The UK will supply 650 Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) systems to Ukraine to boost the country’s air defence capabilities, as part of the new government’s commitment to Ukraine.
The air defence package will be announced by Defence Secretary John Healey MP today at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) meeting at US Air Force Base in Ramstein – his first as Defence Secretary. At the 24th meeting of the group, the Defence Secretary will set out the UK’s ironclad commitment to Ukraine and urge allies to continue to supply Ukraine with vital equipment.
It comes following a bilateral meeting between John Healey and his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov in London earlier this week, where the pair discussed how the UK will continue to ramp-up support over the coming months. At that meeting, the Defence Secretary confirmed that £300 million worth of artillery ammunition will start to be delivered by the end of this year to support Ukraine’s war effort.
In keeping with the new government’s commitment to speed up deliveries of aid, the first batch of LMM missiles announced today are also expected to be delivered by the end of this year.
Today’s package is part of the UK’s work to help step up UK and European defence production – with today’s £162 million order helping to energise the supply chain for the future. Built by Thales at their Belfast factory, the missiles are highly versatile and can be fired from a variety of platforms on land, sea, and air.
The package is primarily funded through the UK’s £3 billion a year financial package for Ukraine, and contributions from Norway through the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU) and follows the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary’s commitment to stand by Ukraine will continue for as long as it takes.
It comes after the Defence Secretary signed a new Defence Export Support Treaty with his counterpart Umerov in July, during President Zelesnkyy’s visit to Downing Street. The agreement will fire up both the UK’s and Ukraine’s defence industrial bases and increase military hardware and weaponry production. The treaty will enable Ukraine to draw on £3.5 billion of export finance to support its war effort.
Defence Secretary, John Healey MP said: “This new commitment will give an important boost to Ukraine’s air defences and demonstrates our new government’s commitment to stepping up support for Ukraine.
“In recent days we have seen the tragic cost of Russia’s indiscriminate strikes on Poltava and Lviv. These new UK-made missiles will support Ukraine to defend its people, infrastructure, and territory from Putin’s brutal attacks.
“With our international partners today, we will show that we are united for Ukraine. And we will discuss how best we can work together to improve support. Because the security of the UK and Europe starts in Ukraine.”
Ahead of the meeting with international partners, the Defence Secretary visited the Joint Intelligence Coordination Centre (JICC) at the Ramstein Air Base. UK Armed Forces personnel deployed at the JICC work alongside allies to analyse intelligence.
Since Russia’s illegal invasion, the UK has provided hundreds of LMM missiles to Ukraine for air defence, destroying hundreds of Russian drones and other air threats.
Travelling at Mach 1.5 with a range of more than 6km, the LMM is highly versatile against a wide range of threats, including Armoured Personnel Carriers, fast in-shore attack craft and Unmanned drones.
This contract with Thales in the UK will further prime the world leading British defence industry to increase production rates, enabling future production to be ramped up.
Addressing allies at the UCDG, the Defence Secretary will reiterate the UK’s commitment to supporting Ukraine and ramping up the production and delivery of vital equipment.
A Thales spokesperson said: “As a strategic partner of UK Government, Thales is proud to be working with MoD to support defending democracy in Ukraine through the provision of our Lightweight Multi-role Missile, delivered from our Belfast site.
“Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, UK MoD and Thales have worked in close collaboration to support the Ukrainian effort by delivering key air defence systems at pace. We are pleased that this contract is the first to be signed under Task Force Hirst, which has been established to deliver a deeper defence industrial partnership between the UK and Ukraine.
“Earlier this week, the Government confirmed a milestone moment in international support for Ukraine, with eight countries from across the world having now joined the UK to provide more than £1 billion to the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU), in a significant show of unity from Ukraine’s allies.”
The IFU was first launched by the UK and Denmark in 2022 to provide an efficient way for countries to pool resources to buy equipment and weapons to support Ukraine’s most urgent capability needs. The UK has donated £500 million to the Fund to date.
This is also the first contract approved under Task Force Hirst, a MOD initiative created to ramp up defence industrial capacity and capability, laying the foundation for larger sustained supply of missiles and other key capabilities to Ukraine and, in the longer term, enable industrial cooperation between our two countries.
The Home Secretary convenes ministers and law enforcement partners to destroy the gangs that undermine border security and risk lives on small boats
The Home Secretary will convene a landmark operational summit of cabinet ministers and law enforcement partners today (Friday 6 September), as she sets out the moral imperative to destroy the criminal smuggling gangs making millions out of small boat crossings.
Her comments come after the horrific tragedy in the Channel this week that saw the deaths of at least 12 people, with others reported to be still in a critical condition.
The Home Secretary will be joined at the NCA headquarters in London by ministers including the Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Attorney General Lord Hermer, as well as representatives from the National Crime Agency (NCA), Border Force and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
The UK Intelligence Community (UKIC) is deploying formidable covert capability to support the NCA to penetrate and dismantle the gangs at every level of operation – from facilitators to financiers.
UKIC will also attend this landmark meeting, which will set out the progress being made on intensifying the enforcement activity aimed at disrupting, intercepting and destroying the criminal network moving people, boats and engines into Europe and across the continent to the French coastline.
Ministers and law enforcement partners will examine the findings from the analysis commissioned by the Home Secretary on the operational capabilities of the criminal smuggling gangs. Discussion will also be focused on collaboration with European enforcement agencies, including Europol, and plans will be put forward to rapidly enhance this through the government’s new Border Security Command in the coming months.
NCA Director General Graeme Biggar will highlight how close co-operation with the Bulgarian authorities and an established NCA presence in that critical transit country has led to more than 40 small boats and engines being intercepted in recent weeks. This material, now removed from the smuggling supply chain, could have enabled up to 2,400 people to attempt the deadly crossing.
