Humanitarian situation in Ukraine: UK statement to the OSCE

Thank you, Madam Ambassador.

Over seven months since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s actions have had terrible consequences for the humanitarian situation in Ukraine. Over 14,000 civilian casualties have been reported to date. Within Ukraine, 17.7 million are in humanitarian need. Approximately 7 million are displaced and 7.4 million have registered as refugees across Europe. Schools, hospitals and other medical facilities in Ukraine have been attacked. The sheer level of destruction means that humanitarian need will increase as winter approaches.

The second Moscow Mechanism report was an important step in attempting to establish the scale of the suffering resulting from Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine so far. It noted concern over “clear patterns of serious violations of international humanitarian law attributable mostly to the Russian armed forces”, including the magnitude and frequency of the indiscriminate attacks carried out against civilians and civilian objects. The report detailed horrifying accounts of civilians reporting torture, rape, unlawful detention, enforced disappearances and the targeting of critical civilian infrastructure.

Last week’s sham referenda conducted under considerable fear and harassment were neither free nor fair. The UK will never recognize the supposed results. And we will never recognize Russian attempts to illegally annex Ukrainian sovereign territory.

And it is not only civilians suffering. There is mounting evidence that Russia has failed to abide by its obligations under the third Geneva Convention – that all prisoners of war should be treated humanely, afforded appropriate medical treatment and basic necessities, and be protected from humiliating and degrading treatment. As we have already heard this morning, wars have rules and these prohibit a detaining power from prosecuting prisoners of war for having participated in hostilities, or for lawful acts of war committed in the course of armed conflict. The sham trials – including of foreign nationals serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces – by an unrecognised court was a clear violation of international humanitarian law (IHL).  We will hold Russia accountable for these violations.

Every day since the 24 February, we have seen the tragic consequences in Ukraine of Russia’s aggression, but every day we have also been reminded of the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people. The United Kingdom will continue to do everything we can to support Ukraine, including though economic, diplomatic and humanitarian measures. And we will continue to call on Russia to withdraw from the territory of Ukraine, and put an end to the suffering. Ukraine deserves peace.




New online claims form launched to benefit redundancy claimants

The Insolvency Service is the first beta partner to work with the Government Digital Service (GDS) on their new digital form building platform – GOV.UK Forms.

GOV.UK Forms will allow government departments and arm’s length bodies to easily create accessible online forms themselves, which will enable customers to share information in a timely and accessible manner.

The new online forms built using GOV.UK Forms will have a consistent look across all departments, and by meeting government accessibility standards, will allow all users to quickly and easily provide their information.

GDS are running a private beta testing phase after which they hope to make GOV.UK Forms available to all government organisations. The first partnership has seen GDS and the Insolvency Service collaborate to develop the Amend a redundancy claim: holiday pay accrued form.

The holiday claim accrued amendment form will allow people, who have previously made a claim for redundancy pay, to easily provide updated information regarding their applications using an online form.

Customers will no longer have to download and submit a word document or call the Insolvency Service’s helpline, making processing claims a quicker and simpler process.

The holiday claim accrued amendment form is one of six amendment forms used by the Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payment Service, and the Insolvency Service and GDS are looking to create digital versions of the others forms in the future.

John Wheatle, Director of Business Services Division for the Insolvency Service, said:

The new online holiday claim accrued amendment form is an exciting development for the Insolvency Service and will help boost our levels of customer service. Customers, who are already in difficult personal circumstances, will be able to easily amend their redundancy claims and notifications will be sent straight to the relevant people, reducing errors and speeding up the process.

We are very proud to have worked with GDS on this innovative project and hope that the new form provides a good launch pad for us to transition other forms online, as well as other areas of government to develop their own forms in due course and provide excellent customer service.

Clara Barnett, Deputy Director of Digital Service Platforms for the Government Digital Service, said:

This has been a great collaboration with the Insolvency Service and has demonstrated the value and huge potential of GOV.UK Forms.

By helping teams across government create simple and accessible online forms, we’re making it easier for end-users to access government services. We’re also improving the quality of data which the government collects, through simple validation and better form design, as well as speeding up processing times.




PM Liz Truss: Time to find common cause with our European friends

Security, energy and migration are three of the most urgent priorities for the British people, so they are top of my agenda too. That’s why I am travelling to Prague for today’s European leaders’ meeting.

These vital issues affect the whole of our continent, so it is right that we find common cause with our European friends and allies. It’s also why we want to see a strong voice for non-EU countries like Ukraine, Norway and Switzerland.

Today’s meeting is not an EU construct or an EU alternative. I am very clear about that. It brings together governments from across Europe, around a third of whom are outside the EU. A post-Brexit Britain, as an independent country outside the EU, should be involved in discussions that affect the entire continent and all of us here at home. We are taking part as an independent sovereign nation, and we will act as one.

Brexit was never about the UK stepping away from our proud and historic role as a leading nation in the region and beyond. We always believed we would find new ways of working that reflected our shared values and interests.

Our actions in Ukraine have shown this to be true. No European country has done more than the UK to arm the Ukrainians in their fight for freedom and to lead the imposition of economic sanctions on Russia. Yet our actions are all the stronger because of the way that we collaborated with our European friends.

We have worked with the EU through the G7 and helped Sweden and Finland with their accession to Nato, which remains the bedrock of our collective defence. We have co-operated militarily with European allies through the Joint Expeditionary Force. We are training Ukrainian soldiers together. And we are strengthening partnerships with other European friends, including Norway on energy security and Switzerland on science and research.

So I welcome the opportunity to work with leaders from across the continent in this new forum. But this must not cut across the G7 and Nato, and it must not be a talking shop. I want to see concrete action and delivery on three key priorities.

First, we must ensure that Putin is defeated. His attempts at mobilisation and annexation are a show of weakness. Ukraine’s counter offensive is succeeding, and Russia’s will is fracturing. This is the moment to redouble our resolve. The UK is sending £2.3 billion of military support to Ukraine this year — and we will match or exceed that next year.

I will urge my European friends to continue to work with us in providing more weapons, imposing more sanctions, and backing Ukraine in pushing Russian forces out.

Second, we must end our addiction to Russian hydrocarbons. Yesterday at the Conservative Party conference, I set out our plan for growth and the vital importance of becoming less reliant on authoritarians for our energy. It is right that we talk with our European allies about how we do that collectively. Putin is hoping he can divide us in a scramble for energy supplies. We must show him that he is wrong.

The UK sends and receives both gas and electricity through the undersea cables and pipelines that link us with neighbours like France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Today we must all commit to keeping those connections open this winter so we keep the lights on across the continent.

The UK will also play a leading role in protecting critical energy infrastructure. This week the Royal Navy deployed HMS Enterprise and HMS Somerset to work with Norway and our allies in the North and Norwegian Seas.

Together, we will deter any threat to underwater pipelines.

We must also act now to make sure we are never in this position again. We must usher in a new era of European energy independence, dramatically accelerating our own energy production. Today I will be discussing deeper bilateral nuclear co-operation with President Macron, including progress on Sizewell C. We are ready to work with our European friends to develop next-generation interconnectors in the North Sea. And I hope to make progress towards new partnerships on offshore wind, all of which will help to make the UK a net energy exporter by 2040.

Third, we must use the opportunity of this forum to focus on migration. We are proud of the way that we have opened our homes to 130,000 Ukrainian refugees. But we need a stronger response to the crime gangs that exploit desperate people. Today we will be deepening our joint working with France, the Netherlands and other countries along the migration route to step up our collective response to this trans-national tragedy.

I believe that with authoritarian states undermining stability and security around the world, democratic nations need to be bolder and more innovative in how they collaborate to ensure that our shared values prevail.

It is in this spirit that I will join my fellow European leaders today and ensure that this new forum delivers for the British people.




HMS Albion completes visit to Libya

HMS Albion, a 17,000 tonne vessel with 340 crew, called into Tripoli harbour for a day of events and activities to strengthen cooperation with counterparts from the Libyan Navy and Libya’s Military Medical Corps.

Shortly after her arrival, the Commanding Officer called on the Mayor of Central Tripoli to thank him for such a warm welcome to the city.

Throughout the day, activities included the exchange of best practice in seamanship, navigation, naval engineering and medical support.

At the end of the busy visit the Commanding Officer, Captain Simon Kelly, said:

Our visit to Tripoli was also a wonderful opportunity for the Sailors and Marines on board to interact with their counterparts in the Libyan Armed Forces. During our short time alongside we conducted a wide range of activates from damage control training to delivering a number of official receptions, hosting senior Libyan political, military, and civil society figures, all reinforcing the UK’s cooperation and ongoing commitment to Libya.

Just before sunset, HMS Albion hosted an Official Reception for guests invited from all parts of Libya.

His Majesty’s Ambassador to Libya, Ms Caroline Hurndall, commented:

This visit to Tripoli by the Royal Navy is a symbol of the United Kingdom’s continued commitment to Libya, and of UK readiness to help our Libyan friends achieve stability in their country. Seeing our engineers and medical staff working alongside each other and exchanging ideas is just a small example of the dialogue needed from the whole international community to support Libyans achieve a Libyan resolution to the current fragile situation in this beautiful country.

HMS Albion is conducting operations in the Mediterranean as part of a Royal Navy Littoral Response Group deployment to the region, titled Operation ACHILLEAN.

Published 6 October 2022
Last updated 6 October 2022 + show all updates

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Kilmarnock nurse disqualified as a company director for 10 years

Monica Coyle, 51, from Kilmarnock in Ayrshire has been disqualified as a director for 10 years after fraudulently claiming a £30,000 government Bounce Back Loan (BBL).

Coyle, a former NHS nurse, was director of Positive Pulse Limited, a health and wellbeing company which provided health checks to employees of businesses. She had also been president of business and professional women’s group Ayrshire Business Women in 2019.

Coyle applied for the Bounce Back Loan in May 2020 after the Covid-19 pandemic impacted her business.

She falsely declared turnover of £130,000 in her application, rather than the actual turnover of her business, which was less than £5,000.

As a result, Coyle received a BBL of £30,000, of which she spent over £26,000 on personal use.

Bounce Back Loans were earmarked for small to medium sized companies impacted by Covid-19, and the loans were designed to support the company, rather than for the director’s own gain.

Positive Pulse Limited went into Creditors Voluntary Liquidation in February 2022, owing £30,000 to the bank, in respect of the BBL.

The Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Monica Coyle, after she did not dispute that she caused the company to apply for, and receive, a BBL of £30,000 which the company was not entitled to, following which she received personal gain.

Her ban is effective from 16 September 2022 and will last for 10 years.

The disqualification undertaking prevents Monica Coyle from directly, or indirectly, becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

Investigation Manager Steven McGinty said:

‘Bounce Back Loans were made for the economic benefit of the company, not for directors’ personal gain.

‘Monica Coyle exploited the scheme and took taxpayers’ money during the pandemic which she knew she was not entitled to.’

Notes to editors

Monica Coyle is from Kilmarnock and her date of birth is October 1971.

Company number – SC520256

Trading address – 49A Portland Road, Kilmarnock, KA1 2EQ

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.

Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a [range of restrictions] (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/corporate-insolvency-effect-of-a-disqualification-order ).

[Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct] (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/insolvency-service ).

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