FCDO statement on trial of Jeanine Áñez in Bolivia

Press release

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development office has issued a statement, following the verdict in the trial of Jeanine Áñez.

A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson said:

We note the recent verdict by a Bolivian court regarding ex-President Jeanine Áñez, among other accused, her conviction to ten years imprisonment, the issuing of the full verdict, and the statement by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (UNHCHR) in Bolivia.

We share the procedural concerns raised by the UNHCHR about the manner in which this trial was conducted. We further share the concerns of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges, Diego García-Sayán, about apparent political interference in the judicial process.

We welcome the UNHCHR’s continued commitment to the human rights agenda in Bolivia, as well as their statement on the need for broad reform of the Bolivian justice system. We encourage the Bolivian government to engage in good faith with substantive judicial reform.

Published 21 June 2022

PM call with Prime Minister of Greece: 21 June 2022

Press release

Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis today.

The Prime Minister spoke to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis today ahead of next week’s NATO Summit, which they agreed will be a crucial moment for NATO to unite in support of Ukrainian sovereignty.

The Prime Minister said the international community needed to shift the dial on Ukraine to end the suffering of the Ukrainian people and the devastating impact of Putin’s barbarism on global food and energy prices. He stressed that Western inaction will only give Putin carte blanche to keep attacking.

Prime Minister Mitsotakis updated the Prime Minister on the efforts to secure EU membership for Ukraine. The Prime Minister welcomed these efforts as evidence of the international community’s support for the Ukrainian people and their choices.

The leaders welcomed the potential for future UK-Greek cooperation in a range of areas, including defence. They looked forward to seeing one another in Madrid next week.

Published 21 June 2022

PM call with President of Türkiye: 21 June 2022

Press release

Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to the President of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The Prime Minister spoke to the President of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, today to discuss global food security and defence and economic cooperation.

The Prime Minister updated President Erdoğan on his recent visit to Kyiv, and the leaders agreed on the importance of ending Russia’s war of aggression and restoring Ukrainian sovereignty.

They continued discussions on international efforts to urgently end Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian grain exports, which is hitting developing countries particularly hard. The Prime Minister welcomed Türkiye’s ongoing leadership on this issue and commitment to keep Black Sea trade routes open.

Looking ahead to next week’s NATO Summit, the Prime Minister reiterated the UK’s support for Sweden and Finland’s accession to the Alliance and agreed with President Erdoğan that all parties would continue to work together to find a path forward.

The leaders also welcomed increased defence and security cooperation between the UK and Türkiye and raised new opportunities to deepen that partnership. They looked forward to continuing their discussions in Madrid next week.

Published 21 June 2022

Aircraft carriers to be supported by new logistics facility

New Queen Elizabeth Carrier logistics centre officially opened in Portsmouth today.
Facility to provide critical logistic and maintenance support to the Royal Navy’s two aircraft carriers.
Facility is part of a programme that supports more than 550 jobs.

A new Royal Navy logistics centre in Portsmouth – dedicated to crucial maintenance for HMS Queen Elizabeth and wider naval ships and equipment – has been officially opened today.

Providing critical support to the UK’s largest and most powerful surface vessels in the Royal Navy, the Queen Elizabeth Carrier (QEC) Forward Logistics Centre will streamline logistical support for the vessels.

The new Hampshire facility will see everything from new lightbulbs, to critical engine parts funnelled through the site, helping to ensure that following maintenance the QEC carriers can quickly return to operations to protect and defend the UK’s interests at sea.

Secured with a £7 million contract with BAE Systems and Francis Construction, the new centre is the final project delivered within the 19-year QEC Infrastructure programme. Beginning in 2003, the programme has invested £350 million into the Portsmouth naval base and £100 million in Scotland, creating and sustaining at least 550 jobs across the 50-year life of the vessels.

Located alongside the base port’s carrier berths, the centre was officially opened today by Defence Procurement Minister, Jeremy Quin.

Defence Procurement Minister, Jeremy Quin said:

The Queen Elizabeth Class Carriers are the flagships of our Royal Navy, providing critical at-sea protection of the UK and our allies.

Ensuring we can provide quick and efficient logistical support to our Royal Navy vessels is crucial to maintaining our resilience and operational advantage. I’m delighted to unveil a new facility dedicated to serving and preserving our Queen Elizabeth Carrier vessels throughout their 50-year lifespan.

The facility has been future proofed to support the UK’s Net Zero 2050 requirements. As a result, the roof hosts a photo-voltaic array consisting of 678 panels generating 250kW, with the adjacent car park array providing 1MW energy– comparable to the levels used by several hundred homes. The logistics centre is also the first Royal Navy infrastructure construction to be Net Zero in operation. Net Zero is the balancing of carbon emitted into the atmosphere and the carbon removed from it.

Hitting a nation-wide milestone, the facility is also the first building in the UK to be built using Rigid Inclusion. This sees structural columns embedded in the ground to reinforce organic or weak soils leading to less disturbance, better ground settlement and faster delivery with greater quality control.

In opening the centre, the Defence Procurement Minister outlined progress on the Climate Change and Sustainability Strategic Approach, which was launched last year to set out the ambition, principles and methods needed for UK defence to meet the challenge of climate change.

Since its publication, UK defence has achieved several milestones including:

Developing a Sustainable Support Strategy to reduce the vulnerability of UK defence while maintaining or improving its capability, productivity and efficiency.
Updating policy and standards for new military infrastructure to a higher level of energy efficiency, mitigating future energy cost and resulting in lower carbon emissions.
Establishing a 1,000-person strong network to help support sustainable ambitions across Defence.

Cyber incident cover for schools

News story

GAD has worked with the government as it is set to extend risk protection coverage for schools to include cyber incidents.

We have supported the government as it is set to extend risk protection coverage for schools to include cyber incidents.

The Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) has worked with the Department for Education (DfE) in extending this aspect of the RPA – risk protection arrangement.

The RPA was introduced in 2014 as an alternative to commercial insurance for schools and academies. More than 40% of all eligible schools have so far joined and benefit from the reduced costs and administrative burden the RPA provides.

Cyber risk pilot

The inclusion of cyber coverage is being implemented following the successful completion of the RPA cyber risk pilot. This helped the DfE shape the operational scope of cyber cover.

It means that from September 2022, cyber cover for all RPA members will include:

increased cost of working for up to 90 days
an incident response service
dedicated 24/7/365 cyber incident breach response hotline and email
restoration, remediation, and ongoing monitoring for cyber incidents

GAD’s involvement

In the run up to this being implemented, GAD estimated the cost of cyber coverage. We carried out risk modelling to estimate how many schools would be affected by a cyber incident. As a result, GAD came up with an addition to the price of RPA membership.

Liam Daly from GAD led the modelling while on secondment at DfE. He said: “Now the cover has been launched, we’ll make sure the price addition is in line with the claims that we’re seeing.

“This is an important development because schools are especially vulnerable to cyber risk, and many can’t get commercial cover. Schools will have support to respond to incidents quickly and reduce their impact.”

Schools and academies which wish to join the RPA can find out more online.

Published 21 June 2022