Tag: Press Release

PRESS RELEASE : Photographer jailed after sexually assaulting two models [July 2025]

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 2 July 2025.

A man who sexually assaulted two men has had his suspended sentence quashed and has been jailed after the Solicitor General intervened.

Wayne Glover-Stuart [36] from Chiswick, West London, has had his suspended sentence overturned and jailed for three years after the Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC MP referred his case to the Court of Appeal.

The court heard that Glover-Stuart, a former theatre producer, invited two men on separate occasions to an underwear modelling photoshoot.

During both incidents, Glover-Stuart touched the victims’ genitals before carrying out sexual assaults.

The Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC MP said:

Glover-Stuart’s crimes were appalling. He lured his victims into a vulnerable position abusing their trust before sexually assaulted them for his own gratification.

I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to increase this offender’s sentence following my intervention.

Wayne Glover-Stuart was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, for sexual assault and causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, on 16 April 2025 at the Inner London Crown Court.

On 1 July 2025, Glover-Stuart’s suspended sentence was quashed and jailed for three years after it was referred to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

July 9, 2025
PRESS RELEASE : Statement on the entry into force of the 2019 Hague Convention [July 2025]

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 2 July 2025.

Businesses will save time and money on repetitive legal action thanks to new international rules in force across the UK from 1 July 2025.

I am delighted to confirm that, as of 1st July 2025, the Hague Convention of 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters – commonly known as ‘Hague 2019’ – has entered into force for the UK.

Hague 2019 means judgments from UK courts will be easily recognised and enforced in the courts of other countries that have signed up to the Convention, and vice versa.

Hague 2019 aims to reduce court costs in international cases. It will promote access to justice for UK citizens as they live, work and do business across borders and drive economic growth for UK businesses by underpinning confidence in trade.

This is a big step in strengthening the UK’s cooperation with our international partners, particularly the EU.

Hague 2019 marks the first new agreement to apply in this area of law between the UK and the EU since EU Exit.

With a potentially global reach, there are already 30 Contracting Parties to Hague 2019 with several more soon to join.

We look forward to applying the Convention with both current and future parties for the benefit of all our citizens and businesses.

July 9, 2025
PRESS RELEASE : Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses to benefit from largest flood defence investment programme in history [July 2025]
The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 2 July 2025.

Almost £8 billion to be invested in flood defences over the next decade.

The largest flooding programme in history will be announced by government this week, with a record £7.9 billion committed over ten years to protect hundreds of thousands of homes, small businesses, and vital infrastructure from the growing threat of flooding.

From high-performance flood barriers to nature-based solutions like wetland restoration, the programme will deliver long-term protection for communities and strengthen local economies – delivering on the government’s Plan for Change.

This comes as the government gears up to announcing its landmark Infrastructure Strategy – a targeted, long-term plan to invest in Britain. The Strategy focuses on ensuring every penny of taxpayer money spent delivers real returns for working people, through stronger local economies, better jobs and more resilient communities.

The new flooding programme is proof of that strategy in action. Every £1 spent on flood defences expected to prevent around £8 in economic damage, meaning significant savings for public services, such as the NHS and schools.

The major funding pledge will bolster the government’s mission of accelerating economic growth, by reducing the time and costs businesses face when recovering from floods and empowering them to invest in local areas.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed said:

Protecting citizens is the first duty of any Government. Yet we inherited crumbling flood defences in their worst condition on record – exposing thousands of homes.

Under the Plan for Change, this Government is taking urgent action with the largest flooding programme in our country’s history.

We will leave no stone unturned to protect our citizens.

Philip Duffy, chief executive at the Environment Agency, said:

As our changing climate continues to bring more extreme weather to the nation, it’s never been more vital to invest in new flood defences and repair our existing assets.

This long-term investment will be welcome news for businesses and homeowners, who have too often faced the destructive nature of flooding. Our priority will continue to be working with the government and local authorities to ensure as many properties are protected as possible.

The investment will also continue the government’s plans to protect cities and towns from the devastating impacts of floodings, including from Oxford to Portsmouth and up to Derby and Blackpool.

In the Spending Review, the Government also confirmed that £4.2 billion will be spent on the flooding programme over the next three years (2026/7 to 2028/9), which will be focused on both capital and resources such as building new defences and repairing and maintaining existing ones.

