International Development Secretary, Penny Mordaunt, has today (Thursday, 4 October) announced that the UK will provide further assistance to those affected by the earthquake and tsunami, by aid matching the Disasters Emergency Committee’s appeal.

During a visit to the headquarters of DEC, Ms Mordaunt announced that the UK Government will match pound-for-pound the first £2 million raised by the generous British public to the Indonesia Tsunami Appeal.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said:

The British public have been very moved by the plight of so many people hit by these terrible events.

Aid Match is a chance for the British public to help directly to support people in desperate need. As well as our support through UK aid, the UK government will match pound for pound all public donations up to £2 million.

Your help will make a genuine difference, ensuring that lifesaving aid reaches those in dire need in Indonesia right now.

This new support will double the impact of the public’s own donations and will ensure that charities working on the ground can reach the men, women and children who have been left homeless and are in urgent need of food, water and temporary shelter.

DEC Chief Executive Saleh Saeed said:

We are delighted that the next £2 million donated by the British public will be matched by the UK Government.

We are deeply grateful for the generosity of people in the UK and we hope that this announcement will inspire even more people to give, knowing that whatever they donate will be matched pound for pound.

The situation in Indonesia is truly desperate. People have now gone several days without food, many are still believed to be trapped under the rubble, and we have heard stories of children becoming separated from their families.

DEC member charities are on the ground doing everything they can to help, but more funds are urgently needed to ensure we can reach as many people as possible.

The UK has been swift to respond to this crisis and this latest package of support comes less than 24 hours after the Government increased its direct support by £1 million to a total of £3 million.

The Aid Match support to the DEC appeal takes the initial commitment to the disaster relief to-date to up to £5 million.

This is on top of substantial existing support that the UK is already providing through its core funding to partners on the ground, including the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations and UN Central Emergency Response Fund.

The Indonesia Tsunami Appeal brings together 14 leading UK aid charities all collectively raising money to reach those in need quickly.

Notes to editors

Two charities under investigation by the Charity Commission, Save the Children and Oxfam, voluntarily withdrew from bidding for new funding for the duration of that investigation. The only circumstances where DFID would consider there to be an exception to this would be if due to the scale, remoteness and complexity of a humanitarian situation beneficiaries would suffer as a consequence of not using these organisations. Save The Children and Oxfam are members of DEC and have a considerable presence in Indonesia. Given the challenging nature of the relief effort following the tsunami the Secretary of State has granted an exception in this case. We have no concerns about either organisations’ ability to work to the standard we require in this crisis.

International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox is in South Korea this week to turbo charge talks on our future trading relationship after the UK leaves the EU – with or without a deal. As the 5th and 11th biggest economies in the world, he will also discuss with British businesses how the UK can boost its exports to South Korea, following the recent publication of the UK’s Export Strategy.

Dr Fox is meeting with his counterpart, Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong, to outline the UK’s commitment to maintaining a strong trading relationship and trade continuity for British and South Korean firms after we leave the EU.

As part of this ambition, the Secretary of State will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Korean Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), reaffirming our ongoing partnership and committing to working closely together on mutually beneficial business opportunities.

The ministers will also discuss how to break down non-tariff barriers to trade, which could help to further boost our exports.

Dr Fox is also meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mr Kim Dong Yeon, as well as with businesses including Hanwha, LG and Samsung.

Speaking ahead of the visit, the International Trade Secretary said:

The Asia-Pacific region will be a major engine of global growth in the 21st century and strengthening our established trading relationship with South Korea is high on our agenda.

I am delighted to continue discussions with Minister Kim Hyun-chong and Deputy Prime Minister Kim Dong Yeon and I want to see British and South Korean firms continue to trade as we do now after we leave the European Union.

The UK and South Korea are some of the best places to do business in the world. Trade between our 2 countries is growing rapidly and will grow stronger in the coming months and years.

Total trade between the UK and South Korea was worth £13.3 billion last year, up by 15.2% on 2016, and British firms exported more to South Korea than to India.

The World Bank has rated the UK the 7th easiest country to do business in in the world and South Korea has been rated 4th.

