visit to Egypt follows the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Japan last week. Partners including the UK agreed in the meeting on the need for humanitarian pauses to facilitate urgently needed assistance, civilian movement and the release of hostages.

During the Prime Minister’s recent visit to the region, he again reiterated his support a two-state solution to provide justice and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.
22/11/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Changes to Digital Markets Bill introduced to ensure fairer competition in tech industry [November 2023]
The press release issued by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology on 15 November 2023.

Changes will ensure regulator cannot impose an intervention on a firm unless it is proportionate to do so.
- Amendments tabled to Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill to balance regulator powers with fair review processes
- changes will ensure regulator cannot impose an intervention on a firm unless it is proportionate to do so
- the Bill is set to ensure the UK remains one of the best places to invest in and innovate new technology
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill is set to introduce a new targeted and proportionate regulatory regime to address concerns around competition in the digital industry while ensuring that the UK remains one of the best places to invest in and innovate new technology.

At the heart of the Bill is a new approach to digital market regulation, allowing the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to intervene quickly and flexibly to promote competition.

Amendments to the Bill proposed by the government today (Wednesday 15 November) will maintain the appeals process for all regulatory decisions (except fines) on the basis of judicial review principles. This will mean that eligible tech firms can challenge regulatory decisions on proportionality grounds through this process.

This approach will enable the CMA to encourage the most powerful firms in dynamic digital markets to work with regulators to ensure competition is maintained on an ongoing basis, rather than allowing legal challenges to cause the regime to get bogged down in the courts. This will also act as a further incentive on the CMA to ensure that it is always acting proportionately and exploring the intervention that is most likely to achieve the best outcome for consumers.

Under the Bill, certain firms may also be subject to fines that could reach tens of billions of pounds. To make sure these huge fines are balanced by rigorous checks and balances, these firms will now be able to challenge these decisions “on their merits”. These changes allow firms to challenge fines on the substance of the decision, as well as the process to reach that decision.

The legislation will also make clear that the regulator cannot impose a conduct requirement or pro-competition intervention on a firm unless it is proportionate to do so and there is a strong evidence base behind the intervention.

These amendments bring the digital markets regime in line with the approach taken for decisions under the CMA’s Mergers and Markets regimes, where the decisions about the level of a fine can be appealed on the merits.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology Minister, Saqib Bhatti, said:

Britain was the third country in the world to build a trillion-dollar tech sector, and our fastest growing firms continue to pull in more capital than counterparts in France and Germany combined. Free competition is key to keeping the wheels turning this vital, complex industry as it turbocharges growth across the UK.

This Bill addresses barriers to competition that are unique to digital markets by taking a bespoke and flexible approach, backed up by strong new powers.

The changes we are making ensure that the regulator takes proportionate action and avoids undue regulatory burdens, while remaining accountable for decisions that will have far-reaching economic consequences.

Following extensive engagement across the technology industry, amendments proposed by the government today make sure that the regulator’s interventions will always be proportionate to addressing the harm being caused to consumers and competition.

Further amendments today also boost the consideration of consumers by making the regulator set out its reasoning for intervening in a market, including how this will tangibly benefit consumers.

This Bill uses the freedoms gained by the UK after leaving the European Union to enhance digital competition to drive growth and benefit consumers. Under the new powers granted by the Bill, the CMA will prioritise its interventions according to the evidence of harms and will target those by creating bespoke remedies.

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill is expected to save consumers £9.7 billion over 10 years as UK consumers benefit from new rights, stronger law enforcement, and more competition including through merger control.
22/11/2023
PRESS RELEASE : It is right the Security Council calls for a humanitarian pause in Gaza long enough to deliver aid – UK statement at the UN Security Council [November 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 15 November 2023.

Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council meeting on Gaza.

Thank you, President. President, it is impossible to comprehend the pain and the loss that Palestinian civilians are enduring. Too many civilians, including most tragically children, are losing their lives.

So it is right that the Security Council calls for a humanitarian pause for a period of days, long enough to get lifesaving aid to those who need it. And to establish a safer environment for humanitarians. This will save lives.

We need a collective effort to get aid in as fast as possible by as many routes as possible. The UK Prime Minister has been very clear about the need for lifesaving aid to reach civilians in Gaza, including food, water, medical supplies and fuel as a priority.

For our part, the UK has doubled our aid to help civilians in Gaza. Three British RAF flights have delivered lifesaving humanitarian aid and enabling equipment to support the Egyptian Red Crescent Society in delivering international aid through the Rafah checkpoint. We are urging, and I urge here today, that the priority must be improved land access, including at Kerem Shalom, so aid can get in at scale.

