The Netherlands will today (24 October) become one of the first nations to announce they intend to sail alongside the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier in her first deployment in 2021.

A Dutch warship will participate in the Carrier Strike Group, which will be one of the cornerstones of NATO defence capability in the years ahead.

Welcoming the King and Queen of the Netherlands to Downing Street for the first time, the Prime Minister will thank the Dutch for their help in exposing the campaign of reckless cyber-attacks on political institutions perpetrated by the GRU.

This follows October Council, where she argued alongside Prime Minister Rutte of The Netherlands that we should accelerate the work on further measures, including sanctions, to respond to and deter cyber-attacks.

At today’s working lunch, the Prime Minister will acknowledge that our defence and security cooperation with The Netherlands both bilaterally and through NATO is going from strength to strength, as we continue to negotiate a deep security partnership with the EU post-Brexit.

Our cooperation with our allies makes people around the world safer and more secure, and today The Netherlands will also sign up to the UK’s Call for Action on Modern Slavery – an international commitment to ending the trafficking of vulnerable people into forced labour.

The Prime Minister said:

The Netherlands is one of our closest allies, as our recent work tackling cyber security threats demonstrates.

As we leave the European Union, we will continue to stand side by side to defend against threats to the global rules based system.

As I welcome King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima today, I’m pleased to announce that the Dutch navy will be among the first nations to join the Carrier Strike Group as a sign of our ongoing cooperation.

Ahead of their lunch at Downing Street, the Dutch King and Queen will watch a display of Dutch-UK naval capability from Royal Marines of both countries on the HMS Belfast and the HNLMS Zeeland.

The seizures were part of Interpol’s globally coordinated Operation Pangea initiative involving 116 countries.

Between 9-17 October the MHRA and UK partners found falsified and unlicensed medicines and medical devices in the UK including diazepam, modafinil and dermal fillers.

Using intelligence, MHRA enforcement officers raided a semi-detached property and a small lock-up unit in connection with the illegal supply online of potentially harmful medicines. This led to one arrest.

Raids on the properties in the north of England involved local police and forms part of an international response coordinated through Interpol to the growing illegal trading in online medicines and medical devices. Worldwide, Operation Pangea led to 859 arrests and yielded items worth in the region of £10.9 million.

As well as the property raids, the team also targeted airports and mail delivery centres. During the searches, officers found numerous packages containing illegal consignments of medicines and medical devices including many hidden within other innocent items such as video games and clothing.

The team also targeted websites on the open and dark web that offer falsified and unlicensed medical products. Our action has led to 123 websites being shut down and the removal of 535 online adverts.

MHRA Head of Enforcement Alastair Jeffrey, said:

Criminals who sell medicines over the internet have absolutely no regard for your health and taking medicine which is ether falsified or unlicensed puts you at risk of serious harm.

Our intelligence-led enforcement operations have seized millions of counterfeit and unlicensed medicines and devices in the UK. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and we will continue to take action against known criminals – working with our international partners to stop illegal medicines from entering the UK.

To protect your health, visit your GP, get a correct diagnosis and buy medicines from a legitimate high street or registered pharmacy which can trade online with a distance selling logo.

The MHRA has also issued the following safety advice when buying medicines:

Be careful when buying medicines online

Be careful buying medicines online – criminals are known to exploit vulnerable people by supplying medicines through unregulated websites and stealing their credit card details.

Do not self-prescribe

Self-diagnosis and self-medication can be very dangerous. If you have a concern about your health, visit your GP, get a correct diagnosis and if medicines are prescribed, buy them from a legitimate source.

Report it!

If you have any knowledge of criminal activity relating to the medicines offences then you should report this to us to our case referrals email address: CaseReferrals@mhra.gov.uk.

If you wish to report a website, you can do so on our page

You may also provide information anonymously through 0800 555111 or Crimestoppers

Separately, we recently worked with law enforcement agencies in India to prevent unlicensed medicines entering the UK.

