The Prime Minister hosted the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, today to discuss how the two countries could approach shared global challenges together.

The two Prime Ministers welcomed the Free Trade Agreement signed between the two countries in February this year, and the Prime Minister thanked New Zealand for its support for UK accession to CPTPP.  

The two leaders welcomed the agreement to expand the Youth Mobility Scheme, allowing young British nationals and New Zealanders to work more easily in both countries. They also signed the Research, Science and Innovation Arrangement, strengthening the UK and New Zealand’s collaboration across all three areas to address issues such as climate change.

Reflecting on the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and NATO summit in Madrid this week, the leaders discussed current geopolitical challenges and agreed on the importance supporting countries around the world in defending their sovereignty. The Prime Minister also thanked Prime Minister Ardern for New Zealand’s support in training Ukrainian Armed Forces in the UK.

The leaders discussed the UK’s increased engagement and investment in the Pacific region, and agreed on the importance of working closely with Pacific Island leaders to support their economic resilience.  

Prime Minister Ardern updated on her work tackling violent extremism online as part of the Christchurch Call to Action, and the Prime Minister agreed more needed to be done to combat disinformation and drive the use of responsible algorithms.

Mulholland International Limited was granted a standard international goods vehicle operator’s licence in March 2018 authorising the use of six vehicles and two trailers. It was called to public inquiry in January 2021 where the commissioner curtailed it to 3 vehicles only having accepted an undertaking for a full systems compliance audit to be carried out by 31 May 2021.

Mulholland Tippers Ltd applied for a standard national licence in June 2020 to authorise four vehicles. The application was determined and refused at the same January 2021 public inquiry.

The compliance audit never happened, and the commissioner discovered that the company entered creditors voluntary liquidation in October 2021 and was estimated to owe £254,715 including HMRC VAT of £80,346 HMRC PAYE of £52,958 and a Bounce-back loan of £37,077.

The commissioner said “Wendy Mulholland treats the tax-paying British public with disdain. This is a three-vehicle operation. How it could possibly have generated such a deficit in such a short period of time is beyond me. It is for the liquidators to undertake their statutory duties in that regard. Wendy Mulholland should not be allowed to continue within the haulage industry.”

Further details can be found here.

On 1 July 2022, Kwasi Kwarteng, UK Business and Energy Secretary and Tinne Van der Straeten, Belgian Minister for Energy, opened the 16th Belgo-British Conference at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London.

Chaired by Sir Robin Niblett, Director of Chatham House, and Mr Johan Verbeke, former Belgian Ambassador to the UK, the conference brought together key figures from government, politics, business, academia and civil society to discuss opportunities for the UK-Belgium relationship in a changing geopolitical and economic context, including energy security.

UK Business and Energy Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, said:

Our long and close relationship with Belgium has rarely been as important as it is in today. In light of Putin’s continued atrocities in Ukraine, it is vital that we continue to work with allies like Belgium to boost energy security in the UK and across Europe.

I was delighted to attend the Belgo-British Conference, which follows the signing of the Joint Declaration on bilateral cooperation by our Prime Ministers last December. Belgium is and will remain a key partner for collaboration on energy, trade, business, research and innovation.

Belgian Minister for Energy Tinne Van der Straeten said:

In today’s world, it is important to have good friends. Belgium and the United Kingdom are friends, close neighbours and allies. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia shows that this alliance stays more relevant than ever.

We need to stand side by side, now and in the future, to defend democratic values, human rights, energy sustainability and security. The Belgo-British conference aims to do exactly that. Alone you go fast, but together we go further.

The Sellafield site will play a leading role in a Countryfile report about the past, present, and future of the UK’s nuclear industry.

Presenter Tom Heap and a film crew visited the Sellafield site, in West Cumbria last week to record footage and interviews.

The programme will document Sellafield’s history as the birthplace of the UK nuclear industry and its continued contribution to the UK energy sector via spent fuel and waste management services.

Phil Hallington, Sellafield Ltd head of policy, was interviewed for the show. Filming locations included the Fuel Handling Plant and the Windscale Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor waste store.

Matt Legg, Sellafield Ltd external communications manager, said:

We’re always on the look-out for high quality opportunities to tell the Sellafield story to a national audience.

BBC Countryfile is a show we’ve been keen to feature on for a long time because of its focus on rural communities.

The crew were all impressed with the size and scale of our operation and the dedication and professionalism of the people they met on site.

It’s a news report so it will be an honest portrayal of our past, present, and future operations, including references to incidents of the past.

But we’re confident the programme will present our site in a positive light and emphasise the incredible contribution we make to the UK every day.