All parties must give civilians the protection that is their right under international law, including international humanitarian law. That includes respecting the sanctity and protection of hospitals.

It is also right that this resolution calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Israeli hostages. It is unconscionable that Hamas continues to hold men, women and children, causing terrible fear and suffering for their families.

President, this resolution is absolutely necessary, though the UK regrets that the first resolution passed by the Council on this matter could not clearly condemn Hamas’ terrorist attacks of 7 October.

The barbarity of those attacks should be clear to us all. That is why we have abstained today. But let me be absolutely clear, it was vital and overdue for the Council to speak on this crisis and we strongly support the resolution’s purpose: to get aid in, and hostages out.

I therefore commend Malta’s outstanding work in bringing this resolution that could pass. We will continue to work with Council members to resolve this crisis and to create a new political horizon so that we can deliver on the promise of peace for Israelis and Palestinians, and make the two-state solution a reality.

I thank you President.

22/11/2023
PRESS RELEASE : United Kingdom – Armenia Strategic Dialogue: Joint Statement [November 2023]
The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 14 November 2023.

The inaugural Strategic Dialogue between the United Kingdom and Armenia was held in London on 13 November 2023.
On the occasion of the official visit to London of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, HE Mr Ararat Mirzoyan, the inaugural Strategic Dialogue between the United Kingdom and Armenia was held on 13 November 2023.

This first Strategic Dialogue was an opportunity to mark the strong cooperation and friendship between our two democracies. With the increase globally in threats to democratic values, human rights, rule of law and the freedoms we strive to protect for our citizens, working together on issues of mutual concern is more important than ever, not only to build trade and stability, but also to protect our shared core values. We reaffirmed the aspiration to build our partnership over the coming years.

During the dialogue, the Minister for Europe of the United Kingdom, Leo Docherty MP, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, discussed a range of global and regional issues of mutual concern, and ways in which the UK and Armenia can work together going forward. These included:

Governance and rule of law, where through its programming in Armenia the UK is supporting the digitalisation and streamlining of public services, the improvement of gender equality in the police force, and will soon begin working to support Armenia’s border management capacities to tackle security and migration issues.

UK-Armenia defence cooperation, which continues to expand with increased numbers of personnel from the Armenian military and Ministry of Defence, and police (MOIA) personnel receiving English Language training instruction, as well as places on UK senior and junior command and leadership courses, and multi-national peace-keeping and mine-awareness packages. Both parties looked forward to the sixth round of UK-Armenia Staff Talks later this month.

Trade and economic ties, notably the recently held UK-Armenia Business Forum in London, where the Minister of State for Regulatory Reform, the Earl of Minto, and Armenian Minister for the Economy, Vahan Kerobyan, welcomed an audience of Armenian and British businesses to discuss the wide range of trade and investment opportunities between our countries.

The Ministers agreed on the absolute necessity of the establishment of peace and stability in the South Caucasus based on the mutual recognition of sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders on the basis of the Alma Ata 1991 Declaration, and the opening of regional connectivity links based on full respect of each country’s sovereignty and jurisdiction.

The Minister for Europe emphasised the UK’s commitment to supporting those affected by the long-running conflict, including through £1 million of funding to the International Committee of the Red Cross announced in September.

Finally, both parties looked forward to continuing to enhance the relationship between the UK and Armenia beyond this inaugural Strategic Dialogue, including through the upcoming visit by the Minister for Europe to Armenia, and through the agreement of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which we collectively hope to conclude in the coming months.
22/11/2023
PRESS RELEASE : UN police play a critical role in mediation and protection – UK statement at the UN Security Council [November 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 14 November 2023.

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council meeting on UN peacekeeping operations.

Thank you President, and thank you to all of our briefers today. UN Police are uniquely placed to contribute to meeting the aims of the New Agenda for Peace, preventing the recurrence of conflict and sustaining peace. UN police play a critical role in mediation and protection, and can build trust and understanding with communities.

UN police support host nation capacity-building for the longer term. They should carry out the full range of activities that they are mandated to fulfil, in line with the 2016 UNPOL external review, to help establish the Rule of Law, protect human rights and sustainable peace. Given the time that has passed since the last report of the Secretary-General on UNPOL, the UK would encourage the Secretariat to consider preparing a new report for the Council on UNPOL activities and governance.

The UK welcomes the closer integration of police into UN peacekeeping, in line with the emphasis on strategic and operational integration as part of the A4P+ priorities. Missions are stronger and safer when police are treated as an integral part, able to contribute their community intelligence and apply their unique set of skills.