Ends

Notes to Editor

1. Types of medicines seized include: epilepsy, asthma, acne, narcolepsy, breast cancer, cholesterol reduction, erectile dysfunction, analgesics, hair loss, weight loss, painkillers, fertility, breast/prostate cancer, anxiety/insomnia, skin lightening, anti-depressants, diabetes, premature ejaculation, tanning, pain management, anti-inflammatory, steroids, anti-viral, eye drops, bacterial infection, eczema, eyelash hair growth, depression, hormones, dental equipment, and fake condoms.
2. Operation Pangea is an international initiative to target the illegal internet trade in medicines. It was instigated by the MHRA in April 2006 and started as the UK Internet Day of Action (IDA).There were 116 countries participating in Op Pangea XI.
3. The annual operation is the largest internet based enforcement action of its kind to date and was coordinated by INTERPOL, together with the World Customs Organization (WCO), the Permanent Forum of International Pharmaceutical Crime (PFIPC), the Heads of Medicines Agencies Working Group of Enforcement Officers (WGEO), Europol and the Pharmaceutical Security Institute (PSI), and supported by the Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP) and private sector companies including LegitScript, Google, Mastercard, Visa, American Express and PayPal.
4. Prescription only medicine should only be taken in consultation with a GP or other healthcare professional. These people have access to patient health records and can take into account the risks and benefits associated with every medicine as well as providing on-going monitoring of the treatment.

UK and Dutch ministers today announced new commercial agreements and economic cooperation with between the UK and the Netherlands at the UK Netherlands Innovation Showcase event.

A set of new deals and agreements between UK and Dutch companies alongside the Showcase – being held as part of the Dutch State Visit – will see closer collaboration in the FinTech, clean growth and digital sectors.

These include:

• EEW OSB announce the sale of 35 sets of transition pieces for wind turbines to Borssele 1 + 2, a Dutch wind farm project. This multi-million pound contract with Ørsted safeguards 180 jobs in Teesside, and represents EEW OSB’s first export order.

• Dutch company Royal Boskalis and UK-based Tekmar Energy have announced a framework agreement to support the global offshore wind market, covering new product development and innovation. Tekmar expect to create 50 highly-skilled UK jobs across the sector in the long term.

• Royal IHC, a Dutch supplier of innovative and efficient equipment, ships and services for the offshore, dredging and marine mining markets, will open its new offshore base in Newcastle at the end of October.

• AkzoNobel will open 30 new Dulux Decorator Centres in the UK, creating and protecting over 100 jobs and bringing the total to 218 Dulux Decorator Centres, with the ambition of further growth.

• UK-based money transfer company Azimo and UK FinTech firms Currency Cloud and Vitesse are investing £5 million to scale up operations in Amsterdam and Rotterdam as a part of their expansion plans into the European market, creating jobs back in the UK.

• UK-based DAZN, the world’s largest sports broadcaster by volume, has announced the opening of its new development centre in Amsterdam, helping the business to grow globally. The British creative tech success story is on track to hire almost 1,000 employees in the UK this year, and have announced a further 200 for 2019.

• Dutch company Tony’s Chocolonely has announced plans to launch in the UK in January 2019, creating 20 jobs at a new UK office. The company has the objective of improving conditions for all across the cocoa industry.

• ING have announced the refurbishment of their Innovation Lab in Moorgate. This comes after their £5 million investment in UK Fintech company Funding Options

Moving to a greener, cleaner economy as well as reaping the benefits of global digital transformation have been identified as some of the biggest economic opportunities of our time.

That is why the Government has put Clean Growth and promoting the digital economy at the heart of its modern Industrial Strategy and just days ago hosted our first ever Green GB Week to raise awareness of the need and opportunity of tackling climate change.

‘Green collar’ jobs have the potential to reach two million by 2030 and there are already 1.5 million jobs in the digital industries today and this is growing at twice the rate of the economy as a whole. The clean growth sector alone could generate up to £170 billion in annual exports for UK businesses.
The visit is an opportunity to demonstrate that, although our relationship might be changing in the context of our exit from the EU, our cooperation on trade and innovation remains indispensable.
The British Royal Earl and Countess of Wessex, the City of London Lord Mayor and Mayoress and the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Stef Blok will attend the Showcase hosted by the Department for International Trade.