Alongside this, the Government launched a consultation on new proposals to introduce a simplified, more transparent approach to bid for government funding for flood defences. This will benefit councils that have less resource to commit to the application process and will ensure money is distributed more effectively across the country.

Additional information
- In the Spending Review, the Government set out the breakdown of funding for flood defences over the next three years as part of the Spending Review. The £4.2 billion that will be spent over this SR period (2026/27- 2028/29) includes capital and resource spending, whereas the £7.9 billion ten-year settlement is solely capital spending – meaning the total spent on boosting resilience will be higher, subject to future Spending Reviews.
- The £7.9 billion does not include spending on routine maintenance and incident management activities.
- This Government inherited flood assets in their poorest condition on record following years of under investment and has committed a record two-year investment of £2.65 billion with 52,000 properties set to benefit from new defences by March 2026.
- This £2.65 billion funding for 2024/25 to 2025/26 is not included in the long-term flooding programme – it is additional: Record investment to protect thousands of UK homes and businesses – GOV.UK
- Assessments show that for every £1 invested in flood defences, around £8 of damages are prevented – of which roughly £3 are direct savings to the Exchequer because around 36% of the damages caused by floods are to publicly owned infrastructure like roads, railways, schools, and hospitals.
July 9, 2025
PRESS RELEASE : G7 Foreign Ministers’ statement on Iran and the Middle East [July 2025]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 2 July 2025.

Joint Statement of the G7 Foreign Ministers on Iran and the Middle East.

Joint statement:

We the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, met in The Hague on June 25, 2025, where we discussed recent events in the Middle East.

We reiterate our support for the ceasefire between Israel and Iran announced by U.S. President Trump, and urge all parties to avoid actions that could further destabilize the region.

We appreciate Qatar’s important role in facilitating the ceasefire and express our full solidarity to Qatar and Iraq following the recent strikes by Iran and its proxies and partners against their territory. We welcome all efforts in the region towards stabilization and de-escalation.

We reaffirm that the Islamic Republic of Iran can never have nuclear weapons, and urge Iran to refrain from reconstituting its unjustified enrichment activities. We call for the resumption of negotiations, resulting in a comprehensive, verifiable and durable agreement that addresses Iran’s nuclear program.

In order to have a sustainable and credible resolution, we call on Iran to urgently resume full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as required by its safeguards obligations and to provide the IAEA with verifiable information about all nuclear material in Iran, including by providing access to IAEA inspectors. We condemn calls in Iran for the arrest and execution of IAEA Director General Grossi.

We underscore the centrality of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime. It is essential that Iran remains party to and fully implements its obligations under the Treaty.

We reiterate our commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East. In this context, we reaffirm that Israel has a right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for the security of Israel.

July 9, 2025
PRESS RELEASE : Businesses showcase tough justice tech to Government ministers [July 2025]
The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 2 July 2025.

Thousands of criminals could soon be managed by revolutionary new technology to enhance how the justice system monitors offenders and cuts reoffending.
- Businesses pitch new technology to Ministers that will deliver safer streets, contributing to the Government’s Plan for Change
- Strict 24/7 surveillance and enhanced AI could monitor criminals in the community more closely than ever before
- New “smell-detector” AI device could detect substance abuse inside and outside prison
On Tuesday 01 July, seven top tech companies pitched their ideas to the Prisons and Probation’s Minister, James Timpson, as part of a Dragon’s Den style pitch, after being whittled down from over 90 submissions.

The finalists included companies developing AI home monitoring which will toughen up punishment outside of prison. Cameras would be installed inside offenders’ homes, with artificial intelligence used to analyse offenders’ behaviours ensuring they comply with licence conditions.

Other radical tech ideas included ‘smell detector’ devices which use synthetic brain cells and AI to replicate the behaviour of a human nose. The tech will help deliver enhanced surveillance and detect the use of drugs, such as Spice or Fentanyl, offering prison and probation a swift way to detect drugs and boost staff safety.

Additional proposals included software to standardise how staff input information on offenders, alongside transcription tools to cut the administrative burden and cost to taxpayers, while allowing staff to focus more of their time on cutting crime.