Commander Fossen highlighted how important the Women, Peace and Security agenda is for successful policing. Ensuring that police forces reflect the communities they serve is not only the right thing to do, it leads to better mission performance and can have positive impacts for the role of women in host state security institutions. The UK continues to support initiatives to increase the participation of women in peacekeeping, including the Senior Women Talent Pipeline and the Elsie Initiative Fund, to which we have given more than $8.5 million since its inception.

Finally, President, I want to reiterate my thanks to UNPOL for the brave and important work they carry out in such challenging environments. The UK looks forward to continuing to work with UNPOL on achieving its reform priorities.

Thank you.

22/11/2023
PRESS RELEASE : New bill gives police more powers to take zero-tolerance approach to crime [November 2023]
The press release issued by the Home Office on 14 November 2023.

A new Criminal Justice Bill will protect the public from ruthless criminals and empower the police to take a zero-tolerance approach to cut crime and keep neighbourhoods safe.

The bill, introduced in the House of Commons today (14 November), will be focused on keeping violent criminals locked up for longer and making sure victims’ voices are heard.

Measures in the bill will build on progress already made to keep our streets safer – such as the police’s commitment to pursue all reasonable lines of enquiry. Since 2010, violent crime is down 52% and domestic burglary by 57% in England and Wales.

Through the bill, police will be given greater powers to retrieve stolen goods from thieves, such as mobile phones, without a warrant and technology used to steal cars including signal jammers parked outside houses will be banned.

Officers will also be given more powers to stamp out anti-social behaviour and intimidation and crack down on drug-taking, with powers to test suspects for more drugs on arrest.

Victims will be better protected from knife crime with police given new powers to seize, retain and destroy knives found on private property that are likely to be used in connection with unlawful violence. We are also creating a new offence of possessing a knife with the intent to use it violently.

This will build on the government’s committed to take dangerous weapons off our streets, with 120,000 knives removed since 2019.

Judges will also be given more powers to make horrific criminals attend court when their sentences are handed out to hear directly from victims and feel the weight of their crimes – if offenders refuse, they will face a further two years in prison.

This bill will also add to our record better protecting women and girls and the Online Safety Act. Through the Criminal Justice Bill, the government will create a package of offences tackling taking intimate images without consent. This will cover acts such as downblousing and will make sure that police and prosecutors have the power to better tackle this type of behaviour.

More vulnerable individuals will be helped off the streets and directed to appropriate support, with new powers for the police and local authorities to tackle nuisance begging – including criminals gangs who cause distress to the public by aggressively begging by cash points.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said:

The British people deserve to feel safe and secure going about their daily business knowing the government is here to protect them – this bill will reassure the public by giving the police more powers to do just that.

It rightly puts neighbourhoods and communities first by tackling the scourge of knife crime, drugs, theft and anti-social behaviour – making sure the worst, most dangerous criminals are locked up for longer.

My first job as Home Secretary is to protect the British public and taking a zero-tolerance approach to crime on every level is just one way I will be doing this.

Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Alex Chalk KC said:

Victims are not spectators in the criminal justice system; they must be core participants. The new Criminal Justice Bill will ensure offenders have to face up to the harm they have caused victims, and hear society’s condemnation through the judge’s sentencing remarks.

The legislation continues our mission to keep more women and girls safe from violence and intimidation, building on our landmark Domestic Abuse and Online Safety Acts.

The bill will also target hardened criminals and those who knowingly enable them by making sure our laws keep pace with their tactics and changing use of technology.

This means templates used to make 3D printed firearms, pill presses, and vehicle concealments will be banned, alongside signal jammers used for car theft.

Other measures contained in the bill include:
- creating a statutory aggravating factor at sentencing for grooming behaviour, to make sure those involved in grooming gangs receive the toughest possible sentences
- boosting confidence in the police by providing for a duty of candour for policing and enabling provisions to allow chief officers of police forces the right to appeal the result of misconduct panels to the Police Appeals Tribunal
- Strengthening Serious Crime Prevention Orders to make it easier for police and other law enforcement agencies to place restrictions on offenders or suspected offenders and stop them from participating in further crime
- new powers to tackle economic crime by strengthening the tools available to law enforcement agencies including prohibiting possession or supply of SIM farms with no legitimate purpose
- reforming confiscation powers used to strip convicted criminals of their proceeds of crime and extending the powers of law enforcement agencies to suspend domain names and IP addresses used for fraudulent purposes
- creating a scheme whereby the government works with the financial sector to use monies in accounts suspended on suspicion of crime for projects to tackle economic crime
- increasing the maximum penalty for the offences of possession, importation, manufacture, sale or supply of prohibited offensive weapons and of selling knives to those under 18 from six months to two years’ imprisonment, reflecting the severity of the offence
22/11/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Food delivery companies urged to end unchecked account sharing [November 2023]

The press release issued by the Home Office on 14 November 2023.

Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat urged to end unchecked account sharing to protect the public.

Food delivery firms have been urged by the government to conduct checks on all delivery drivers, to protect the British public and prevent illegal working.

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick has demanded Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat end the practice of unchecked account sharing, known as ‘substitutions’, by implementing stricter controls.

Under the current model, food delivery companies allow account holders to substitute deliveries to multiple people who are not checked by the companies. This means customers have no way of knowing whether the person who hands over their order has been properly vetted, and the delivery companies do not know if the delivery driver has the right to work in the UK.

In a letter from Minister Jenrick to online food delivery platforms (PDF, 107 KB, 2 pages) to each company, ahead of a meeting with them today (14 November), the Minister called for the practice to end, warning that the substitution business model is enabling illegal working, allowing exploitation and putting the British public at risk.

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said:

When someone orders a takeaway to their home, they deserve to know that the person arriving at their door has been properly vetted and is who they’re expecting.

Unchecked account sharing places the public at risk, enables – and therefore encourages – illegal migration, and leads to the exploitation of workers. That’s why I’m calling on these companies to end the use of unverified substitution.

We’re taking the action needed to safeguard the British public and prevent the scourge of illegal working. It is critical these companies work with us to achieve this.

The government is calling on firms to introduce stricter vetting measures to make sure people representing each company are allowed to work in the UK, and do not have a criminal record.

Immigration Enforcement teams have already ramped up action targeting illegal working in the food delivery sector, conducting over 250 enforcement visits and making over 380 arrests involving food delivery drivers so far this year.

The Home Office has led engagement with Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat over recent months. In August, an agreement was secured with the businesses to strengthen existing recruitment processes and improve awareness of illegal working in the UK.

The government will continue to work with the food delivery sector to build on this cooperation and prevent illegal working.

22/11/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Funfair heir, Harry Jones, has prison sentence extended [November 2023]

The press release issued by the Attorney General’s Office on 14 November 2023.

Harry Jones, from Cradley Heath, Wolverhampton, had his 10-year term increased by four years after the Solicitor General referred his sentence as being unduly lenient.

The court heard that Jones had fallen out with his colleague Daniel Tulley and the pair arranged a fight over social media.

On 4 November 2019, Jones drove round to Tulley’s home in Bloxwich where he threatened his partner before tracking Tulley down on Clayhanger Road, Brownhills. The incident culminated in Tulley being struck by a car and thrown off the bonnet when the vehicle stopped.

Jones fled the scene without checking on Tulley who was left with serious injuries and in need of emergency brain surgery. He spent more than a month in hospital and has been left with serious long-term injuries.

The Solicitor General, Michael Tomlinson KC MP, said:

Harry Jones may have been a respectable local businessman but his actions that day were utterly deplorable. His personal dispute with Daniel Tulley has left him with severe long-term injuries which will impact his life forever.

The court also took a dim view of Harry Jones’ heinous actions and have increased his prison term, sending a stark warning that leaving someone for dead has serious consequences.

Harry Jones was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment at Wolverhampton Crown Court on 21 July 2023 for one count of grievous bodily harm with intent.

On Tuesday 14 November the Court of Appeal increased Jones’s sentence to 14 years after it was referred under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

22/11/2023
PRESS RELEASE : 44th Universal Periodic Review of human rights – UK statement on Bangladesh [November 2023]
The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 14 November 2023.

Simon Manley, the UK’s Permanent Representative to the WTO and UN, delivered a statement during Bangladesh’s Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council.
Thank you, Mr President,

The United Kingdom welcomes steps taken by the government of Bangladesh to promote and protect human rights, as well as its continued hosting of nearly 1 million Rohingya. We look forward to a free, fair, participatory, and peaceful national election next year.

We recommend that Bangladesh:

Take measures to guarantee a safe and transparent environment for civil society, human rights defenders and the media, ensuring that they can exercise their right to freedom of expression and assembly without fear of repercussions.

Take steps to ensure the full independence of the judiciary from the Executive and Parliament.

Continue working with partners at all levels to protect the rights of women and girls, empowering them to fulfil their potential and lead a healthy life, free from gender-based violence.

Thank you.
22/11/2023