A man who carried out a series of violent offences has had his sentence increased after the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC MP, referred it to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient.

Aaron John Scrase, 20, and an accomplice attempted to steal a Porsche from a drive in St Hilary Close, Bristol. When the owner confronted them, Scrase attacked him with a wrench. The pair later stole a Mini, and used this to rob a cyclist of his belongings. On another occasion, Scrase stole alcohol from a shop on a petrol station forecourt and, when a member of staff intervened, joined his accomplices in punching and kicking him. He was also sentenced for separate offences of car theft and a burglary at a newsagents.

Scrase was originally sentenced at Bristol Crown Court in August, where he was given 1 year 11 months detention in a Young Offender Institution. Today, after the Solicitor General’s referral, the Court of Appeal increased his sentence to 4 years 6 months detention.

Commenting on the sentence increase, the Solicitor General said:

“Scrase carried out a number of offences, terrorising victims in the Bristol area. It is important that crimes like these are not taken too lightly. The Court of Appeal’s decision today makes that clear.”

• Leading advertising CEO Annette King appointed chair of new Creative Industries Trade and Investment board
• Government support for international creative industries activity increased to £5 million
• The board will aim to increase creative industries’ exports by 50 per cent by 2023

Creative Industries Minister Margot James will today announce a cash boost to turbocharge the UK’s international trade in the creative industries.

This cash will help the nation’s £92 billion creative industries seize international trading opportunities and target inward investment from abroad.

Speaking at Lisbon’s Museum for Art, Architecture and Technology, the Minister will confirm a further £1 million of government funding to promote the ‘best of British’ creativity abroad, taking the total to £5 million.

The Minister will also announce the appointment of leading advertising CEO Annette King as chair of the newly established Creative Industries Trade & Investment Board.

This new industry-led initiative, agreed in the Creative Industries Sector Deal, part of the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy, aims to stimulate trade in one of the UK’s most exciting sectors and continue a great British success story.

Speaking ahead of the Creativity is Great event in Lisbon, as part of the festival’s Web Summit, Minister for Digital and the Creative Industries, Margot James, said:

The UK’s creative industries are globally renowned and by boosting our support we will make sure our brilliant British talent can reach new markets.

As well as increasing funding for this vibrant sector, I’m delighted to announce Annette King will chair the new Creative Industries Trade and Investment Board.

She will help make sure we are creating the right environment for our creative industries to flourish on the international stage and maintain our position as one of the world’s creative and cultural superpowers.

Through the Export Strategy, launched in August, the Department for International Trade has set out the target of increasing total UK exports to 35 per cent of GDP – an increase of five per cent from current levels – to transform the UK into one of the G7’s most successful exporting powers.

Industry Chair of the Creative Industries Council, Tim Davie, said:

I’m delighted Annette has accepted the invitation to Chair the Trade and Investment Board. This is a vital part of the landmark Sector Deal to increase creative exports and the number of business exporting from across the country.

I’m confident she will do a fantastic job of championing the whole of the UK creative industries and I look forward to supporting her from the Creative Industries Council.

Annette King, chair of the Creative Industries Trade & Investment Board, said:

Creativity is the UK’s calling card to the world; our reputation for ideas, flair, talent and imagination sitting alongside our rich cultural heritage and cutting-edge creative companies.

I’m honoured to have been asked by Tim to take the position of Chair on the CITIB and look forward to working with the talented and committed board members from across the sector to meet this target.

Today’s funding boost will support UK businesses attending the Shanghai International Advertising Festival where the UK is ‘Country of Honour,’, a new China-UK film exchange to help increase coproductions between the countries, and support an increased British presence at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

The board will build on industry’s successful collaboration with Government which has already opened up business opportunities for British creative companies in the growth markets of China, the US, India and Hong Kong, providing a platform for firms to showcase their activity and meet new customers at industry events including South By South West and the London Book Fair.

The Board will include representatives from across the sector, which spans film, TV, publishing, music, games, animation, architecture, advertising, craft, design and fashion.

Recent statistics show that creative businesses are on average more likely to export than other UK businesses.

Creative industries exports in services and goods are currently worth more than £40 billion, with films produced in British studios such as Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Beauty and the Beast, Wonder Woman and albums from artists Little Mix, Ed Sheeran and Michael Ball. There are also more than 2,000 active video games companies in the UK, such as Rockstar North, King and Rebellion and together they employ 30,000 people.

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. Annette King is the chief executive of Publicis Groupe UK, a role where she oversees all of its agencies in the UK. She joined from Ogilvy, where she spent 17 years in various different roles, from running and building OgilvyOne in the UK and then EMEA to leading Ogilvy UK Group’s ten operating companies.

