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.

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 ).

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

Ten Armed Forces establishments have been graded good for their initial training offering. However, persistent weaknesses in resources, infrastructure and accommodation are affecting the quality of recruits’ experiences.

Ofsted has published its 14th annual report on the effectiveness of care and welfare arrangements for recruits, trainees and officer cadets. The annual report draws on evidence from 13 inspections, including a single ungraded inspection of 5 University Royal Naval Units (URNUs) and their headquarters.

Recruits and trainees generally benefit from high-quality training, care and welfare arrangements. But too often, Ofsted found senior officers and their staff spending time dealing with the legacy of a lack of investment in infrastructure, or handling poor maintenance contracts. The RAF Officer Training Academy (RAFOTA) at RAF Cranwell, for example, had classrooms with leaking roofs and accommodation blocks that frequently lacked hot water and heating.

Inspectors also found that the needs of female recruits or trainees were not being considered fully. Women are often accommodated away from their male peers to ensure privacy. But this has led to some being isolated, especially in establishments where there are very few female recruits. In other instances, staff did not always ensure that female recruits were issued with uniforms or equipment that fitted them properly, increasing the risk of injury.

This was the second year that Ofsted has used the revised inspection handbook to inspect care and welfare in Armed Forces initial training establishments.

Inspectors graded the key judgement areas of:

• training and support
• personal and professional development
• quality of facilities
• infrastructure and resources
• effectiveness of leadership and management

They also provided an overall effectiveness grade for each establishment.

Ten of the Regular and Reserve establishments were graded good for overall effectiveness and most of the key judgements. ITC Catterick was judged outstanding in 2 of the key judgement areas: quality of training and support, and leadership and management. Two establishments were judged to require improvement: RAFOTA at RAF Cranwell, and the Defence Medical Academy (DMA).

Ofsted’s report recommends that all Regular and Reserve training establishments:

• urgently deal with the continuing and repeated failures in infrastructure. Provide commanding officers and their teams with clear guidance and funding to improve accommodation and infrastructure so that recruits, trainees and staff can live, learn and work in good-quality, well-maintained settings
• ensure that female recruits and trainees are given suitable kit and uniforms, and accommodation that provides adequate security, privacy and facilities

His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, said:

I would like to congratulate the commanding officers, and their teams, at the good establishments this year. Their success is indicative of the very good work that so many military and civilian staff do to train and care for recruits and trainees.

However, more remains to be done to address weaknesses in resources, infrastructure and accommodation, which affect the quality of training and recruits’ and trainees’ experiences. I strongly urge colleagues in the Ministry of Defence to deal with the recommendations from this report to ensure future generations of Armed Forces personnel get the high-quality training, care and welfare they deserve.

Inspections of 8 Regular training establishments and 4 Reserve units contributed to the annual report as well as the single ungraded inspection of 5 URNUs and their headquarters. Ofsted used a new inspection model for University Service Units (USUs) and now intends to carry out graded inspections of other USUs using the same model.

All inspections were carried out between October 2021 and May 2022.