He will also set details of around 70 further live investigations, including:
working with the Libyan police to target gangs trafficking migrants through Libya, with raids on warehouses where migrants are housed, often in appalling conditions, before making their onward journey to Europe
collaboration with French authorities to investigate the death of a woman killed in an overloaded boat on 28 July
This meeting led by the Home Secretary comes as she spoke to her French counterpart, Gérald Darmanin, this week to discuss increased co-operation to dismantle the gangs.
Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: “Exploiting vulnerable people is at the heart of the business model of these despicable criminal smuggling gangs. Women and children were packed into an unsafe boat which literally collapsed in the water this week.
“At least 12 people were killed as part of this evil trade. We will not rest until these networks have been dismantled and brought to justice.
“The last two months has seen encouraging progress, with significant seizures of boats and equipment in Europe. But there is work to do, and the Border Security Command will bring all the relevant bodies together to investigate, arrest and prosecute these networks, as well as deepen our ties with key international partners.
“At the same time, we are swiftly removing those with no right to be in the UK, which will ensure we have a fair, firm and functioning asylum system where the rules are respected and enforced.”
NCA Director General Graeme Biggar said: “People smuggling puts lives in mortal danger.
“As well as arresting suspects and seeing our investigations lead to convictions and sentences, we’re operating around the world to disrupt the perpetrators. This includes helping seize more than 410 small boats and engines since last spring, preventing thousands of crossings.
“Tackling the callous criminals behind organised immigration crime is one of the NCA’s highest priorities. We continue to expand our activity to deliver ever greater impact against the threat.”
In recent weeks, the Prime Minister has led a ‘reset’ in the relationship with Europe, with work to increase security co-operation and tackle illegal migration at the heart. This has already led to a 50 per cent uplift in the number of NCA officers stationed in Europol, working on organised immigration crime.
Last week, the Home Secretary announced an additional 100 specialist investigators to disrupt people smuggling globally. In addition to the Europol presence, the NCA has enhanced its international liaison officer network, responsible for cracking down on criminal networks in specific areas.
A new post is open in Austria and officers are being permanently deployed to Romania. Headcount is also increasing in South East Asia, in key countries where gangs are advertising Channel crossings. These are just the first steps of an intensification of the UK’s international law enforcement and bilateral partnership arrangements and serves as a platform for Border Security Command operations.
The tragedy off the French coast on Tuesday 3 September highlights the increasingly extreme measures the gangs are willing to contemplate, as more people are crammed into less seaworthy vessels. It has been reported that most of those who died were women and children.
Intelligence reveals smugglers have also increased the price they charge for migrants to cross the Channel, including charging for children to get into boats, as the business model comes under pressure from UK and partner law enforcement.
Researchers at the University of Dundee to receive a government funding boost to continue their vital work for a further 5 years
Vital work by Dundee-based cell biology researchers, who have already developed a drug to treat skin cancer and attracted £60 million in private investment, to continue thanks to further government backing
Almost £30 million in government funding could potentially unlock new treatments for conditions, from motor neurone disease to Crohn’s, by supporting research into how signals are transmitted within the body’s cells.
Science and Technology Secretary will announce funding at the Universities UK conference as he sets out his vision for harnessing the power of higher education to boost innovation and economic growth across the country.
Dundee-based researchers with a track record of devising treatments for deadly diseases like cancer and Parkinson’s – whose work has crowded in £60 million in investment to date – are receiving further backing from the government to continue their vital work for a further 5 years, Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle will announce today (Thursday 5 September).
Currently, the 200-strong scientific community of staff and students based at the University of Dundee are using cutting-edge technology and biochemistry to explore how signals transmitted within the body’s cells are disrupted.
Working closely with industry, Dundee’s unit has been a fundamental part of the development and clinical approval of over 40 drugs that are now widely used to treat patients, attracting almost £60 million in private investment.
It is just one example cementing Scotland’s place at the forefront of the UK government’s plans to make Britain a powerhouse for life sciences that attracts international investment and drives forward the deployment of discoveries that grow the economy, create prosperity across the country and improve lives and public services.
Improving our understanding of the processes within cells could be the key to unlocking the scientific basis of innovative treatments for a range of diseases – from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to Crohn’s and coeliac disease. Their work has already delivered a drug that is now widely used to treat skin cancer.
The new funding comes ahead of the Science and Technology Secretary addressing higher education representatives at the Universities UK conference at the University of Reading, where he will reflect on his personal experience in higher education and will give his full-throated backing to the sector as a vehicle for much-needed economic growth.
He will also outline his vision for DSIT, and the crucial role universities can play in this, harnessing discoveries and innovations for novel therapies and technologies, like those developed in Dundee, that could transform patients’ lives and drive economic growth.
Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: “I went to university later in life than most, but when I did it changed everything for me. It was the first time in my life that people saw potential in me that I never knew I had, and gave me the support and focus I needed to build something from it.
“The value of our universities, to the economy and to the whole of society, cannot be overstated.
“As we embark on a decade of national renewal, the higher education sector has a profound role to play in every piece of work we’ll need to do, to build a Britain that delivers for working people: from seizing the potential of clean energy to rebuilding the NHS. I will always champion our universities.
“They are society’s most powerful engines for innovation, aspiration, economic growth and the creation of better lives for all – which is why investing in their work, like this £30m in funding, is so important.”
Science Minister Lord Vallance said: “The work at the University of Dundee, which we are announcing support for today, is proof of how deep expertise, effective links with industry, and the power of curiosity can deliver meaningful improvements to people’s lives, while also driving economic growth across the UK.
“This funding puts the unit on track to strive for still more health breakthroughs, that could help more patients live longer and healthier lives.”
Working with other companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, the team was central to developing a drug now widely used to treat melanoma, and a promising new drug for Parkinson’s disease is in clinical trials as a result of the team’s globally recognise work, investigating the condition to discover potential causes and treatments.