2. The chair and board membership are unpaid.

3. The new Board was a landmark part of the Industry Strategy Sector Deal agreed between government and industry under the leadership of the Creative Industries Council. The Creative Industries was one of the early sectors to strike a sector deal.

4. The Board will develop and oversee delivery of an export strategy and explore, support and advise on high-value opportunities for Inward Investment and Foreign Direct Investment.

Full list of confirmed board members:

• Film: Amanda Nevill, BFI’s CEO
• TV: Dawn McCarthy-Simpson, PACT Director of International Strategy
• Publishing: Stephen Lotinga, Publishers Association CEO
• Music: Tom Kiehl, UK Music Deputy CEO and Director of Government and Public Affairs
• Games: Jo Twist, UKIE CEO
• Animation: Kate O’Connor, UK Screen Alliance Executive Chair
• Architecture: Alan Vallance, RIBA, Chief Executive
• Advertising: Stephen Woodford, Promote UK and Janet Hull, Promote UK
• Craft: Rosy Greenlees, Craft Council Executive Director
• Design: Deborah Dawton, Design Business Association CEO
• Fashion: Adam Mansell, UK Fashion and Textiles CEO and Caroline Rush, BFC CEO
• Innovate UK: Tom Fiddian, Creative Economy Lead
• GREAT campaign: Sarah Anderson, Head of Brand and Partnerships
• Inward Investment: Adrian Wootton, British Film Commission CEO
• Experience Economy: Lizzy Moriarty, Consultant. Ex Natural History and British Museum
• Creative Industries Federation: Alan Bishop, CEO
• Independent Member: Deborah Williams, Creative Diversity Network, Chief Executive
• Independent Member: Janet Hull, IPA Director of Marketing Strategy
• Independent Member: Jamal Edwards, Founder of SB.TV
• Department for International Trade: Sue Bishop, Head, Creative, Lifestyle and Learning
• Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport: Creative Industries Deputy Director

Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP will return to his alma mater, the Durham University Law School, on Tuesday 6 November to talk to staff and students about his role as a Law Officer as well as the importance of Public Legal Education (PLE).

This visit follows the launch of the PLE vision statement last week, announced by the Solicitor General at an All-Party Parliamentary Group Public Legal Education and Pro Bono event. PLE provides people with vital awareness of their rights as citizens, builds the confidence and skills they need to deal with disputes, and ensures that everyone has access to justice.

The Solicitor General will take the opportunity to share the statement’s 7 goals for the future of PLE and encourage the students to get involved with legal education initiatives.

While there, Durham University will also be awarding the Solicitor General with their first ever Dean’s Award for Achievement. This is in recognition of his success and becoming the first Durham graduate to become a Law Officer of England and Wales.

The Solicitor General said:

“I am hugely honoured to be receiving this award from Durham University, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to give something back by sharing some of my own experience with the Law School’s current generation of students.

“PLE not only has a tangible benefit on people’s lives, but it is hugely positive for our legal system too.

“I hope that my discussion about the vision statement and its goals with these students today will help to serve as inspiration for a new generation of lawyers and drive forward our shared vision for the future of PLE.”

Professor Thom Brooks, Durham Law School said:

“Durham Law School is delighted to welcome back Robert Buckland QC MP to deliver our inaugural Law School Annual Lecture to our staff and students. He has a distinguished record as a Member of Parliament and Solicitor General. We look forward to bestowing him with the first Dean’s Award for Achievement in recognition of his becoming our first graduate to serve as a Law Officer of England and Wales. I am sure our students will be inspired by meeting him.”

Experts from across the finance, nuclear, construction and manufacturing sectors assembled in Coventry this week (Monday 5 and Tuesday 6 November 2018) to explore taking smaller nuclear reactors from concept to construction.

The cutting-edge Manufacturing and Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry will host around 200 delegates from across the UK to discuss the commercialisation of small modular nuclear reactors – innovative small nuclear power stations that could radically reduce the costs associated with the nuclear sector. The first small reactors could be built as soon as 2030, with potential for exports worldwide.

To help commercialise these revolutionary reactors, Nuclear Energy Minister Richard Harrington today (Tuesday 6 November) announced the next crucial steps, including:

• inviting developers to submit design proposals to identify potential risks with proposals early on, reducing investment risks for potential backers
• setting out a how a £32 million Advanced Manufacturing and Construction Programme will allow companies to bid for funds to test new technologies, ironing out potential flaws before they start producing at scale.

Nuclear Energy Minister Richard Harrington said:

Hosting this first ever conference, bringing together more than 200 influencers from across the industry, demonstrates our commitment to enhancing our world-leading nuclear sector.

Increasing competitiveness both nationally and regionally in the sector is part of our modern Industrial Strategy, and this summit could help UK industry seize the global challenge of taking this new generation of new nuclear power from concept to construction.

Delegates at this first-ever government SMR conference will discuss the investment opportunities of small reactors, as well as seeing working examples of the technology in practice and attending a series of networking events workshops and keynote speeches.

Clean, secure nuclear energy already provides a reliable source of low-carbon electricity for our economy: in 2016, nuclear energy provided 20% of our electricity in the UK, as well as providing the reliable bedrock upon which other clean sources such as renewables can thrive. These new small reactors, which can be built in factories off-site, could be placed on a footprint similar in size to a football stadium and add to the UK’s diverse low-carbon energy mix.

Earlier this year, the Expert Finance Working Group presented its findings to government about how SMRs could be financed, laying the groundwork for the sustainable environment needed for small nuclear technologies to come forward. The Group reported that the UK could be well placed to develop these “First of a Kind” small reactor projects and that they could be commercially viable propositions.

These ground-breaking technologies have the potential to deliver some of the key objectives of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy and Nuclear Sector Deal, namely meeting the commitment from industry to reduce the cost of new nuclear build projects, as well as unlocking vast growth opportunities for a thriving supply chain that supports small nuclear projects in the UK.

Fiona Reilly, chair of the independent Expert Finance Working Group, said:

I am delighted to see BEIS delivering on its commitment made in the sector deal to bring together vendors, utilities and energy intensive users at this event at this important time for the UK nuclear industry. Building on the trust and confidence in the UK market, this crucial event allows the opportunity for the finance sector and other stakeholders to understand the features of small nuclear.

These special features, innovative designs deploying truly modular factory construction, when taken together with the market framework envisaged by the Expert Finance Working Group, could result in these stakeholders, and particularly the finance sector coming together to develop credible commercial propositions

Tom Greatrex, Chief Executive of the UK’s Nuclear Industry Association said:

Small modular reactors have the potential to play an important role as one element of the low carbon power supply we will need to power homes, businesses, cars, schools and hospitals. They are complementary to both large scale, secure and reliable nuclear power plants and intermittent and variable wind and solar power. With the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union fast approaching, the future opportunity to export UK based technology to international markets, also make smaller reactors worthy of serious interest from the UK government.

Andrew Storer, Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear AMRC, said:

We’re pleased to support this important event and help government and industry realise the UK’s ambitions for the nuclear sector. The advanced manufacturing technologies we’re developing at the Nuclear AMRC will play a vital role in ensuring that new reactor designs are manufactured to cost and schedule, enabling the UK to take a global lead in commercialising small reactors, with huge opportunities for companies across the country.

At the Nuclear AMRC, we’re already working with around 1,000 manufacturers across the UK to help them compete in the worldwide nuclear sector, and we welcome the government’s continuing support for the new generation of clean affordable power.

The event in Coventry follows a recent visit from Secretary of State Greg Clark to the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (Nuclear AMRC) in Sheffield on 25 October 2018, where the Business Secretary met apprentices and staff developing this cutting-edge technology. Prototype SMR parts produced at the Nuclear AMRC as part of collaborative research with Sheffield Forgemasters and international partners will be exhibited at the conference in Coventry, showcasing local talent and aspiration to be part of this UK small nuclear revolution.

Notes to editors

1. In June 2018 the government launched the Nuclear Sector Deal outlining its shared ambition for the UK nuclear industry in the UK as part of the modern Industrial Strategy.

2. The deal announced an ambitious new framework for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) to enable the commercialisation of these technologies in the UK and signalled a step up in pace and ambition for advanced nuclear technologies policy. The framework consists of initiatives covering:

a. the Advanced Manufacturing and Construction Programme

b. the work of the UK Regulators to further improve the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process for assessing the safety, security and environmental acceptability of new nuclear reactor designs

c. financing, including the work of the Expert Finance Working Group

d. development of the SMR supply chain

e. the Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) Competition

f. development of the siting and land access process for SMRs

3. Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are part of the advanced nuclear technology sector which covers a range of new innovations under development. Modular Reactors are smaller than conventional nuclear power station reactors and are designed so that much of the plant can be built in a factory and transported to site for construction. They usually fall into 2 categories – either water-cooled reactors similar to existing nuclear power station reactors but on a smaller scale (known as SMRs), or Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs) which use new cooling systems or fuels and potentially offer new uses for nuclear energy.

