The Queen has been pleased to approve that Conor Burns MP be sworn of Her Majesty’s most Honourable Privy Council.
Notes for editors:
Conor Burns MP is a Conservative and Unionist Party politician and Minister of State at the Department for International Trade. He was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Bournemouth West in May 2010.
Published 18 September 2019
The British Embassy in Sofia has been holding meetings across Bulgaria to update UK nationals working and living in the country and answering their questions regarding developments after 31 January 2020.
If you are unclear about current residency requirements in Bulgaria, or how you will be affected after 31 January 2020, come along to one of our upcoming events to ask the questions that most concern you.
the meetings are free and open to all interested UK nationals
please note that you must register in advance in order to attend this event and bring your ticket and a photo ID with you. You can find more information about the event on your ticket after registering
if you know any UK nationals who might be interested in attending, please share this page with them
the meetings will start with a short introduction to update you on latest developments and will be followed by a Q&A session
In our team’s continuous effort to reach as many UK expats in Bulgaria as possible, we will be announcing further outreach meetings on this page.
Friday, 27 November 2020, 15:30 – 16:30
Location: Facebook, British Embassy Sofia page
You can register for the online event here.
If you have attended one of the abovementioned events but have not already done so, we would appreciate your feedback here.
More information for UK nationals living in Bulgaria is available on our Living in Bulgaria guide. This includes practical information like access to healthcare, getting a document legalised, lists of lawyers and how to vote abroad.
You can receive email alerts whenever the guide is updated by signing up here.
For questions concerning your rights as a UK national in Bulgaria, you can contact us here.
New outreach event added.
We have added a new outreach event for UK nationals living in Bulgaria.
Upcoming event in Plovdiv removed and moved to past events.
New outreach event added.
New events and dates added
Two new outreach events as part of our autumn round of meetings for the British diaspora in Bulgaria.
New locations for outreach events added.
Registration link for Bansko event added.
Registration for Samokov outreach event added.
New meeting locations announced and registrations for past events removed.
First published.
The Home Secretary has today (Wednesday 18 September) announced Nicole Jacobs as the designate Domestic Abuse Commissioner. Ms Jacobs was the former Chief Executive Officer at charity Standing Together Against Domestic Violence and has more than two decades of experience working to reduce domestic abuse.
The role of Domestic Abuse Commissioner will lead on driving improvements on the response to domestic abuse in the UK, championing victims and making recommendations on what more should be done to better protect victims and bring more offenders to justice.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said:
Domestic abuse is unacceptable, and I am absolutely determined to do all I can to protect victims and their families and ensure perpetrators face tough action.
I am delighted that Nicole will be taking on the crucial role as Commissioner and acting as a voice for those who need it most.
Also today, the Home Secretary will co-chair a roundtable with the Secretary of State for Justice, Robert Buckland, to listen to the experiences and concerns of victims of sexual violence and to understand better what barriers could be preventing victims from engaging with the criminal justice system.
Designate Domestic Abuse Commissioner Nicole Jacobs said:
Establishing the Office of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner shows the government’s commitment to reducing harm and improving the lives of those who experience domestic abuse.
It is an honour and a privilege to be appointed as the first Commissioner and I intend to raise the voices of victims and survivors of all ages, status and background and ensure that we shine a light on practice that fails them.
Minister for Safeguarding and Vulnerability, Victoria Atkins, said:
The focus of the Commissioner will be to stand up for victims and survivors, raise public awareness and hold both agencies and government to account in tackling domestic abuse.
I look forward to working with Nicole, and together we can bring about the most comprehensive package of measures ever attempted in England and Wales.
The independent Office of Domestic Abuse Commissioner will be tasked with encouraging good practice in preventing domestic abuse; identifying both those at risk of abuse as well as those perpetrating it and improving the protection and provision of support to those affected by domestic abuse. They will also be able to publish reports that hold statutory agencies and the government to account.
Ms Jacobs will initially work as the designate Commissioner until the Commissioner’s Office is placed on a statutory footing. Both the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary have stated their commitment to tackling domestic abuse, with commitments to bring in legislation during the Queen’s Speech.
During her career, Ms Jacobs has worked in a number of roles linked to domestic abuse, including as a frontline practitioner, in senior operational and management roles, and as a trainer and strategic leader. She will take up the role this week.
A partnership project to conserve native white-clawed crayfish in Derbyshire has completed its second successful year with the removal of 2,000 non-native invasive signal crayfish from Markeaton Lake in Derby – double the amount it removed in 2018.
