Author Archives: HM Government

This morning, our country woke to news of another terrorist attack on the streets of our capital city: the second this month and every bit as sickening as those which have come before.

It was an attack that once again targeted the ordinary and the innocent going about their daily lives – this time British Muslims as they left a mosque having broken their fast and prayed together at this sacred time of year.

Today we come together – as we have done before – to condemn this act and to state once again that hatred and evil of this kind will never succeed.

The government’s Emergency Committee, COBRA, has just met and I can set out what we know about what happened, and the steps that we are taking to respond.

Just after twenty-past midnight, the Metropolitan Police received reports that a van had been driven into a crowd of people on Seven Sisters Road in Finsbury Park.

Officers were in the immediate vicinity as the attack unfolded and responded within one minute.

Police declared it a terrorist incident within 8 minutes.

One man was pronounced dead at the scene; 8 injured were taken to 3 separate hospitals; while 2 were treated at the scene for more minor injuries.

The driver of the van – a white man aged 48 – was bravely detained by members of the public at the scene and then arrested by police.

The early assessment by the police is that the attacker acted alone.

Our thoughts and prayers this morning are with the family and friends of the man who died and those who were injured.

On behalf of the people of London – and the whole country – I want to thank the police and the emergency services once again for responding as they always do with great professionalism and courage.

Extra police resources have already been deployed to reassure communities, and the police will continue to assess the security needs of Mosques and provide any additional resources needed, especially during this final week before Eid Al-Fitr, a particularly important time for the whole Muslim community.

This was an attack on Muslims near their place of worship. And like all terrorism, in whatever form, it shares the same fundamental goal.

It seeks to drive us apart; and to break the precious bonds of solidarity and citizenship that we share in this country.

We will not let this happen.

When I stood here for the first time as Prime Minister last summer I spoke about our precious belief in the Union – not just the bond between the four nations of the United Kingdom – but the bond between all our citizens, every one of us, whoever we are and wherever we are from.

At the heart of that bond is a belief in the fundamental freedoms and liberties that we all cherish; the freedom of speech; the freedom to live how we choose and yes, the freedom to practice religion in peace.

This morning we have seen a sickening attempt to destroy those freedoms; and to break those bonds of citizenship that define our United Kingdom.

It is a reminder that terrorism, extremism and hatred take many forms; and our determination to tackle them must be the same whoever is responsible.

As I said here two weeks ago, there has been far too much tolerance of extremism in our country over many years – and that means extremism of any kind, including Islamophobia.

That is why this government will act to stamp out extremist and hateful ideology – both across society and on the internet, so it is denied a safe space to grow.

It is why we will be reviewing our Counter-Terrorism strategy and ensuring that police and security services have the powers they need.

And it is why we will establish a new Commission for Countering Extremism as a statutory body to help fight hatred and extremism in the same way as we have fought racism – because this extremism is every bit as insidious and destructive to our values and our way of life and we will stop at nothing to defeat it.

Today’s attack falls at a difficult time in the life of this city, following on from the attack on London Bridge 2 weeks ago – and of course the unimaginable tragedy of Grenfell Tower last week, on which I will chair another meeting of Ministers and officials later today.

But what we have seen throughout – whether in the heroism of the ordinary citizens who fought off the attackers at London Bridge; the unbreakable resolve of the residents in Kensington; or this morning the spirit of the community that apprehended this attacker – is that this is an extraordinary city of extraordinary people.

It is home to a multitude of communities that together make London one of the greatest cities on earth.

Diverse, welcoming, vibrant, compassionate, confident and determined never to give in to hate.

These are the values that define this city.

These are the values that define this country.

These are the values that this government will uphold.

These are the values that will prevail.

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Professor Tenreyro will be appointed for an initial three-year term which will take effect in July 2017.

Professor Tenreyro will replace Kristin Forbes, who announced that she will step down at the end of her term of office on 30 June 2017.

As an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), Professor Tenreyro will vote to decide the future path of UK monetary policy. The MPC currently meets eight times a year to set monetary policy to meet the inflation target.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, said:

I am delighted to appoint Professor Silvana Tenreyro as the new external member of the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England. I am confident that Professor Tenreyro will be a strong addition to the MPC, bringing a wealth of economic experience and academic rigour to the Committee’s deliberations.

About Silvana Tenreyro

Professor Tenreyro graduated with a Ph.D in Economics from Harvard University. She is a Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics (LSE) and an academic visitor at the Bank of England. She specialised in Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics and has taught these subjects at the LSE since 2004.

Before this Professor Tenreyro worked as an Economist at the US Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (2002-04) and she was an external member of MPC at the Bank of Mauritius (2012-14), voting on interest rate movements.

About the MPC

The Monetary Policy Committee makes decisions about monetary policy.