4. In the Nuclear Sector Deal, government committed to facilitating an event to bring together vendors, utilities, energy intensive users and the finance sector to further develop credible commercial propositions that could be financed by the private sector. The Commercialisation of Small Nuclear in the UK event is the fulfilment of this commitment.

5. The UK Nuclear Regulators are:

• the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR)
• the Environment Agency (EA)
• Natural Resources Wales (NRW)

They will commence Generic Design Assessment (GDA) of new small reactors next year. With the government expectation that all future designs will go through this process, all interested parties will be able to register interest this year with BEIS, and applications for GDA entry will be accepted for review by government from early next year – crucial next steps on this journey.

6. The £32 million Advanced Manufacturing and Construction Programme was announced in the Nuclear Sector Deal. It comprises up to £20 million of government funding, intended to leverage at least £12 million from industry. Government is commencing immediately on a process to work with the sector at all levels to develop the programme and mutually beneficial terms for the grant calls. Dependent upon the progress of that work, we will aim to provide more detail on the grant call and launch a competitive process before the end of the year. The programme will be open to all parts of the sector – nuclear new build, decommissioning and advanced nuclear. Cutting edge manufacturing techniques, modularisation and factory build are key to making small reactors cost effective. Such techniques are being actively developed and demonstrated in places like the MTC and the Nuclear AMRC. But – again for the first time – we will be inviting nuclear companies to commission and make real components (to nuclear regulatory standards) using these techniques to prove the contribution they can make to cost savings (and give further confidence to potential investors).

7. About the Nuclear AMRC

The Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre helps UK manufacturers win work in the nuclear sector. It works with companies of all sizes to develop new technical capabilities, raise quality and reduce risk. The Nuclear AMRC is backed by industry leaders and government, and managed by the University of Sheffield. It is part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult.

8. Find out more about the independent Expert Finance Working Group

9. More detail about the UK Government’s support for advanced nuclear technologies

10. Press office contact at BEIS:

• nicola.cutting@beis.gov.uk
• josh.pettitt@beis.gov.uk
• gillian.capewell@beis.gov.uk
• vanessa.moore@beis.gov.uk
• 020 7215 1000

11. Press office contact at Environment Agency:

• newsdesk@environment-agency.gov.uk
• tel: 020 3025 5623 / out of hours: 0800 023 2522

12. Press office contact at ONR:

• alex.trueman@onr.gov.uk
• 07825 922399

A bogus Immigration Adviser from Birmingham who after taking thousands from unsuspecting members of the Pakistani community had his victims intimidated, has been sentenced to 27 months imprisonment.

Safhir Majid, formerly a mortgage advisor, from Cradley Heath, was recently sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court to a total of 27 months imprisonment plus a victim surcharge. Mr Majid is to serve half the sentence in custody and half on licence.

His partner, Shahid Ahmed Bhatti, a former businessman, of Great Barr, was given a 16 month sentence suspended for 24 months plus a victim surcharge.

Mr Majid, 38, and Mr Bhatti, 39, founded Empire Legal Solutions Ltd in Walsall, West Midlands, where they pretended to be qualified immigration advisers with Mr Majid posing as a fake solicitor. They then took monies from unsuspecting members of the public by providing poor advice; in one case £4,500 from a client.

Mr Majid pleaded guilty to five counts of providing unqualified immigration advice and services and one count of fraud by false representation.

Mr Bhatti pleaded guilty to one count of providing unqualified immigration advice and one count of fraud by false representation.

His Honour Judge Mayo said to Mr Majid, “You posed as a lawyer, you knew you were not qualified” and to Mr Bhatti, “Your role was lesser but when required you were able to offer enforcement”.

He went on to say concerning one particular case, “You bungled one application and as a result of your incompetence she faces removal from the UK. You threatened her husband and this is despicable behaviour, you threatened again in the case of other victims.

“Offences of this type prey on vulnerable people. Immigration relies on people being properly represented, you were incompetent and greedy. You have made a good deal of money from these frauds”.

Commenting on about the decision, Deputy Immigration Services Commissioner Dr Ian Leigh, said: “Safhir Majid and Shahid Ahmed Bhatti set up a criminal enterprise to provide immigration advice when they were not qualified or competent to do so.

“The degree of culpability is high, as is the harm they have caused. They owe a considerable amount of money to individuals, may have caused harm to unknown others and have undermined the immigration system.

“These are extremely serious offences. I am delighted with the outcome in this case.”

Notes to the Editor

1. The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC), who took out the prosecution, is an independent public body, established under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, to regulate the provision of immigration advice and services in the UK.

2. For further information contact Cornelius Alexander, Corporate Communications Officer, at the OISC on 0207 211 1617.