Universities are vital to the government’s mission to boost our economy and transform healthcare services with world-class science and research. They are at the heart of our research strengths, underpinning key sectors including life sciences.
Backing university-based researchers, like the team at the University of Dundee, will ensure that they can continue unlocking the technologies and therapies that could be life-changing to patients, and which drive economic growth and productivity.
Professor Dario Alessi, Director of the MRC PPU said: “We are incredibly grateful for the long-term support that our Unit has received from the MRC over the last 34 years.
“This has enabled our researchers to tackle the most important questions and greatly contributed to our understanding of how derailment of biological pathways causes human diseases including neurodegeneration, diabetes, cancer, and immune dysfunction.
“Our mission for the next 5 years will be to work with leading research centres, clinicians, and pharmaceutical companies to translate our discoveries into clinical progress and accelerate drug discovery.
“Whilst doing this research we aim to provide our staff with a unique training opportunity working in a collaborative multidisciplinary environment paying attention to improving culture and development best practices.”
Professor Patrick Chinnery, Executive Chair of the Medical Research Council, said: “The MRC are proud to be investing for a further 5 years in the exceptional research of the MRC PPU in Dundee.
They are leaders in conducting rigorous fundamental research and then working with industry to translate those breakthroughs for patient benefit. The MRC PPU have an outstanding culture of collaboration and sharing their leading research expertise, products and techniques with the wider scientific community.”
DAMNING GRENFELL TOWER INQUIRY REPORT PULLS NO PUNCHES
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry has published its second and final report into the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the fire at Grenfell Tower in the early hours of 14 June 2017.
The publication of the Phase 2 report marks the end of a process that began on 15 June 2017 when then Prime Minister Theresa May announced a public inquiry to examine the disaster with a view to ensuring that a similar disaster could never occur again. The fire at Grenfell Tower was the worst residential fire in the UK since the Second World War and resulted in the deaths of 72 people.
The Phase 1 report was published on 30 October 2019 and focused on the events of 14 June 2017: how the fire started, how it escaped from the flat where it had begun and how it spread over the whole building with tragic consequences.
Phase 2 of the Inquiry examined the underlying causes of the fire to identify where mistakes were made and how Grenfell Tower came to be in a condition which allowed the fire to spread in the way identified by Phase 1. It also investigated the response of the authorities to the emergency.
Introducing the report, Inquiry Chairman the Rt Hon Sir Martin Moore-Bick explained that the second part of the investigations had taken longer than originally hoped because, as those investigations progressed, the Inquiry uncovered many more matters of concern than had previously been expected:
The Inquiry report finds that the deaths that occurred were all avoidable “and that those who lived in Grenfell Tower were badly failed over a number of years by those who were responsible for ensuring the safety of its occupants.”
Sir Martin said: “They include the government, the Tenant Management Organisation, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, those who manufactured and supplied the materials used in the refurbishment, those who certified their suitability for use on high-rise residential buildings, the architect, Studio E, the principal contractor, Rydon Maintenance Ltd, and some of its sub-contractors, in particular, Harley Curtain Wall Ltd and its successor Harley Facades Ltd, some of the consultants, in particular the fire engineer, Exova Warringtonfire Ltd, the local authority’s building control department and the London Fire Brigade,”
Sir Martin went on to explain that while not all of them bear the same degree of responsibility for the eventual disaster, “all contributed to it in one way or another, in most cases through incompetence but in some cases through dishonesty and greed.”
Panel member and architect Thouria Istephan, who spent nearly 30 years as an architect before joining the Inquiry in 2020, said: “Our report identifies what we think is needed to make sure that the legacy of Grenfell is real and brings about lasting change.
“Our recommendations place new burdens and responsibilities on people and organisations. I make no apologies for that: put simply, if you work in the construction industry and you do not feel the weight of the responsibility you have for keeping people safe – you are in the wrong job.”
Former housing association chief executive Ali Akbor OBE, who joined the Inquiry as a Panel Member in 2020, said: ““I hope that our report acts as a reminder to the clients of future building projects – including social housing providers – that they have a responsibility to the users of their buildings to ensure that safety is not sacrificed to the demands of speed and cost.
Mr Akbor concluded: “We cannot in a few words here today do full justice to the totality of our report. What is needed is for those with responsibility for building safety – in my sector as in Thouria’s – to read the report, to reflect on it, and to treat Grenfell as a touchstone in all that they do in the future. To act with professionalism, with competence, and to put people first.”
Recommendations put forward by the Inquiry panel include:
● bringing responsibility for all aspects of fire safety under one government Department; ● the appointment of a construction regulator to oversee all aspects of the construction industry; ● the establishment of a body of professional fire engineers, properly regulated and with protected status and the introduction of mandatory fire safety strategies for higher-risk buildings; ● a licensing scheme for contractors wishing to undertake the construction or refurbishment of higher-risk buildings; ● the regulation and mandatory accreditation of fire risk assessors; ● the establishment of a College of Fire and Rescue to provide practical, educational and managerial training to fire and rescue services.the introduction of a requirement for the government to maintain a publicly accessible record of recommendations made by select committees, coroners and public inquiries, describing the steps taken in response or its reasons for declining to implement them.
The Panel expressed its gratitude to all those who had supported the Inquiry through giving evidence and providing statements to assist its investigations, in particular the bereaved, survivors and residents of Grenfell Tower.
Grenfell Tower Inquiry opened on 14 September 2017. During the course of its investigations it disclosed over 300,000 documents to 646 Core Participants, obtained over 1500 witness statements and sat for more than 300 days, most of which were devoted to taking evidence from a wide range of factual and expert witnesses.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s statement in the House of Commons on Grenfell Tower Inquiry final report:
Mr Speaker, this morning Sir Martin Moore-Bick published the final report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.