The Signal Crayfish Removal Project led by the National Trust, aims to support the recovery of white-clawed crayfish by preventing signal crayfish from expanding into the upstream Markeaton Brook and Kedleston Lakes where the native species are known to be found. Native white-clawed crayfish have been in decline since non-native American signal crayfish escaped into UK waters in the 1970s. These larger, invasive crayfish outcompete native species for food and habitat and carry a disease fatal to the UK species.
Louise Hill, Biodiversity Officer at the Environment Agency in the East Midlands said:
Last year the project in Markeaton Lake saw the capture of around 1,000 signal crayfish. This year we have doubled this to 2,000, which is a great result. After two years there are indications that the numbers and size of the non-native crayfish are reducing.
We have been working with the National Trust, Derby City Council, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Earl of Harrington Angling Club, University of Derby and Nottingham Trent University and next year sees the final year of the project.
While the signs of change are encouraging, we still have a long way to go until we are satisfied that our native crayfish populations are fully protected. We are also looking at a number of measures to further secure the future of the White-clawed crayfish, including the creation of ‘ark’ sites to relocate them to areas where they will be free from invaders.
Carl Hawke, Regional Nature Conservation Advisor at the National Trust said:
It’s a race against time. We must prevent the invasive signal crayfish from reaching Kedleston Lake where we believe we can protect the native White-clawed crayfish with barriers and ongoing trapping. Ultimately, we are looking for an ‘ark’ site to move some of the native crayfish to.
White-clawed crayfish, named for the pale colour of the underside of their claws, are the country’s largest native freshwater crustaceans. Generally growing to 30 – 40mm in length, some can live up to 12 years and reach 120mm long from tip to tail.
Invasive species pose a serious threat to our native wildlife and cost the UK economy £1.8 billion a year. Everyone can do their part to prevent the spread of invasive species and protect native ones by taking care to follow the biosecurity steps of thoroughly checking, cleaning and drying their clothes and equipment any time they have been in the water. For more information visit the Non-native Species Secretariat website.
Sukdev Gill (55) signed a disqualification undertaking for eight years after he did not dispute that over six years, he caused companies he was a director of to conceal VAT resulting in a loss for HMRC of £1.97 million.
While his business partner, Inderjit Singh (47), has also been disqualified for nine years after he did not dispute that he traded through successor companies while also concealing VAT resulting in a loss of £4.37 million.
Sukdev Gill and Inderjit Singh were directors of five companies – Coin De Indes Buffet Limited, Experience India Limited, Salut E Hind, Seeye Diamonds and Hot Flame World Buffett – trading as licensed restaurants in or around the Glasgow area.
The five companies were incorporated between 2010 and 2012 but all ceased to exist by March 2018, with each one entering into a form of insolvency, either through compulsory liquidation or Creditors Voluntary Liquidation.
Post liquidation, HMRC made enquiries into the companies before establishing that all five had participated in some form of tax misconduct, including under-declaring tax, failing to register for VAT and concealing tax owed.
As the companies ceased to operate, Inderjit Singh then proceeded to incorporate successor companies, all of which traded as “Cook and Indi World Buffet” to continue the activities of the five companies that had gone through insolvency.
However, each of the 14 companies succumbed to the same fate as their predecessors and entered into a form of insolvency. Again, HMRC looked at the companies’ activities following their liquidation and discovered that Inderjit Singh allowed the buffet restaurant businesses to conceal millions of unpaid tax from HMRC.
Similar to the actions of their predecessors, the new companies concealed VAT and under-declared tax contributions, while at the same time failed to notify HMRC that new businesses were continuing the work of previous companies.
The two former directors’ disqualifications come into effect on 20 September. From this day forward, the pair will be prohibited from being involved, directly or indirectly, in the formation, promotion or management of a company without permission of the court.
Robert Clarke, Chief Investigator for the Insolvency Service, said:
Concealing and failing to pay tax on a grand scale like this was not an administrative error. The two directors knew exactly what they were doing and not only did the exchequer lose out, but their businesses gained an unfair advantage over their competitors.
Sukdev Gill and Inderjit Singh have received substantial bans, which will significantly curtail their activities. This should serve as a clear warning to others that if you fail to observe your statutory duties as company directors then the penalties are severe.
Inderjit Singh is of Giffnock, Glasgow, and his date of birth is September 1972
Sukdev Gill is of Bothwell, Glasgow and his date of birth is June 1964
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.
You can also follow the Insolvency Service on: