As part of the continued cooperation between the UK and Vietnam on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (UN PKO) issues, medical personnel from the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force are working alongside members of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) during a Tactical Training Exercise/Field Training Exercise (TTX/FTX) at 301 Infantry Division, Hanoi from 18 June-1 July 2019.

Reflecting the international nature of UN PKOs, the British military medical experts have been joined at the TTX/FTX by experts from the USA Army, Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force. Together, the UK, VPA, Australian and USA personnel are working to help prepare Vietnamese military personnel from Military Hospital 103 and the Military Medical University who will deploy to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in October 2019, where they will take over the UNMISS Bentiu Level 2 Hospital from their Military Hospital 175 colleagues.

The Exercise began with a table-top TTX, which will allow the VPA personnel to discuss scenarios they are likely to face during their time in South Sudan and devise potential solutions. The FTX element of the Exercise will begin on 22 June 2019 and will be held in a full-scale mock-up of the Level 2 Hospital used in Bentiu.

The UK Defence Attaché, Group Captain David Houghton, who is attending the TTX/FTX, said “the professionalism and dedication of the VPA personnel currently deployed to Bentiu has been clear to all the nations who form part of UNMISS. The current TTX/FTX will ensure that the personnel from Military Hospital 103 and the Military Medical University who will deploy to Bentiu in October 2019 will be fully-prepared to continue the excellent work that is currently being carried out by Military Hospital 175 personnel.”

Thank you, Madam Vice-President,

The United Kingdom would like to refer to interventions elsewhere on Myanmar, Belarus, Eritrea, Syria, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Burundi. We remain deeply concerned at recent events in Sudan. We condemn the security services’ use of brutal force against peaceful protestors in Khartoum, and call for accountability.

We are increasingly concerned at the growing use of detention camps in Xinjiang; UN observers should be allowed unrestricted access. We have wider concerns about freedom of religion or belief in China, including for Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and Falun Gong, and about the deteriorating situation for non-State media journalists.

We also remain concerned by Iran’s deplorable human rights record, including its treatment of dual nationals. We urge Iran to stop harassing journalists and halt its use of the death penalty, especially for crimes committed by minors.

We call on Russia to uphold the human rights of all its people, including LGBT people in Chechnya. We call on Russia to grant international human rights monitors access to illegally annexed Crimea and release all Ukrainian political prisoners.

Reports of systematic human rights violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are deeply concerning. We call on DPRK to constructively engage with the international community and to grant immediate access to human rights actors.

We remain concerned about the humanitarian crisis and human rights situation in Yemen, especially cases of arbitrary detention, child soldier recruitment and persecution of members of religious minorities, such as the Baha’i, in Houthi-controlled areas.

In Egypt, we welcome progress on the new NGO law. We call on Egypt to release all detained journalists, to limit the use of pre-trial detention and solitary confinement, and to guarantee rights to family prison visits.

In Libya, we are deeply concerned by recent reports of an airstrike killing many migrants on the outskirts of Tripoli.

Finally, we have serious concerns about the erosion of human rights and fundamental freedoms and increasing repression of the opposition in Venezuela. The death of Captain Acosta while detained by military intelligence requires urgent investigation.

Thank you, Madam Vice-President.

The British Embassy Madrid and British Consulate in Palma have launched a new campaign encouraging young British holidaymakers to “stick with your mates”, as part of a FCO global campaign on youth safety. The communications campaign is part of a wider effort to work with local authorities, charities like Street Angels and 24/7, and influencers to encourage young tourists to look out for each other.

Building on previous campaigns aimed at young tourists, in particular those visiting popular resorts such as Magaluf and San Antonio, the campaign focuses on how looking after each other and staying with your friends can help young people avoid accidents and serious injuries on holiday. Research carried out last year shows that the vast majority of fatal incidents and hospitalisations happen when people are on their own, having been separated from their friends.

Advice includes:

• checking into your hotel on social media, so it’s easier to find at the end of the night
• setting up a WhatsApp group to keep in touch with each other
• keeping an eye on each other’s drinks to make sure they don’t get spiked
• not letting a friend walk back to their hotel alone
• not giving a drunk person more alcohol

The content features short videos and digital images that will be targeted at young people visiting the islands through Instagram and Facebook. Partners are encouraged to share the content and use the hashtag #stickwithyourmates. Since the launch, one of the videos has already been viewed more than 541,000 times on Facebook and over 148,000 times on Instagram.

Consul General Lloyd Milen said:

The Balearics are a great destination where young people can have a fantastic holiday. The objective of the campaign, following several fatal balcony falls in the Balearics last summer and, sadly, one already this year, is focused on trying to prevent such accidents happening again and to reduce the number of hospitalisations. Our campaign is about providing some simple tips and advice to make sure everyone visiting the islands has a holiday to remember, rather than one they will want to forget.