The successful businesses will have their proposals considered for pilot rollouts, helping staff on the front line to tackle violence in prison and monitor offenders.

This follows the Government’s response to the Independent Sentencing Review, which recommended the greater use of technology and community sentencing in a bid to tackle the inherited crisis in our prisons system.

Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending Minister, James Timpson, said:

We inherited a justice system in crisis and in need of reform. Prisons and probation are working in analogue while tech drives forward a new digital age.

That’s why we have invited companies to present bold new ideas to help us deliver tough punishment and enhanced surveillance. Embracing new technologies will help us to protect victims, reduce reoffending and cut crime as part of our Plan for Change.

In the Spending Review, the Government announced that the Probation Service will receive up to £700 million, an almost 45% increase in funding. This new funding will mean tens of thousands more offenders can be tagged and monitored in the community.

These technological solutions follow the publication of recent research that confirms curfew tags, which keep offenders at home and off the streets during certain times, can reduce reoffending by 20 per cent. This demonstrates how even older technology is supporting punishment in the community and cutting crime.
July 9, 2025
PRESS RELEASE : Reappointment of the Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman [July 2025]

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 2 July 2025.

His Majesty The King has approved the reappointment of Douglas Marshall as the Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman.

His Majesty The King, on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor, has approved the reappointment – for 5 years from 1 March 2026 – of Douglas Marshall as Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman.

The reappointment of the Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments and has been made under Paragraph 1 of Schedule 13 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.

Biography

Douglas Marshall is Pathways to Impact Manager at Childlight; Global Child Safety Institute based in Edinburgh, working to combat the global pandemic of child abuse. His previous career included 30 years’ service with Cumbria Constabulary retiring as a senior detective. At the latter end of his service, he was the Deputy National Co-ordinator on Operation Hydrant (the national policing response, oversight, and co-ordination of non-recent child sexual abuse). He returned to Cumbria Constabulary completing five years as a Police Staff Senior Investigating Officer. During his police service he was Senior Investigating Officer on several high-profile cases in Cumbria. He is formerly a director of a private investigation company in Scotland and has a consultancy for investigations.

July 9, 2025
PRESS RELEASE : A new chapter in how we finance development – Baroness Chapman statement [July 2025]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 2 July 2025.

Minister for Development Baroness Chapman delivers UK national statement at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) in Seville.

Good afternoon, everyone.

Seville must be the start of a new chapter in how we finance development and sustainable growth over the next decade.

FFD4 sets out three critical shifts; and the UK will respond.

Firstly, helping countries to raise more of their own revenues.

The UK will support countries to raise more finance domestically, and manage it better, by sharing expertise from our own revenue authority and finance ministry.

And we will work with all partners to take urgent action to tackle unsustainable debt. We cannot do this alone.

We will work through the G20 to strengthen, expand and reform the Common Framework, ensuring timely and predictable relief for debt distressed countries.

We will work with partners to maintain momentum on reforms to the existing debt architecture including to make restructurings quicker and more efficient.

We must also ensure future debt sustainability by pressing for more responsible and transparent lending and borrowing and scaling UK-championed clauses that pause debt repayments when a crisis hits.

The second is on mobilising international finance at scale.

Increasing access to finance from all sources, beyond ODA.

Leveraging and multiplying wherever we can.

We need private capital at a much greater scale in developing countries. We are proud to launch a coalition of governments, finance institutions, and investors at FFD4.

With the aim of mobilising high-quality finance for emerging and developing economies through stock exchanges.

We will work with the UK industry experts to unlock and scale up global institutional capital, develop local currency markets and help to tackle exchange rate risks in developing countries.

I will look at the evidence on the barriers to investment, and if there need to be changes to our regulatory approach, I will need to work with international partners and groups to build a coalition to call for those changes.

And we welcome the ambition to triple the size of MDB financing. This will require stretching balance sheets and using guarantees, but that can only get us so far.

We will also need to inject more capital into some MDBs, which is why the UK supports a capital increase for the World Bank’s IBRD, conditional on reforms.

If agreed, this could unlock billions of dollars annually.

We have heard the call to explore new sources of climate finance. That is why we have committed to and are pushing for agreement on the International Maritime Organisation’s Net Zero Framework.

The third is making the system work better for developing countries.

This means getting behind countries own priorities and plans.