International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox said:

The Dutch State Visit is an opportunity to celebrate the UK and the Netherlands’ more than 400-year long trading heritage. As the UK forges an independent trade policy for the first time in more than four decades, my international economic department is working with the Dutch – our North Sea Partners – towards a bright trading future too.

The Innovation Showcase will demonstrate the huge opportunities for our economies – two of the world’s most innovative – to collaborate even further, creating jobs and prosperity for generations to come.

Business Secretary, Greg Clark said:

The UK has become a beacon for clean growth, leading the world in cutting emissions whilst growing the economy and creating almost 400,000 jobs across the UK.

Our Industrial Strategy identified clean growth as one of the greatest industrial opportunities for the UK. Tekmar Energy and EEW OSB are reaping the benefits, providing parts for offshore windfarms off our coasts and around the world.

Minister for Investment, Graham Stuart said:

It’s a privilege to host the UK-Netherlands Innovation Showcase – providing an exciting glimpse into the vibrant trading future our two innovative economies can offer in years to come.

We are working with our colleagues in the Netherlands to give businesses the help they need to make that future a reality, providing jobs and prosperity on both sides of the North Sea.

Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Europe, Andrew Mitchell said:

The UK and Netherlands enjoy a rich history of trade spanning four centuries, but our two innovative economies are embracing the technologies that will ensure we share a bright trading future too.

As HMTC for Europe, I’m looking forward to seeing for myself the breadth of new opportunities we have together at the Innovation Showcase, and ways in which UK companies can assist.

CEO of Azimo, Michael Kent said:

The Department for International Trade has played a critical role in giving UK FinTechs the support they need to thrive in the UK and to create the strong foundations necessary to scale globally.

This includes making it easier for companies like us to set up in places like the Netherlands – they’ve created the blueprint for building a strong FinTech ecosystem that other nations follow.

Matthew Wright, Ørsted UK Managing Director, said:

This multi-million pound order secures 180 jobs in Teesside and high utilisation in the facility for the first half of 2019. By building long-term relationships with highly productive suppliers such as EEW OSB, MHI Vestas Blades UK, and Ordtek, UK companies from across the value chain can not only benefit from UK projects, they can really take advantage of the growing global export opportunity.

Chief Executive of DAZN Group, Simon Denyer said:

The global sports industry is ripe for disruption and DAZN is leading the charge. We’re a fast-growth British tech export, and our software developers are creating a market-leading product in the UK, Poland and now the Netherlands – where we have opened a new development centre that will power our global expansion plans and create hundreds of tech jobs.

We’re scaling up fast and on track to hire almost 1,000 employees in the UK this year alone. The support we’ve received from the Department for International Trade to strengthen ties between the digital creative communities in London and Amsterdam has been invaluable.

The UK is home to the world’s largest offshore wind sector, with almost half of global offshore wind capacity installed here in the UK. This year we have produced record levels of wind power and opened the world’s largest windfarm off the coast of Cumbria.

To help grow the clean growth sector, the government is creating the right conditions to ensure businesses can seize those opportunities through our modern Industrial Strategy. Our world-leading Clean Growth Strategy sets out how we’re investing more than £2.5 billion in low carbon innovation as part of the largest increase in public spending on science, research and innovation in over 3 decades.

The government has also earmarked more than half a billion pounds for emerging renewable technologies to give them the certainty developers need to invest while driving down costs for consumers.

The Netherlands are the UK’s third-largest trading partner and fourth-largest export market, in the last year Heineken – one of the UK’s largest investors – announced a further investment of £44 million, creating more than 1,000 new UK jobs.

Fellow Dutch company NewCold – who operate within the frozen food supply chain – have also invested £100m in a new distribution centre in Wakefield, adding a further 70 jobs in the next two years to the current team of 200.

Notes for Editors

UK-Netherlands trade

• The total UK-Netherlands trading relationship was valued £85.8 billion in 2017 – a 14.4% year-on-year increase.

• Latest UK export figures from the ONS recorded a high value of £637 billion, while the UK is Europe’s number one destination for foreign direct investment.

Other UK and Dutch agreements include:

• The UK’s Jacopa Ltd have established an agreement with the Netherlands’ Machinefabriek Bosker en Zonen BV (Bosker) to sell the latter’s internationally renowned water and wastewater automatic screen equipment into UK environmental and water utility markets. Bosker, in return, will offer Jacopa’s grit removal and sewage treatment equipment in Dutch markets.

The G7 Foreign Ministers, of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, condemn in the strongest possible terms the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has confirmed took place in its consulate in Istanbul.

The confirmation of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi’s death is a first step toward full transparency and accountability. However, the explanations offered leave many questions unanswered.

We reiterate our expectation for a thorough, credible, transparent, and prompt investigation by Saudi Arabia, in full collaboration with the Turkish authorities, and a full and rigorous accounting of the circumstances surrounding Mr. Khashoggi’s death. Those responsible for the killing must be held to account. Saudi Arabia must put in place measures to ensure something like this can never happen again.

The circumstances of Mr. Khashoggi’s death reaffirm the need to protect journalists and freedom of expression around the world.

We also extend our deepest condolences to Mr. Khashoggi’s family, his fiancée, and his friends.

Further information

• Follow the Foreign Secretary on Twitter @Jeremy_Hunt and Facebook

• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook

• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

The Slate Landscape of North-West Wales will be the UK’s next preferred nomination for UNESCO World Heritage site status, Heritage Minister Michael Ellis announced today.

The area – which runs throughout the county of Gwynedd – is said to have “roofed the 19th century world” as slate from its mines was exported around the globe.

The landscape was assessed for World Heritage Status by a UK panel of experts this summer and it will be formally presented to UNESCO next year.

It will then be considered by the International Council of Sites and Monuments followed by the World Heritage Committee in 2021. Should it be approved, the Slate Landscape will join the likes of Grand Canyon National Park, The Great Barrier Reef and the Lake District as a designated World Heritage Site.

The site was the world’s greatest exporter of slate during the mid 19th century, becoming a key part of the social and economic fabric of North Wales. The slate mined from the area also had a significant impact on global architecture with its materials used on a vast range of buildings, from terraces to palaces all around the world.

If inscribed it would be the fourth World Heritage Site in Wales, alongside the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape, the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward at Gwynedd and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

Michael Ellis, Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, said:

Gwynedd’s slate landscape is hugely important. Its vast quarries and mines have not only shaped the countryside of the region but also countless buildings across the UK and the world.

This is a crucial milestone on the road to becoming a World Heritage site and the global recognition that brings. While the UNESCO nomination process is very thorough, I believe this unique landscape would be a worthy addition to the list.

UK Government Minister for Wales, Mims Davies said:

It gives me great pleasure to see that the world-renowned slate landscape of Gwynedd has been selected as the UK Government’s preferred UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination.

An accolade such as this not only highlights the immense beauty and history that Wales has to offer but also acts as a catalyst to investment and tourism. The status which is globally recognised would help to revive and grow the economy of the slate areas that have had such a significant influence on the communities and heritage of North West Wales.

The UK currently has 31 other World Heritage sites and can nominate one site per calendar year. Jodrell Bank Observatory was nominated in January 2018, and has recently undergone an evaluation mission by UNESCO’s expert advisers. A decision on inscription for that site will take place during the annual committee meeting next summer.

A Parliamentary reception on the Slate Landscape, attended by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, will take place this afternoon.

Notes to editors:

• The World Heritage Centre manages over 1000 sites around the world and the UK has 31 World Heritage sites.

• Once a nomination is submitted, UNESCO’s expert advisors assess the site, and make a recommendation to the World Heritage Committee.

• The news, which comes after the Slate Landscape passed the UK’s rigorous technical evaluation process, signals the Government’s support in principle for a nomination to be formally submitted in mid 2019.

• In Wales, there were 1 million visits by overseas tourists in 2017, spending £369 million in the local economy.

• In addition, British residents took 9 million overnight trips to Wales in 2017, spending £1.6 billion.