And I am sure the whole House will join me in thanking him, the members of the Inquiry and his whole team for their dedicated work.
Mr Speaker, I want to speak directly to the bereaved families, the survivors, and those in the immediate Grenfell community…
Some of whom are with us in the gallery today.
Sir Martin concluded this morning – I’m afraid there is no way of repeating this that won’t be painful – “the simple truth is that the deaths that occurred were all avoidableand that those who lived in the tower were badly failed over a number of years and in a number of different ways” by, as the report lays out in full, just about every institution responsible for ensuring their safety.
Mr Speaker, in the face of an injustice so painful. So deserving of anger
Words begin to lose their meaning.
Seven years – still waiting
For the justice you deserve.
I want to say very clearly, on behalf of the country: you have been let down so badly before, during and in the aftermath of this tragedy.
And while Sir Martin sets out a catalogue of appalling industry failures, for which there must now be full accountability, he also finds – and I quote – “decades of failure by central government.”
He concludes that “In the years between the fire at Knowsley Heights in 1991 and the fire at Grenfell Tower in 2017there were many opportunities for the government to identify the risks posed by the use of combustible cladding panels and insulation…
And he concludes – and I quote – “By 2016 the department was well aware of those risks, but failed to act on what it knew.”
Further, he finds that “The department itself was poorly run” and “the government’s deregulatory agenda dominated the department’s thinking to such an extent that even matters affecting the safety of life were ignored, delayed or disregarded”.
So Mr Speaker, I want to start with an apology on behalf of the British state to each and every one of you and indeed to all the families affected by this tragedy. It should never have happened.
The country failed to discharge its most fundamental duty to protect you and your loved ones: the people we are here to serve. And I am deeply sorry.
I also want to express my admiration for the strength it must have taken to relive those events when giving your evidence to this Inquiry.
And indeed, to see written down today the circumstances that led to the deaths of your loved ones.
After all you have been through, you may feel you are always just one step away from another betrayal.
I get that – and I know I cannot change that with just words today.
But what I can say is that I listened carefully to one of the members of the inquiry Ali Akbor who said this morning: “What is needed is for those with responsibility for building safety to reflect and to treat Grenfell as a touchstone in all that they do in the future.”
Mr Speaker, I consider myself responsible for building safety. And that is exactly what I will do. And what I will demand of this government.
Mr. Speaker, today is a long-awaited day of truth – but it must now lead to a day of justice.Justice for the victims and families of Grenfell.
But also a moment to reflect on the state of social justice in our country and a chance for this Government of Service to turn the page.
Because this tragedy poses fundamental questions about the kind of country we are.
A country where the voices of working class people and those of colour have been repeatedly ignored and dismissed.
A country where tenants of a social housing block in one of the richest parts of the land are treated like second class citizens.
Shamefully dismissed – in the words of one survivor – as people with needs and problems… Not respected as citizens, as people who contribute to Britain, who are part of Britain, who belong in Britain.
And Mr Speaker, unbelievably this continued even after the tragedy.
Sir Martin highlights…and I quote – “Certain aspects of the response demonstrated a marked lack of respect for human decency and dignity and left many of those immediately affected feeling abandoned by authority and utterly helpless.”
Mr Speaker, that alone should make anyone who feels any affinity towards justice bristle with anger. But Sir Martin continues. He finds – and these are his words – “systematic dishonesty on the part of those who made and sold the rainscreen cladding panels and insulation products”
And he goes on to say: “They engaged in deliberate and sustained strategies to manipulate the testing process, misrepresent test data and mislead the market.”
Sir Martin also cites – “A complete failure on the part of the Local Authority Building Control over a number of years to take basic steps to ensure that the certificates it issued were technically accurate.”
He finds that the work of the Building Research Establishment “..was marred by unprofessional conduct, inadequate practices a lack of effective oversight, poor reporting and a lack of scientific rigour.” And that the Tenant Management Organisation “must also bear a share of the blame”
Its only fire safety assessor “had misrepresented his experience and qualifications (some of which he had invented) and was ill-qualified to carry out fire risk assessments on buildings of the size and complexity of Grenfell Tower.”
He also finds – “a chronic lack of effective management and leadership” on behalf of the London Fire Brigade” With tragic consequences on the night of the fire.
Mr Speaker, in the light of such findings it is imperative that there is full accountability, including through the Criminal Justice process, and that this happens as swiftly as possible.
So I can tell the House today that this government will write to all companies found by the Inquiry to have been part of these horrific failings as the first step to stopping them being awarded government contracts.
And, of course, we will support the Met Police and the prosecutors as they complete their investigations.
But, Mr Speaker, it is vital that as we respond to this report today we do not do or say anything that could compromise any future prosecution.
Because the greatest injustice of all would be for the victims and all those affected not to get the justice they deserve.
Mr Speaker, there must also be much more radical action to stop something like this from ever happening again.
Because one of the most extraordinary qualities of the Grenfell community is their determination to look forward.
They are not only fighting for justice for themselves, they are fighting to ensure no other community suffers as they have done.
Mr Speaker, some important reforms have been made over the last seven years.
Reforms we supported in Opposition.
Including banning combustible cladding.
New oversight of building control.
A new safety regime for all residential buildings over 18 metres.
New legal requirements on social landlords.
Making sure Fire and Rescue Services are trained and equipped to handle large scale incidents. including moving from “stay put” to “get out” when needed.
And we are now addressing the recommendation from Sir Martin’s first report: to introduce a new Residential Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan policy for anyone whose ability to evacuate could be compromised and funding this for those renting in social housing.
Mr Speaker, we will look at all 58 of Sir Martin’s recommendations in detail.
There will be a debate on the floor of this House.
We will respond in full to the Inquiry’s recommendations within six months.
And we will update Parliament annually on our progress against every commitment we make.
But there are some things I can say right now. There are still buildings today with unsafe cladding. And the speed at which this is being addressed is far, far too slow.
We only have to look at the fire in Dagenham last week. A building that was still in the process of having its cladding removed. So this must be a moment of change.
We will take the necessary steps to speed this up.
We are willing to force freeholders to assess their buildings and enter remediation schemes within set timetables with a legal requirement to force action if that is what it takes to tackle industry intransigence.
And we will set out further steps on remediation this Autumn.
We will also reform the construction products industry that made this fatal cladding so homes are made of safe materials and those who compromise that safety will face the consequences.
We will ensure that tenants and their leaseholders can never again be ignored. And that Social landlords are held to account for the decency and safety of their homes.
And as this government tackles the most acute housing crisis in living memory, building one and a half million new homes across the country, we will ensure these homes are safe, secure, and built to the highest standards.
Places of security, health and wellbeing that serve the needs of residents and their wider communities. Because a safe and decent home is a human right and a basic expectation and the provision of that right, should never be undermined by the reckless pursuit of greed.
One of the tragedies of Grenfell is that this was – and is – a community that nurtured so much of what we want from housing.
People who had made the Tower their home. And were entitled to a place of safety and security not a death-trap. And yet time and again they were ignored.
Mr Speaker, two weeks ago I made a private visit to Grenfell Tower. I laid a wreath at the Memorial Wall and affirmed the government’s commitment to the work of the Memorial Commission. Delivering a permanent memorial on the site through a process led by the Grenfell community.
As I walked down that narrow staircase from the 23rd floor and looked at walls burned by 1000-degree heat I got just a sense of how utterly, utterly terrifying it must have been.
And as I saw examples of the cladding on the outside of the building, and listened to descriptions of the catastrophic and completely avoidable failures of that fatal refurbishment.
I felt just a sense of the anger that now rises through that building. And it left me a with a profound and very personal determination. To make the legacy of Grenfell Tower one of the defining changes to our country that I want to make as Prime Minister.
To the families, the survivors, and the immediate community We will support you now and always, especially those who were children. In the memory of your loved ones we will deliver a generational shift in the safety and quality of housing for everyone in this country.
And in the memory of Grenfell, we will change our country. Not just a change in policy and regulation – although that must of course take place – but a profound shift in culture and behaviour.
A rebalancing of power that gives voice and respect to every citizen, whoever they are, wherever they live.
And Mr Speaker, we will bring the full power of government to bear on this task.
Because that is the responsibility of service.
And the duty we owe to the memory of every single one of the 72.
And in that spirit, I commend this statement to the House.
A STATEMENT FROM THE METROPOLITAN POLICE:
GRENFELL UNITED CAMPAIGNERS SAID:
FOR THE FAMILIES OF THOSE WHO DIED AND A COMMUNITY THAT WAS IGNORED FOR FAR TOO LONG, LET’S HOPE THIS REPORT IS JUST THE BEGINNING IN THE FIGHT FOR JUSTICE. THIS STORY IS FAR FROM OVER.
The Westminster government has pledged to crack down on ‘snatch thefts’ after this criminality soared by more than 150 per cent in the last year.
An estimated 78,000 people had phones or bags grabbed from them on the streets, with policing intelligence suggesting that this is being driven by increased demand for second hand smartphones, both in the UK and overseas.
To tackle this challenge head on, tech companies and manufacturers will be called to attend a Home Office summit on the issue, looking at the new innovations that could take on the illegal market. This will build on anti-theft smartphone features that some tech firms have already rolled out to protect their customers.
The government will also task police chiefs to tackle this scourge in neighbourhood theft. Operation Opal, the national police intelligence unit will launch an intelligence probe to gather urgent intel on the criminals who steal mobile phones, and where these devices end up. This will provide a stronger picture of the stolen mobile phone market, and identify what more needs to be done to tackle the problem.
Local police will also continue to surge police patrols in areas most at risk of serious violence, including robberies at knifepoint, with the government working with forces across the country to ensure that there is visible police presence in these hotspot areas to deter criminals and protect our communities.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1830884206081143100
New Home Office analysis commissioned by ministers concerned by growing reports of this issue has revealed:
Crime Survey data estimates for the latest 12 months indicates the equivalent of more than 200 snatch thefts every day on streets across England and Wales, the highest rate in more than a decade, and almost 60 per cent higher than the annual average since 2012/13
the latest Crime Survey estimates also showed overall theft from the person, which includes snatch and stealth thefts as well as attempts to steal from the person, increased by more than a third in the past year
latest published estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales show that over one third (36 per cent) of theft from the person offences involved theft of a mobile phone in the past year
Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson said: “With new phones coming to market and young people going back to school and university, many of us will have a new phone in our hands at this time of year.
” These figures are troubling and the government is determined to do whatever’s necessary to protect people entitled to walk the streets without the threat of robbery.
“As part of our Safer Streets mission, this new government is determined to crack down on snatch theft, knife-enabled robbery, and other crimes that make people feel unsafe in our communities, and we are working to get thousands more uniformed officers into our communities to restore neighbourhood policing.
“Phone companies must ensure that any stolen phones can be quickly, easily and permanently disabled, rather than re-registered for sale on the second-hand market, and we will be meeting them soon to discuss what further action is required to make that happen.
“If we work together, government, tech companies and law enforcement can break the business model of the phone thieves and moped gangs who rely on this trade.”
National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Personal Robbery, Commander Richard Smith, said: “Personal robbery can have a devastating impact on victims, leaving them with trauma which can be lasting.
“Criminals often target some of the most vulnerable in society, such as children, with threats that violence may be used, making robbery particularly traumatic. We continue to target those habitual criminals responsible for prolific offending, whilst working to prevent young people from being into this type of offending.
“During Operation Calibre, our national police week of action against personal robbery, police forces targeted their activity in over 1,250 known hotspot areas, increasing our visibility and operational activity and arresting those intent on committing crime.
“However, we know that we cannot arrest our way out of this problem. Manufacturers and the tech industry have an important role in reducing opportunities for criminals to benefit from the re-sale of stolen handsets.
“There are several tips you can do to reduce the chances of you becoming a victim, I encourage everyone to follow these and share them with family and friends. If in the unfortunate circumstances you are a victim of robbery, report it to the police or contact Crimestoppers.”
Researchers across the UK to use latest tech and major data bank to better predict where devastating floods and droughts will strike
innovators will also pioneer new ways of tackling the worst of extreme weather to halt damage and cut eye-watering cost to the economy
sensors in UK rivers and real time monitoring will gather priceless data that goes towards modelling the potential impact and likely flashpoints
Predicting where future flooding and droughts will strike next in the UK will be made easier under a new project for scientists using the latest tech and real-time data, Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has announced.
It will help key bodies, like local authorities and the Environment Agency, to stem the worst of extreme weather’s impact on communities, saving lives, homes, and businesses, and helping to cut the devastating cost of such events to the UK economy, estimated at £740 million a year.
The Floods and Droughts Research Infrastructure, led by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) and backed by £40 million, will be the first UK-wide network focused on understanding the impact of extreme weather conditions across the country, pinpointing where incidents are likely to occur and planning to limit their impact.
The complexity of Earth’s climate makes forecasting floods and droughts a major challenge, with climate change only further complicating the picture.
Researchers will use the latest technologies including sensors and real time computer monitoring, plus a huge bank of data including river profiles and near real-time monitoring of information including on atmospherics, ground saturation, water movement, abstraction and storage – taken together, this will form a clearer impression of where and when extreme weather will strike.
Floods wreak havoc on communities by destroying homes, public infrastructure, and livelihoods like farming which in turn costs consumers. Similarly, droughts have a major impact on the water supply and UK eco-system, harming wildlife and their natural habitats which rely on regular rainfall.
Researchers will be based at UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology’s offices throughout Great Britain, with further input from researchers in the British Geological Survey, University of Bristol and Imperial College London.
Findings from the project will be shared with key bodies like the Environment Agency to steer the UK response to extreme weather.
It will also act as a hub for researchers to pursue new innovations with discoveries shared across the world and marking the UK as a leader in the field.
Science and Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle, said: “Flooding and droughts can devastate UK communities, from leaving people stranded, to destroying homes, gardens, roads and businesses, and even claiming lives.
“With climate change sadly making extreme weather events more common and adding an eye-watering cost to the economy, there is no time to waste in backing our researchers and innovators to ensure we are better prepared for floods and droughts striking.
“This project will help drive that progress, with dedicated teams using the most advanced tech to crunch data gathered from our rivers and paint a clear picture of its likely impact – using the power of science and tech to keep the public safe.”
The new measures build on £5.6 billion of government investment into flooding from 2021 and 2027, with over 100 and coastal risk management projects helping to better protect thousands of people and properties from flooding from the sea, rivers and reservoirs.
The Westminster government will also shortly launch a new Flood Resilience Taskforce to turbocharge the delivery of new flood defences, drainage systems and natural flood management schemes, which will ensure we’re prepared for the future and help grow our economy.
Floods Minister Emma Hardy said: “In the case of extreme flooding and drought, preparation and prediction are everything.
“Our new institute will bring together a team of world-leading researchers and the latest technology to ensure our communities, businesses and farms are protected from these devastating events.”
The funding also builds on wider UKRI projects tackling extreme weather in the UK and abroad, including support for businesses to ensure against its risks.
It includes a project sponsored by the NERC linking the frequency and intensity of storms over Northern Europe using mathematical models that enable more accurate pricing of storm-related risks. Meanwhile the Lisflood-FP computer model developed by the University of Bristol has helped over one million Zambian farmers to insure themselves against drought risk through daily rainfall estimates for the continent of Africa.
Another team at Bristol has pioneered the development of high-resolution flood prediction models, which has resulted in Fathom: a spin-out company with an annual turnover of more than £4 million. Its work includes protecting infrastructure valued at over $1 trillion, thanks to improved flood risk management in the UK and across the world.
Executive Chair of NERC, Professor Louise Heathwaite, said: “Earth’s changing climate means the number of extreme floods and droughts will increase in the UK, impacting homes, businesses and services.
!But predicting their location and measuring their intensity and impact needs the sort of scientific advances that this programme will bring to overcome the data and analytical constraints that are currently very challenging.
“The project will transform the way we understand the impact of these events by building a significant bank of data and improving our monitoring capability, and so helping to protect those affected.
“This is an example of how NERC is responding to climate challenges with research and innovation investments that will accelerate the green economy and deliver solutions to national priorities.”
We want to create wealth everywhere, but first we must fix the foundations of our country.
In the first few weeks of this Government, an audit found a £22 billion black hole in the public finances. It means we’ve had to take tough decisions, like means-testing the Winter Fuel Payment. Our Budget in October will be difficult.
But we have already taken action to improve the lives of working people in every corner of the country, from unlocking planning decisions to help build 1.5 million new homes to setting up Great British Energy, to create good jobs and provide clean energy to cut people’s bills in the long term.
Here are some of the things we are doing to fix the foundations of this country.
Setting up a new National Wealth Fund
Growth is the number one priority of this government. That’s why we set up the National Wealth Fund.
It is a publicly owned investment fund that will help attract investment into our country, stabilise our economy and create wealth for future generations.
It will help unlock private investment into the UK by directly investing in new and growing industries, and help create thousands of jobs in clean energy industries.
Accelerating housing planning
We’re overhauling our housing system to meet the needs of working people and put communities first.
Our plan will include introducing mandatory planning targets to aim to deliver on our ambition to build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years.
The new targets will boost housebuilding in areas most in need, to help more people buy their own homes, and help drive growth – making everyone in the country better off.
Putting passengers first We’ll put our rail system back on track with new laws to deliver for passengers.
They will improve the railways by reforming rail franchising, establishing Great British Railways and bringing train operators into public ownership.
Protecting taxpayer money
We’ll introduce legislation that makes sure nobody can play fast and loose with public finances.
A new Bill will strengthen the role of the Office of Budget Responsibility, meaning significant fiscal announcements must be properly scrutinised and that taxpayers’ money is respected.
Protecting workers’ rights
We’ll improve workers’ rights with new legislation – a significant step towards delivering this Government’s plan to make work pay.
We will ban exploitative zero-hours contracts, end fire and rehire, and introduce basic employment rights from day one.
And we’re changing the way the Minimum Wage is set so it keeps in line with the cost of living, in a move to put more money in working people’s pockets.
Launching GB Energy
Producing clean energy and creating good jobs will be our focus for the rest of the year. Great British Energy, a publicly owned, clean-energy company, will own, manage and operate clean power projects, such as wind farms, across the country.
Great British Energy will be headquartered in Scotland and paid for by a windfall tax on oil and gas giants. It will invest clean power projects across the United Kingdom, such as wind farms, which are the cheapest forms of electricity generation to build and operate.
This will help make our country energy independent, tackle climate change and save families money. And investing in clean domestic power will create jobs and build supply chains in every corner of the UK.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to launch Pension Credit Week of Action to boost take-up of vital benefit
Joining forces with charities, broadcasters and a range of partners, the campaign will encourage pensioners to check their eligibility and apply
Up to 880,000 pensioners could be missing out on this cash boost worth on average up to £3,900 per year
Hundreds of thousands of pensioners are being urged to apply for a benefit that could be worth on average £3,900 per year as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is launching a campaign to increase Pension Credit take-up on Monday 2 September.
With as many as 880,000 pensioners missing out, the Pension Credit Week of Action aims to spread awareness and increase claims for Pension Credit, which from this year will also automatically passport eligible pensioners to receive the Winter Fuel Payment.
Joining forces with charities, broadcasters, Local Authorities, and a range of partners, the campaign will tackle myths that may prevent people applying, for instance having a small private pension, savings or owning their own home.
Families, friends and neighbours are being encouraged to reach out to retired family members to encourage them to check their eligibility and apply. 21 December is the last possible date to make a successful backdated claim in order to receive the Winter Fuel Payment.
While around 1.4 million pensioners are already receiving Pension Credit, up to an estimated 880,000 households are eligible for the support but are not claiming it.
Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said: “The £22 billion blackhole inherited from the previous governments means we are having to take tough decisions now to fix the foundations of our economy – including making the Winter Fuel Payments available to those most at need.
“1.3 million pensioners are already going to get help with fuel bills this year because they’re claiming pension credit – but thousands more are eligible. So, if you know someone who could get pension credit and help with their fuel bills, now is the time to help them apply for pension credit.”
Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall said: “Thousands of pensioners are missing out on Pension Credit worth on average £3,900 per year. That needs to change.
“It’s easier than ever to check if you are eligible, including with our online calculator, and if your circumstances have changed since the last time you looked – I urge you to check again.
“Friends, families and neighbours can also encourage their loved ones to apply, so that they are not missing out on this vital benefit.”
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “The legacy of failure on energy policy we have inherited means energy prices are set to rise in autumn. We must ensure that pensioners in the greatest need get access to help with rising bills.
“We will do everything in our power to increase take up of Pension Credit to the 880,000 households who are yet to claim – opening the door to other vital support such as the Winter Fuel Payment.
“The government will also continue our mission to deliver clean power by 2030, helping to finally give families the energy security they deserve and our country the energy independence we need.”
Pensioners whose weekly income is below £218.15 for a single person or £332.95 for a couple should check to see if they are eligible for this support which is worth £3,900 a year on average, using DWP’s online calculator.
People with a severe disability, carers and those who are responsible for a child or young person who lives with them could get more. Pension Credit can also include extra amounts for certain housing costs, such as ground rent or service charges.
This work is part of a wider plan to ensure economic stability for pensioners by protecting the Triple Lock and supporting households with their energy bills through the £150 Warm Home Discount and the Warm Homes Plan – upgrading millions of homes this Parliament.
Over the next five years, more than 12 million pensioners could see their State Pension increase by over a thousand pounds as a result of the commitment to the Triple Lock.
Over the phone by calling 0800 99 1234 (Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm)
By printing out and filling in a paper application form
For more information visit the Pension Credit GOV.UK page.
The Winter Fuel Payment is worth £300 for households with someone aged 80 or over. Households with someone aged 66-79 will receive £200.
We will work with Local Authorities to bring together the administration of Pension Credit and Housing Benefit as soon as operationally possible.
People who have reached State Pension age before September 23, 2024 and are in receipt of Pension Credit, Income Support, Income based JSA, Income related ESA, Universal Credit, Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit, will be entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment – subject to eligibility conditions.
The regulations to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment will be laid on 22 August 2024. The qualifying week in 2024 for Winter Fuel Payments will be from 16 to 22 September.
Pensioners need to be entitled to Pension Credit for at least one day in week September 16 to 22 to be eligible for a Winter Fuel Payment for this winter.
21 December is the last date for backdating a claim for Pension Credit to 22 September, assuming the claimant met the Pension Credit entitlement conditions throughout the previous three months.
Anyone who is entitled to Pension Credit for at least one day of the Winter Fuel Payment qualifying week will have automatic entitlement to Winter Fuel Payment. There are some exceptions which are detailed on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/eligibility
People do not have to do anything extra to backdate their claim. If they make their application online, they will automatically be asked if they would like to backdate it. If they make their application over the phone the advisor will talk them through this.