It means putting women and girls at the heart of everything we do.

It also means simplifying and streamlining the aid architecture, so it is easier for countries to engage and access finance.

We must do more through multilateral organisations that pool and multiply resources, and drive reform across the multilateral system to make it faster, more effective and more sustainable.

That is why we are proud to be GAVI’s largest investor, as announced last week at the GAVI replenishment.

It also means creating a fairer system where developing countries have greater voice and participation to shape the outcomes they need.

That is why the UK is calling for more voice and representation for low-income and vulnerable countries in the World Bank and IMF.

And ensuring countries can better handle shocks and build resilience to climate change.

It is unacceptable that only 2% of crisis finance is pre-arranged when 35% of shocks are modellable.

That is why we are launching a global coalition to scale up the use of pre-arranged finance. And we will work with the insurance industry to help deliver this.

I am proud that the UK will be the first country to report and publish our annual pre -arranged finance figures.

This work is urgent and cannot wait.

So let us make Seville a springboard for what can and must come next.

Thank you.

July 9, 2025
PRESS RELEASE : Government to boost legal aid funding to support those at risk of eviction [July 2025]
The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 2 July 2025.

Vulnerable individuals at risk of eviction and homelessness will find it easier to access legal services, thanks to a historic boost in civil legal aid funding confirmed today (2 July) by Minister Sarah Sackman.
- Response to consultation sees first major funding rise for housing and immigration legal aid fees in 30 years
- Funding uplift aimed at helping those facing homelessness and speeding up asylum processing
- An additional £20 million a year investment marks next step in government’s Plan for Change to rebuild legal aid sector
Following feedback from a consultation into civil legal aid, the Government will uplift the rates paid for all housing and immigration legal aid work. Providers will see significant increases in all fees, with the overall spending in these categories increasing by 24% for housing work and 30% for immigration work. This represents a significant investment – the first since 1996 – resulting in an increase of £20 million a year once fully implemented.

This extra funding means more people will get the support they need, when they need it – reducing stress and preventing delays in housing cases. At the same time, it will help speed up decision-making in immigration cases, ensuring a fairer, faster process for everyone involved. This is part of the Government’s Plan for Change to make the justice system more efficient, fair and accessible.

Justice Minister, Sarah Sackman KC MP, said:

This vital investment marks a turning point for civil legal aid by boosting funding to build capacity in the sector, helping to enable individuals, regardless of background or income, to uphold their legal rights.

As part of our Plan for Change we are ensuring that our legal aid providers can deliver vital support where it’s needed most.

This investment will help to ensure effective access to justice for some of the most vulnerable in our society, supporting a more stable and sustainable legal aid sector – one that is fit for the future and attracts and retains the brightest and the best practitioners.

Later this week a separate consultation on uplifting fees for criminal legal aid for solicitors by up to £92 million will conclude. It’s part of the Government’s wider work to invest in the legal aid system and deliver swifter justice for victims alongside Sir Brian Leveson’s independent review of criminal courts.

Notes to editors:

On Civil Legal Aid Consultation
- The Government ran a consultation on increasing legal aid fees for those working in the housing (housing and debt) and immigration (immigration and asylum) sectors, proposing to increase fees to a rate in the region of £65/£69 per hour (non-London/London), or provide a 10% uplift, whichever is higher. Fixed fees will be uplifted by the same percentage as the increase in the underlying hourly rate for that work. This will be implemented as soon as operationally possible with costs scaling up to £20m at steady state. This will increase overall spend by 24% for housing and 30% for immigration.
- The changes would mean for example that the fixed fee for Housing work will increase by 42% from £157 to £223 and the fixed fee for asylum legal help will increase by 35% from £413 to £559.
- Evidence from the Review of Civil Legal Aid (RoCLA) Call for Evidence included responses from providers that aspects of the current Civil Legal Aid contractual requirements can be unnecessarily restrictive. The consultation sought to gather further evidence for improvements to arrangements for remote advice and face-to-face advice based on client needs.
- We plan to implement these fee uplifts as soon as operationally possible.
July 9, 2025
PRESS RELEASE : Customers to receive up to £2000 for water service failures [July 2025]
The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 2 July 2025.