The Committee is made up of nine members – the Governor, the Deputy Governors for Monetary Policy and Financial Stability, the Deputy Governor for Markets and Banking, four external members appointed by the Chancellor and one member appointed by the Governor (currently the Bank’s Chief Economist).

The appointment of external members is designed to ensure that the MPC benefits from thinking and expertise in addition to that gained inside the Bank of England.

With this appointment the list of MPC members from (5 July) will be:

• Mark Carney (Governor)
• Ben Broadbent (Deputy Governor, Monetary Policy)
• Sir Jon Cunliffe (Deputy Governor, Financial Stability)
• Andy Haldane (Executive Director, Monetary Analysis and Chief Economist)
• Ian McCafferty (external member)
• Gertjan Vlieghe (external member)
• Michael Saunders (external member)
• Silvana Tenreyro (external member)

The Deputy Governor of Markets and Banking will be appointed in due course.

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Sir Kelly will take over from Dame Kate Barker and will join non-executive member Lord Terry Burns in overseeing the governance and independence of the OBR. Together, they will support the Budget Responsibility Committee; Chair of the OBR, Robert Chote; Professor Sir Charlie Bean and Graham Parker; in taking forward the strategic aims of the OBR.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, said:

I am pleased to appoint Sir Christopher Kelly as a non-executive member at the Office for Budget Responsibility. Sir Christopher’s expertise and experience will bring real value as he works to maintain the OBR’s exceptionally high standards in carrying out its important public duties.

I would also like to thank Dame Kate Barker for her significant contribution to the work and standing of the OBR over the last six years, and wish her every success in her future plans.

Chairman of the OBR Robert Chote said:

I am delighted that the Chancellor has agreed to appoint Sir Chris as a non-executive member of the OBR. He will bring a wide range of experience and expertise to the oversight board, further enhancing the OBR’s governance and independence.

I would also like to thank Dame Kate Barker for her hard work and valuable insight over the past six years. As one of the first non-executive members she has contributed a great deal to the early successes of the OBR.

Further information

Sir Kelly has had a distinguished career in the civil service, serving in various roles in HM Treasury and the Department of Social Security, ending his civil service career as Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health between 1997 and 2000.

Since then he has led on a number of reviews and chaired a wide range of committees and organisations including the NSPCC, Financial Ombudsman Service and the Committee on Standards in Public Life. He is currently chair of the Kings Fund and the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board, a senior independent non-executive director on the board of the Co-op Group and a member of the Advisory Board to the Institute of Business Ethics.

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International Development Secretary Priti Patel today called for a new concerted global push to prevent millions of people losing their lives across East Africa to the threat of starvation and disease.

As the first Cabinet Minister to visit Africa since the General Election, Ms Patel saw how UK leadership has saved the lives of many facing the risk of extreme hunger.

But she warned that the crisis had reached a critical point and that a loss of momentum in the international response could rapidly reverse the progress made, cost lives and further destabilise the already fragile region.

She made clear that the UK will continue to set the pace. The quick response from the UK earlier this year to the growing food crisis in East Africa – including pledging £110 million for Somalia, £11.5 million for Ethiopia and matching £10 million of public donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s (DEC) appeal – led the international response. This support has been integral to preventing starvation in Somalia and Ethiopia, but the risk is far from over.

In Somalia – a country plagued by civil war and terrorism where millions have fled their homes – our support is not only helping people survive, it will help give them a choice about their lives and their futures, so they aren’t forced to turn to extremism or make the dangerous journey to Europe. This in turn means a safer UK.

The Ethiopian Government showed strong leadership in the 2016 drought and put forward more than US$700 million to meet the needs of their own people. We are working with the Government to ensure they respond effectively this year, to prioritise, plan effectively and step up their own finance for the response.

International Development Secretary Priti Patel said:

Global Britain is leading the way in providing a lifeline for millions of people in Somalia and Ethiopia who are at risk of starving to death as extreme hunger stalks East Africa.

I’ve seen UK aid in action, doing what it does best – saving and changing lives. This is also helping to stabilise the world’s most fragile countries and giving vulnerable people a chance to build lives closer to home and therefore increasing the UK’s security.

The UK stepped up early with support and lobbied others to do more which has prevented the spread of famine. We are showing our continued leadership with more food, more water and more medicine for those at imminent risk of dying from drought and conflict.

The world must follow our lead and act now to put an end to humanitarian crises that threaten our global stability and help accelerate progress on peace, security and prosperity – which is firmly in everyone’s interest.

Ms Patel has also pressed international partners – including the World Bank – to disburse funding more quickly. The Bank has since pledged $1.8 billion to respond to the crises, including $50 million to Somalia and $100 million to Ethiopia to help people in drought affected areas access food assistance, water and health services.