Around 1.3 million households in England and Wales will continue to receive Winter Fuel Payments due to some other pensioner households being eligible and expected extra Pension Credit take up due to this reform.
Pension Credit recipients by region (as of February 2024):
Union: Ministers must not blame spending cuts on public service pay
Ministers must not blame public service pay deals for spending cuts, according to GMB Scotland.
The warning comes as the union announces members have voted to accept a council pay offer and halt looming industrial action.
The union, one of the biggest across Scotland’s local authorities, revealed a ballot of members in councils showed 78% of those voting supported the deal offering up to 5.6% for frontline workers.
The offer from Cosla, representing Scotland’s councils, came just days before the start of strikes in waste and cleansing earlier this month.
Keir Greenaway, GMB Scotland senior organiser in public services, confirmed the industrial action, suspended during the vote, would not now go ahead.
He said it was right the offer, delivering a minimum rise of 3.6% for all grades, was weighted to ensure full-time frontline staff got a rise of £1,292 – equivalent to 5.6% for the lowest paid – but criticised needless delays.
Greenaway said: “Council leaders’ lack of urgency and stubborn refusal to ask the Scottish Government for support meant negotiations and uncertainty went on far longer than necessary.
“It should not take imminent strike action to deliver a fair offer but, while it came too late, the deal was above inflation for all staff and weighted to benefit frontline workers most.
“That was what the unions had asked for and, given that, it is no surprise our members accepted it.”
GMB Scotland has criticised the Scottish Government, however, after ministers froze non-essential spending within 24 hours of the offer being made before warning of more cuts this week.
Greenaway said: “Ministers implying a fair pay offer for our members means cuts to spending are only diverting attention from the real cause of the crisis in our public services.
“We have endured more than a decade of cuts not because of staff being paid fairly but because our governments, at Westminster and Holyrood, have failed to properly fund the public sector.
“Government is about choices but, when our public services are struggling to recruit and retain skilled staff, paying council staff fairly is not part of the problem but part of the solution.”
Thank you. And can I first express my sincere condolences for the shocking attack in Solingen last week. Our country knows what it’s like to suffer such senseless and despicable acts and our thoughts are with all the families affected by this terrible event.
And Olaf – thank you. It’s fantastic to be with you here in Berlin.
Not, alas, my first visit here as Prime Minister. Football, it turns out…
Decided to visit it’s second home in Spain, this time. But anyway – it was still an incredible experience…
And a showcase for the fantastic hospitality of this great nation.
So thank you for hosting yet another episode in English footballing trauma! I’ve been through a lot.
Anyway – I’m delighted to be back at this moment of opportunity for our two countries.
Olaf – on every occasion we’ve met, we’ve talked about our ambitions for the future. Our values of security, prosperity, respect and our shared determination to harness the power of government for the service of working people.
That is what we are doing today.
A new UK-Germany Treaty. A once in a generation chance to deliver for working people in Britain and in Germany.
A new agreement… A testament to the depth and potential of our relationship.
With deeper links on science, technology, development, people, businesses, culture.
A boost to our trading relations.
Germany – of course, already the UK’s second largest trading partner in the world. And through that – a chance to create jobs here and in the UK and deliver that most precious of goods, for both our countries … Economic growth.
Let me be clear – growth is the number one mission of my Government.
And what we understand, clearly is that building relationships with our partners – here in Germany and across Europe is vital to achieving it.
That is what our agreement today represents – the chance that we have.
We’ll also deepen cooperation on shared social challenges. For example, on illegal migration. Because we cannot smash the smuggling gangs who perpetrate this vile trade without the help of our partners.
And I’m really glad that we had substantive discussions today about how we tackle the smuggling gangs and agreed to develop a joint action plan to tackle illegal migration.
So we will renew our commitment to the Calais Group – enhance our intelligence sharing on organised immigration crime. but also – increase collaboration on tackling climate change.
An important goal for the planet, of course for greater energy security, but also – for tackling the drivers of challenges like illegal migration at source.
And finally – at the heart of this Treaty will be a new Defence Agreement. An agreement that builds upon our already formidable defence co-operation but which expands that relationship to face the threats of a volatile world, together.
That of course means a shared resolve to stand up for the security of our people and the wider European continent.
And that begins with our unyielding support for Ukraine – we discussed that in some detail today.
Because, as Europe’s largest contributors to Ukraine’s war efforts, and as the nations with the highest defence expenditure among European countries in NATO, we know only too well the debt we owe to the Ukrainian people who fight not just to defend themselves, but for all the people of Europe.
So today – we reaffirmed our commitment to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. We also share a common commitment to resolve the crisis in the Middle East, and agree on:
…Israel’s right to self-defence, in compliance with International Humanitarian Law…
…the need for de-escalation across the region; and for restraint and caution to be exercised…
Unfettered humanitarian access into Gaza…
…agreement to a ceasefire and release of all hostages…
…and the importance of working together towards a political solution based on the creation of a Palestinian State alongside a safe and secure Israel.
The only way to provide long-term peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.
That of course – is not an easy goal. But it is one that we are committed to pursuing, together.
Because – as today shows – Britain can advance its interests much more effectively when we stand with our friends and partners.
This Treaty is part of a wider reset – grounded in a new spirit of co-operation… with our shared understanding that this will be developed at pace and that we hope to have agreed it by the end of the year.
A Britain reconnected… Resetting our relationships… Rediscovering our common interest…Delivering for working people.
Britain and Germany already have an incredible relationship. We invest billions in each other’s countries. Thousands and thousands of jobs are supported through trade.
And every year, millions of people travel between our two countries; exchanging ideas, collaborating, creating and connecting. But today – we build on that … A bright new future for UK-German relations.
Two great countries – brought closer together than ever before. The strongest strategic partners in Europe and on the world stage.