Uplifts to Guaranteed Service Standard Scheme will result in up to tenfold increase for customer compensation when they’ve been failed by water companies.
- Increase to water company reimbursements put more money back into customers’ pockets when their services are hit
- Triggers for compensation to be expanded to include company failure to conduct meter readings and installations
- One of Environment Secretary’s first promises in office delivered as government rolls out plan to reform the water sector
Water companies will increase compensation payments to customers up to tenfold from today (2 July), ensuring that the public are more fairly reimbursed for supply issues and low standards of service.

Customers will automatically receive more money for issues such as continued low water pressure and cancelled appointments.

A key step in the government’s mission to reform the water sector, the move marks the first uplift in compensation rates in 25 years, with the government recognising the urgent need to bring payments in line with inflation and properly compensate households for poor service.

Severe issues such as flooding will see customer compensation double from £1,000 to up to £2,000, while households suffering consistent low water pressure will be automatically eligible to receive up to £250 – a huge uplift from the previous compensation rate of just £25.

From today, no action will be needed from eligible customers as payments will automatically be credited back to their accounts.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed said:

Too many water companies are letting down their customers – with leaking pipes, poor water supply and low water pressure.

The Government is holding water companies to account by making them put money back into people’s pockets when they fail their customers.

The government is also working with water companies to expand the list of circumstances that will trigger compensation payments. Compensation for when customers are asked to boil their water due to contaminated supply will come into force later this year.

The standards, outlined in the Guaranteed Standards Scheme, set out a baseline for customer service in the water sector. They include providing timely restoration of water supply following an interruption, responding to written complaints and managing the risk of sewer flooding.

This comes as part of the government’s action to cut sewage spills and attract investment in the sector, including:
- Strengthening regulation to ensure polluting water bosses who cover up their crimes now face two-year prison sentences.
- Banning unfair bonuses for bosses of six polluting water companies.
- Launching a record 81 criminal investigations into sewage pollution.
- Securing £104bn in private sector investment to upgrade crumbling sewage pipes and cut sewage by nearly half by 2030.
- Launching the Independent Water Commission led by Sir John Cunliffe to modernise the water industry and work with companies and their investors to make the industry one of growth and opportunity.
Mike Keil, Chief Executive of the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), said:

Customers expect to be treated fairly when their water company lets them down, so we’re delighted the Government has moved at pace to strengthen service standards.”

This should give people peace of mind they now have far stronger protection from a much broader range of water company service failures – from the slow installation of water meters to the mishandling of debt recovery. As well as bolstering payments for thousands of customers, these changes mark an important step towards restoring trust in the water sector which is at an all-time low.

David Black, Chief Executive of Ofwat said:

We welcome these improvements to guaranteed standards and payments for customers.

When customers suffer from problems like low pressure, disruptions to supply or sewer flooding they can experience major stress and inconvenience, and payment amounts must recognise the disruption to their lives when standards are not met.

These new changes are another way to make sure customers are protected when companies get it wrong.
July 9, 2025
PRESS RELEASE : UN Human Rights Council 58 – UK Statement on the Human Rights Situation in the Central African Republic [July 2025]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 2 July 2025.

UK Statement for the High-level Dialogue on the Human Rights Situation in the Central African Republic. This statement was delivered on 1 April 2025 during the 58th session of the HRC in Geneva.

Thank you, Mr President.

We welcome the Central African Republic’s continued cooperation with the Independent Expert. We also welcome recent steps that the country has taken to strengthen its human rights framework, including strengthened judicial independence, the adoption of legislation to protect human rights defenders, and progress on reforming the criminal code.

However, we remain alarmed at the increasing atrocities committed by Wagner group-trained militias, a key driver of the 26% increase of victims of human rights incidents recorded in the Secretary General‘s latest report. We urge the Central African Republic to investigate these reports and incorporate these militias into the formal disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration programme to prevent a resurgence in insecurity.

Mr President, as we stated in the Security Council in February, proxies directed by the Russian state plan to interfere with the country’s elections. We encourage authorities to address these malign threats and ensure elections are free, fair, and inclusive.

Mr. Agbetse, implementing the provisions of the 2019 political agreement is the only way to promote sustainable peace. How can the Central African Republic expand state authority while ensuring the inclusion of the signatories of the political agreement?

Thank you.

July 9, 2025