The Home Secretary last night (Thursday 12 July) paid tribute to PC Keith Palmer, who was killed while defending Parliament during the 2017 Westminster attack, at the 23rd Police Bravery Awards in London.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid presented the national award to joint winners PC Palmer posthumously and PC Charlie Guenigault of the Metropolitan Police, who was stabbed multiple times after confronting 3 armed terrorists while off-duty during the London Bridge attack.

Speaking at the ceremony hosted by the Police Federation, the Home Secretary said “we would never, ever forget” PC Palmer, who paid the ultimate sacrifice and gave up his life defending Parliament.

PC Shaun Cartwright of the Metropolitan Police accepted the award on behalf of PC Palmer.

There were 80 nominees from across 40 forces at the awards, which were sponsored by Police Mutual. Eight regional awards were presented in addition to the overall national award for PC Palmer and PC Guenigault.

The Home Secretary congratulated all the nominees and winners at the awards. “We’ve seen this evening you truly are the best police service in the world,” he said.

Minister for Policing and the Fire Service Nick Hurd presented a regional award to Sgt Mark Allmond and PC Alex Quigley of Thames Valley Police.

The pair worked together to unarm and detain a man armed with a large carving knife, who had already stabbed and killed a member of the public on a high street in Oxfordshire.

Nominees and their partners were also invited to a special afternoon reception at 10 Downing Street earlier in the day, where the minister celebrated their dedication to duty and thanked the families of police officers for supporting their loved ones.

“You can take great pride in what you do as a service and as individuals, knowing it is absolutely appreciated by the government but also by the public whom you all serve,” said the minister.

The UK has invited independent technical experts from the international chemical weapons watchdog to travel to the UK early next week to independently confirm the identity of the nerve agent which has resulted in the death of one British national in Amesbury, and has left another in a serious condition in hospital.

Peter Wilson, UK Permanent Representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), has written to the Organisation’s Director General inviting them to assist in accordance with Article VIII 38 (e) of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

During their visit they will be able to collect samples to inform this work. These samples will be analysed at highly reputable international laboratories designated by the OPCW.

The use of chemical weapons is unacceptable and contravenes international law. The UK remains committed to upholding the integrity of the OPCW as the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention overseeing the global ban on their use.

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Established in 2004, Cambridge-based Cocoda works with small luxury brands to help market and sell their products internationally.

The business recently secured a new contract with a Japanese distributor after attending a Global Food Forum meet the buyer event in Newmarket last year.

The contract will see products from Holdsworth Chocolates and Duncan’s of Deeside delivered to Japan, to be sold in department stores, delicatessens and gourmet food stores nationally. Its success proves the growing global appetite for British chocolate, with over £680 million being snapped up by overseas consumers last year.

The company currently works with 6 premium brands across the UK including Prestat, Simply Delicious, Summerdown Mint and Pulsetta. They export to 25 countries including North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Australasia.

David Hill, Managing Director at Cocoda, said:

As you can imagine, taste is the most important factor when selling luxury chocolate, biscuits and confectionery. Attending DIT-hosted events and trade missions enabled me to meet potential buyers face-to-face, and treat them to our delicious range of biscuits, confectionery and chocolate, which helped secure further sales.

The global appetite for British food and drink is growing all the time, so it’s an amazing opportunity for home-grown producers, but there are certain regulations around packaging and ingredients that vary from country to country.

Working with DIT helped Cocoda to navigate these with ease, and prepared the business and its brands for what to expect when exporting to a new market for the first time. For example, when selling to buyers in the Middle East products like our champagne truffles were removed from the tasting lists because they contain alcohol, which is only available for purchase at licensed venues.

Exporting has been fundamental to the business success, and helped to expand the global customer base for all the brands in Cocoda’s portfolio. If these brands can capitalise on the demand for luxury British products across the globe, so can other East of England businesses.

As part of its commitment to encouraging local businesses to export, Department for International Trade (DIT) hosts regular networking events where companies can meet distributors and partners from across the globe.

Alan Pain, Head of Exports for the East of England at DIT, said:

There are growing opportunities for premium confectionery brands like Holdsworth Chocolates and Duncan’s of Deeside across the globe, particularly in Asia, where consumers are quickly developing a new appetite for dairy products. It’s rewarding to see businesses like Cocoda tapping into this potential.

Food and drink exports generated more than £22 billion of income for the UK in 2017, and this looks set to increase as growing numbers of consumers look for British-branded produce.

We have a team of International Trade Advisers located across the East of England alongside our calendar of events including opportunities to meet face-to-face with prospective buyers and build relationships. We urge local businesses of all sizes and sectors to come along as it’s a great opportunity to learn more about exporting and can lead to new contracts, as shown by Cocoda.

Today (12 July 2018), The Planning Inspectorate published its Annual Report for 2017/18. The report shows that all targets were met in Wales and a continuing improvement in performance in England but acknowledges there is more to be done to meet customer expectations of the time taken to process some appeals.

Key points from the report include:

• The need to change and adapt to meet customers, stakeholders and staff expectations
• Investing to provide excellent customer service and tackle timeliness in dealing with hearings and inquiries in England
• Improved financial performance
• Casework performance in Wales exceeded targets
• Casework performance in England is improving but fell short of expectations partly due to an unexpected 13% increase in caseload
• All Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) applications determined within statutory timetables
• An increase in Local Plan examinations

Sarah Richards, Chief Executive of the Planning Inspectorate said: ” We are continuing to change and adapt to improve the time it takes to determine appeals and meet our customers’ expectations. Changing our processes and IT systems takes time and we must do this without jeopardising our delivery of quality decisions in an open, fair, and impartial manner.”

Sarah added: “A key foundation of our Transformation programme is ensuring our customers receive the service they deserve and to ensure our processes support the Government’s objective to build the homes and infrastructure the country needs.”

Ends

Journalists wanting further information should contact the Planning
Inspectorate Press Office, on: 0303 444 5004 or 0303 444 5005 or email:
pressoffice@pins.gsi.gov.uk

Kavita Puri

Kavita Puri is an award-winning journalist and radio broadcaster. In her landmark three-part series Partition Voices for BBC Radio 4, she documented the untold stories of Colonial British and British Asians who lived through the Partition of India 70 years ago, and assessed its legacy in Britain today. The programmes won the Royal Historical Society’s Radio and Podcast Award and its overall Public History Prize. The testimonies are being archived by the British Library Sound Archive. Her book based on the BBC series is due out in 2019. Her two critically-acclaimed Radio 4 series, Three Pounds in My Pocket, charted the migration of South Asians to post-war Britain, and she writes and lectures on these subjects.

Kavita works for BBC Current Affairs as the editor of Our World, a foreign affairs documentary programme. Recent awards for its coverage include the Royal Television Society and the Foreign Press Association and she was named Journalist of the Year by the Asian Media Awards. Prior to this, Kavita worked at Newsnight as a political producer, film producer and assistant editor. She studied Law at Cambridge University.

The role is not remunerated. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Kavita has declared no such political activity.