The Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will meet a number of his Gulf counterparts this week, as foreign ministers engage with allies on the tensions in the region.

Reflecting the UK’s close friendship with all of the Gulf states, this morning (Monday 12 June) he met the Qatari Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Later this week, the Foreign Secretary will hold talks with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

In all meetings, the Foreign Secretary will urge his counterparts to take immediate steps to de-escalate the current tensions and find a rapid resolution through mediation. He will say that it is in the interests of the wider region as well as the UK that a swift solution is found. He also will express the UK’s concern that collective action by the other Gulf states is having an adverse impact on the lives of ordinary people in Qatar.

At this morning’s bilateral with Sheikh Mohammed, the Foreign Secretary urged Qatar to engage with neighbours on their concerns and do more to address support for extremist groups, building on the steps already taken.

After the meeting, the Foreign Secretary said:

I have been in touch with my counterparts across the region about the current tensions with Qatar. I have urged all sides to refrain from any further escalation and to engage in mediation efforts. In that regard I pay tribute to the work of the Amir of Kuwait.

In finding a resolution, I call on Qatar to take seriously their neighbours’ concerns. Qatar is a partner of the UK in the fight against terrorism but they urgently need to do more to address support for extremist groups, building on the steps they have already taken to tackle funding to those groups.

I am also concerned by some of the strong actions which Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain have taken against an important partner, and urge them to ease the blockade on Qatar. I call on all states to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation and to find a rapid resolution through mediation.

Further information

The MDP deployments involved close co-operation with the various Home Office Police Forces that had requested support, and with the 1,000 military personnel who were mobilised at the same time.

In the first 24 hours following the activation of Operation Temperer, MDP officers were deployed to support 8 police forces across England and Wales. This number increased to 18 over the Bank Holiday weekend, with up to a quarter of the force’s total strength of Authorised Firearms Officers deployed to provide reassurance to the public at a variety of iconic sites, crowded places and public and major sporting events around the country.

The MDP also provided armed officers to support British Transport Police with keeping the rail network safe, including at London transport hubs, and MDP officers were also deployed at Stansted Airport to support Essex Police.

The busiest day for the MDP was Saturday 27 May, when the force supported policing operations at 60 public events across England and Wales, including high profile music concerts, festivals and sporting occasions.

These included:

• Chester Races
• Radio One Big Weekend in Hull
• Tall Ships Festival at Gloucester Docks
• Iron Maiden concert at London’s O2 venue.

Joint patrol at Porton Down. Photo: Ministry of Defence Police. All rights reserved

The police forces who received support from the MDP ranged from the Metropolitan Police Service in London to Dyfed-Powys in Wales, and from West Mercia to South Yorkshire, a response described by MDP Gold Commander Assistant Chief Constable Paul McLaughlin as ‘extraordinary’. He said:

We responded exceptionally well. The professional manner and attitude of our officers and staff was first class. We provided very large numbers of officers in response to what was requested, and the transition at local level in terms of military personnel back-filling for the MDP also went very smoothly.

Advance planning was key to the success of the MDP deployments, together with solid liaison with the National Police Co-ordination Centre and the Operations Directorate, he added.

Deployment guarding the Stansted Express, Photo: MDP Photographer, Paul Kemp. All rights reserved

And MDP Deputy Chief Constable Andy Adams commented:

The MOD response to Operation Temperer has been impressive and I know that the wider department will be expressing their own support for what their colleagues have been doing. I would like to take the opportunity to recognise the important role MDP officers and staff undertake through our dual focus at times like this: our role within the MOD and that of delivering a policing service which can be called upon outside of the department.

Critical incidents always generate the ‘can do’ attitude in those who are operationally focused; people put themselves out, are prepared to endure long hours and simply want to get on with the job. For these people, public service overrides personal interests and other commitments.

I saw many examples of that throughout this operation. There has been an enthusiastic approach to ‘getting the job done’ and I, for one, am extremely grateful for the commitment of everyone involved.

After six months of relentless training, four Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) officers from the Firearms Training Unit (FTU) at Sellafield are completing an Ironman distance challenge on Sunday in memory of PC Phil Mitchell.

Phil, aged 54, sadly lost his battle with cancer in July last year, and Supt Glenn McAleavey, PC Amanda McAleavey, Insp Tim Ferris and PC Andrew Bailey are taking part in the Lakesman Triathlon in his memory and raising money for Cancer Research.

On Sunday 18 June, they will swim 2.4 miles, cycle 112 miles, then run a marathon (26.2 miles), around the Lake District to raise as much money as they can for Cancer Research UK.

Phil joined the CNC in September 2012 and served as a firearms instructor at Sellafield. He had previously served 30 years as a firearms instructor with West Yorkshire Police, joining in 1980 and retiring in November 2010.

Supt Glenn McAleavey said: “We sadly lost a true friend and professional when Phil lost his battle with cancer after a courageous fight and with much dignity. He had such a positive impact on people as a friend, colleague and teacher. The main drive for us has been to raise money and awareness for the fight against cancer and to prevent us all losing people too early when they have still got so much more to give, and to support families who go through the pain of that loss.

“We want to show Phil’s family that he is still deeply missed by colleagues at the CNC and continue to support them through this difficult time. We will also be naming a suite at the new Sellafield Training Facility the Mitchell Suite in Phil’s memory.

“The training has been challenging at times but we are glad to be in the final stretch before the big event on Sunday, but it’s been an honour to take part in Phil’s memory and I hope we can raise as much money as possible for Cancer Research UK in the process.”

If you would like to sponsor Glenn and the team, please visit their Just Giving page to donate. To find out more about the Lakesman Triathlon, visit their website.