Georgia Hague, who features in some of the videos and who has her own campaign “Don’t Leave a Friend Behind” on the island of Mallorca has a very personal reason for supporting Stick with your Mates after losing a friend who fell from a building in Magaluf. Georgia said:

You can’t stop people drinking, but you can stop a friend making a bad decision. I see people in all sorts of trouble every night – lost on the strip, having drunk too much – which could have been avoided if they’d just stuck with their mates.

The Vice-President and Councillor for Innovation, Research and Tourism for the Government of the Balearics, Bel Busquets welcomed the campaign initiated by the Consulate: “From the Government of the Balearic Islands, we want our visitors to have a good time on the islands and that they can return home safe and sound, and with good memories to share with family and friends. For that to happen, we have to work together.”

Background Information

Stick With Your Mates is a continuation of the already successful Take Your Pic campaign, that aims to provide young people with useful tips for successful and safe travel overseas. This campaign has been re-named Stick With Your Mates to tie in with the current youth climate as FCO data shows that sticking together and looking out for each other is a powerful determinant in helping young people have safer travels. The campaign will now no longer be referenced as Take Your Pic.

On 30 May 2019, the Secretary of State accepted an 11-year disqualification undertaking from Bilal Mahmood.

From 20 June 2019, Bilal Mahmood (26), from Ilford, is banned from directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company.

Bilal Mahmood’s disqualification centres on his conduct while a director of Inter Press Corporation Limited, a media distribution company incorporated in April 2005 that distributed books and an international newspaper.

However, the loss of its major contractor in April 2016 led to the company winding down its operation, before making all employees redundant by the end of 2016.

Bilal Mahmood became the sole director of Inter Press Corporation when he purchased the company and its assets in February 2017 for £10,000.

A month after buying the company, in March 2017, Bilal Mahmood submitted accounts that showed a £380,000 increase in profit compared to the previous year – despite the fact that the company had lost its main contractor and ceased trading in December 2016

This strong financial report boosted the company’s credit rating, allowing Inter Press Corporation to purchase almost £275,000 worth of high-value IT equipment on credit from at least 19 suppliers.

But, just five months later, in August 2017, Bilal Mahmood stated that the company had ceased trading because it was unable to make repayments for the IT equipment, which was now nowhere to be found.

The company’s creditors petitioned the court to wind up the company in March 2018, and a winding up order was handed down on 17 May 2018 by District Judge Ingram sitting in the Birmingham District Registry.

The Official Receiver was appointed as liquidator and investigators established that Bilal Mahmood caused the company to obtain goods on credit, provided by suppliers who had relied upon the accounts filed at Companies House to determine the company’s creditworthiness. He also failed to preserve adequate records.

The whereabouts of the IT equipment remains unknown.

Anthony Hannon, Official Receiver for the Insolvency Service, said:

Bilal Mahmood massaged his company’s accounts in order to obtain a strong line of credit worth almost a quarter of a million pounds.

Directors have a responsibility to submit accurate accounts, in part to preserve the validity and trustworthiness of the credit rating regime. This disqualification serves as a warning to any who are tempted not to take this responsibility seriously.

Notes to editors

Bilal Mahmood is of Ilford, Essex and his date of birth is June 1992.

Inter Press Corporation Limited (Company Reg no. 05426083).

A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:

• act as a director of a company
• take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
• be a receiver of a company’s property

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 other restrictions.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

The Charity Commission, has opened a statutory inquiry into funds held by and raised in connection with Sikh Youth UK. Sikh Youth UK is not a registered charity, however the Commission has jurisdiction due to the funds being charitable.

In October 2018, West Midlands Police notified the Commission of concerns relating to the organisation’s receipt and use of charitable funds. The Commission exercised its powers under Section 52 of the Charities Act 2011 to obtain copies of bank statements. The Commission’s analysis of the information obtained to date has identified a number of regulatory concerns which warrant further investigation.

The Commission therefore opened a statutory inquiry on 15 November 2018. The Commission has been unable to announce its investigation before now so as to avoid prejudicing criminal proceedings.

The inquiry is examining:

• whether those in control of charitable funds have properly exercised their legal duties and responsibilities under charity law in the administration of charitable funds held by the organisation;
• the financial management of the organisation;
• whether there has been private benefit to the trustees of the organisation;
• the organisation’s partnerships with other charities;
• the conduct of the trustees

The inquiry will also examine the organisation’s status in order to determine whether it is a charity in law. Those running the organisation have not applied to register with the Commission*.

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries by the Commission are available on GOV.UK.

Ends

Notes to Editors

1. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work see the about us page on GOV.UK.
2. Search for charities on our check charity tool.
3. While the Commission has been working closely with West Midlands Police throughout the inquiry, the Commission’s case is separate from any investigation the police may be carrying out in respect of the organisation, its trustees or individuals linked to the organisation. The Commission does not investigate criminal allegations; these should be reported to the police.
4. The opening an inquiry is not in itself a finding of wrongdoing.
5. *If an organisation meets both the legal test for being a charity and the registration criteria then its trustees are under a legal requirement to apply to register with the Commission.