The world has faced an unprecedented number of humanitarian crises in 2017, including a famine in parts of South Sudan, the first declared globally since 2011.

Severe drought conditions, cholera and measles outbreaks, losses of livestock and increasing numbers of people fleeing their homes have put people in Somalia and neighbouring Ethiopia back on the brink of starvation, threatening millions of lives.

Half the population of Somalia have no reliable access to food and are facing the possibility of a third famine in 25 years.

The UK continues to work with the Governments of Somalia and Ethiopia, and partners such as UNICEF, World Food Programme, Food and Agriculture Organisation, and NGOs to ensure aid reaches those most in need.

While in the country, Ms Patel saw crates of UK aid ready to be loaded onto aircraft at Mogadishu airport, to reach people across the country. Following the London Somalia Conference earlier this year, Ms Patel reaffirmed the need for the international community to continue to support Somalia, not just through emergency aid but also by strengthening security to keep Somalia on course for increased peace, stability and prosperity.

For Ethiopia this is the second severe drought in two years. As the second largest refugee hosting country in Africa, Ethiopia’s resources are being stretched to the limit with 880,000 refugees who have fled war and violence in neighbouring countries. The UK is working with its international partners to improve the infrastructure, local services and job opportunities in Ethiopia to help the country cope with the increase in refugees and prevent onward migration.

As part of her visit, the Secretary of State announced a £90 million package of urgently needed support which will help more than 2 million more people in desperate need of clean water, food, and basic medical supplies in Somalia and Ethiopia. This includes £60 million in new funding for Somalia, and a £30 million allocation for Ethiopia.

Priti Patel visited a food distribution centre in Ethiopia to see first-hand how UK aid is supporting people at risk of hunger and to meet the UK aid workers on the front line. She also visited a health centre, one of many UK aid is supporting across Ethiopia, to see how malnourished children are receiving life-saving support, including an innovative peanut paste which gives them vital nutrients.

Notes to Editors

1. Before February, there had been only one certified famine globally since 2000. Parts of South Sudan are now in famine and in 2017 there is a credible risk of another three famines: in Somalia, Yemen and North East Nigeria, with Ethiopia and Kenya also suffering from severe drought. More than 20 million men, women and children face the very real risk of dying from starvation in the next six months because of relentless war and drought.
2. In Ethiopia, 7.8 million men, women and children are at risk of going hungry, while in Somalia over 6 million do not have reliable access to food.
3. The UK has now pledged £321.5 million in response to the humanitarian crises in East Africa this year.
4. More information about previous announcements of UK support for East Africa can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-outlines-new-humanitarian-support-and-urges-international-community-to-save-lives-before-its-too-late and here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-scales-up-humanitarian-relief-efforts-in-somalia and here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/priti-patel-will-double-public-donations-to-the-disasters-emergency-committee-east-africa-crisis-appeal-this-weekend
5. £60 million pledged for Somalia is new money – not previously allocated to our Somalia budget – for the rest of 2017.
6. £30 million pledged for Ethiopia is an allocation of money from our Ethiopia budget for the rest of the financial year of 2017/18.
7. £60 million of UK aid will provide:

• 350,000 people with emergency food
• Access to clean water and sanitation to over 1 million people
• Shelter for 100,000 people
• Vaccinations for 2 million livestock
• And protection for 20,000 vulnerable women at risk from violence and trafficking.

1. The number of people in need of food in Ethiopia has risen sharply. £30 million of UK aid provide:

• Emergency food support for 1.5 million people
• Life-saving nutritional support to more than 154,000 starving children and pregnant and breastfeeding women
• Safe drinking water for 100,000 people
• Livestock support for 500,000 people.
• 10 mobile protection teams to provide child protection, support victims of sexual violence and help internally displaced people and their host communities

ENDS

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This is the first chance we have had to talk to our European friends and colleagues since some of the attacks that we have had in the UK. The London Bridge attack in particular of course, where most of the fatalities were from other European countries. We had 3 French casualties, 2 Poles, 1 very brave Spanish fatality you’ll remember.

So this is a chance for us to talk about that together on what we’re doing on counter-terrorism, particularly on occupying the space, the cyber-space taken up by the terrorists and working together, as the Prime Minister Theresa May has said, to deprive them of that space. To work with the internet companies, to stop them from allowing those guys to peddle their filth and their perverted ideology on the internet.

Obviously this is the first day of the talks on Brexit, and I think the most important thing is that, of course there’ll be lots of discussions about the nature of the deal we are going to do, but I think, on the discussion about money and so forth, I think the most important thing now is for us to look to the horizon. Raise our eyes to the horizon. Think about the future. Think about the new partnership. The deep and special partnership that we want to build with our friends and I think in the long run this will be good for the UK and good for the rest of Europe. That’s we are hoping for.

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