South Korea is one of more than 70 countries, party to more than 40 trade agreements, currently in discussions with the Department for International Trade to achieve continuity of our trading arrangements after we leave the EU.

The government of South Korea has already expressed its desire to continue these arrangements, providing certainty and stability for businesses and consumers.

The Centre for Immersive Storytelling will ensure that the UK’s creative workforce has world-leading skills in the use of virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies.

It is being funded by UK Research and Innovation through its £33 million audience of the future programme, which forms part of government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

The centre will be run by winning bidders, the National Film and Television School (NFTS) and Royal Holloway University.

Creative training in immersive technology

The centre will offer creative training and research programmes in immersive storytelling, initially to screen professionals.

They will be able to take part in experimental labs, workshops, placements and courses through the centre, which will also support and co-fund real immersive productions.

In the longer term, the centre will offer master’s degrees across a range of immersive specialisms.

New audiences and ground-breaking content

The winning bidders were announced by Andrew Chitty, UK Research and Innovation Challenge Director, at Raindance Film Festival. Andrew said:

The UK has an opportunity to lead the world in adopting immersive technology to find new audiences and create ground-breaking content. But to do this we need to develop our creative talent to make the best of this new medium.

This exceptional partnership brings together researchers, a world-class film school and partners across the industry, who will not only support the centre but gain the benefit of its graduates.

The evolution of storytelling

Support from screen industry professionals

The bid by NFTS and Royal Holloway was supported by high-profile people from the creative industry, including Sir Lenny Henry, Asif Kapadia, Georgina Campbell, Sarah Gavron, Steven Moffat, Sue Vertue and Alex Garland.

Sir Lenny Henry commented:

Britain has an amazingly rich heritage and strength in storytelling.

Immersive technologies are an exciting new opportunity for us, but this new frontier for storytelling should be one that really reflects the wealth and diversity of our country’s talent.

Bringing together industry and academia

The centre will commission 60 productions that will develop the UK’s immersive sector. Organisations across the UK will be selected to lead the projects.

Professor James Bennett, Royal Holloway, said:

This is an exciting partnership between the country’s leading screen industries’ training provider and one of the UK’s top research institutions.

It’s a unique collaboration that will bring together industry and academia to explore the exciting creative and commercial opportunities of immersive technologies, placing storytelling at the heart of the work.

Jon Wardle, Director of the NFTS, added:

It is our aim to make immersive another success story for UK plc’s world-leading screen industries, by enabling our storytellers of film, TV, games and theatre to exploit this new medium.

We intend to place diversity at the heart of our endeavours, ensuring that the future of immersive storytelling is one that reflects the full breadth of the UK’s creative talent.

Every year over 55,100 people in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer with alcohol causing 1 in 13 cases. Alcohol increases the level of oestrogen in the bloodstream and long-term exposure to oestrogens increases the risk of developing breast cancer.

Drinkaware and Public Health England (PHE) are encouraging women of all ages to cut down on how much they are drinking by taking more drink free days to reduce their risk of developing breast cancer and a range of other health conditions including liver and heart disease.

Published 4 October 2018
Last updated 4 October 2018

A man found to be in possession of a gun while on bail and subject to a Serious Crime Prevention Order has today had his sentence increased after the Attorney General, Geoffrey Cox QC MP, referred his sentence to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient.

During a search of 29 year old Mafuta Capitao’s home, police discovered a semi-automatic pistol. In addition to this, they found mobile phones and sim cards that had not been disclosed to law enforcement, as required under restrictions placed on Capitao following previous imprisonment for robbery and conspiracy to blackmail. At this time Capitao was also on bail, having been arrested for carrying a lock knife earlier in the year.

Capitao was originally sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court in July, where he was given 5 years 5 months imprisonment. Today, after the Attorney General’s referral, the Court of Appeal increased his sentence to 7 years 5 months.

Commenting on the increase, the Attorney General said:

“Capitao has an extensive history of offending, and failed to adhere to the restrictions put upon him. These restrictions are put in place to enable law enforcement to prevent reoffending and protect members of the public; the Court of Appeal’s decision today sends a clear message that such breaches will be punished severely.”