Président Macron, je suis très heureux de vous accueillir aujourd’hui pour votre première visite au Royaume-Uni en tant que Président.

President Macron it gives me great pleasure to welcome you here today for your first visit to the UK as President.

There can be no more fitting venue than Sandhurst for these talks. For we are gathered here at one institution to celebrate and strengthen another – the enduring alliance between the UK and France.

Ours is a uniquely close relationship between two of the world’s oldest and greatest democracies.

We meet in the year that marks a century since the end of the First World War, when our troops fought side-by-side in defence of our shared belief in freedom and resistance against aggression.

And we have been clear again today that as global, outward-looking nations we remain committed to defending our people and upholding our values as liberal democracies in the face of any threat, whether at home or abroad. But our relationship has always gone far beyond defence and security.

Hundreds of thousands of British citizens live in France and a similar number of French nationals have made the UK their home.

And today we have agreed ways in which we can build on these ties for the benefit of all our citizens.

While this Summit takes place as the UK prepares to leave the EU, we are and will remain a steadfast partner to our friends and allies.

And a strong and deep relationship between the United Kingdom and France remains in both of our interests.

Defence

The President and I agree on the importance of the UK-France relationship, not just to our security but to European security.

We are the only European countries who are permanent members of the UN Security Council as well as members of the G7, G20 and NATO.

And we are Europe’s two foremost military powers.

It is incumbent upon us to demonstrate leadership in meeting the great challenges of our time, and upholding the international rules-based system.

We have agreed that UK-France co-operation remains critical to European defence and that together we will continue to play a full role to improve the security of the continent.

And today we can confirm that the UK-France Combined Joint Expeditionary Force will be ready to deploy up to 10,000 troops quickly and effectively to face any threat by 2020.

The shared interests of the UK and France and indeed Europe itself extend far beyond our immediate borders. Africa’s security and prosperity is vitally important to us all. In recent years the UK and France worked side-by-side to combat the global threat posed by the Ebola epidemic.

And today I can announce that in the same spirit of co-operation we will step-up our efforts in the Sahel to prevent Islamist extremism breeding instability and insecurity, fuelling the migration crisis.

The UK will deploy three UK Chinook helicopters and their crews to the Sahel, and we will continue the support we offer through our heavy lift transport aircraft, increasing the ability of French troops to manoeuvre effectively in their battle against extremists.

During our discussions today the UK and France have also agreed to work together to ensure EU African Peace Facility funding for AMISOM in Somalia, as part of a comprehensive approach on the continent.

Closer to home we will stand together in the face of Russian aggression in eastern Europe, where France has agreed to commit troops to the UK-led NATO battlegroup in Estonia in 2019.

This commitment will build on the successful joint deployment which we visited together last year.

Security

Since the last UK-France Summit we have seen appalling and cowardly terrorist attacks in both our countries, in which British and French citizens have died side-by-side.

There is no circumstance in which we could envisage the vital interests of either the United Kingdom or France being threatened without the other one being affected.

To tackle this shared threat, for the first time in history all of the heads of UK and French intelligence agencies were brought together ahead of this Summit in a single meeting, underlining our unique co-operation in this field. This afternoon they briefed the President and me on the work they do together.

It is clear that this co-operation is preventing loss of life on both sides of the Channel and around the world.
And today we have discussed ways in which we can increase and enhance our collaboration to continue to keep our citizens safe.

Migration

The UK and France share a belief in a comprehensive approach to mass migration. And as our efforts in the Sahel and across Africa demonstrate, we will work together to address the instability which fuels it.

President Macron and I have both confirmed that the UK and France remain committed to the principles of the longstanding Le Touquet agreement, under which the UK is able to carry out full border checks on French soil.

And today we have agreed additional measures which will work in the best interests of both France and the UK, increasing the effectiveness of our co-operation.

We will reinforce the security infrastructure with extra CCTV, fencing and infra-red technology at Calais and other border points.

In 2016 more than 56,000 attempts by clandestines to cross the Channel were stopped at the UK’s juxtaposed border controls.

The further investment we have agreed today will make the UK’s borders even more secure.

The UK and France also share a determination to tackle the people traffickers and migrant smugglers who exploit the misery of those making the perilous journey to Europe.

We are committed to working closely together to close down the networks of smugglers who seek to profit from the misery of others.

Prosperity

UK-French economic co-operation is vital to our shared prosperity.

We share £71billion in trade, making France the UK’s third largest trading partner and the UK France’s fifth largest.

And our trade relationship continues to thrive following the vote to leave the EU.

Airbus, a company whose supply chain and ownership spans Europe, have today announced a multi-billion pound deal to provide Emirates Airlines with 36 A380 passenger aircraft, parts of which will be built in both the UK and France, providing a boost to both our economies.

And just down the road from here in Farnborough UK and French engineers at the company are working side-by-side on the cutting edge Zephyr high-altitude surveillance drone.

This collaboration on innovation runs through our relationship, and today we have agreed to strengthen the global competitiveness of our world-class researchers and innovators, deepening co-operation between our research agencies.

People-to-People

But the UK-France relationship is about far more than a balance sheet.

Both President Macron and I believe that everyone in society deserves the same opportunities regardless of where they come from.

And we will use our relationship to make this happen, supporting children from disadvantaged backgrounds to develop their employability and language skills.

We will create a new fund for exchanges between our schools and revitalising the Entente Cordiale programme with new financing, so that our students can study across the Channel.

Our shared history will also be reflected in the loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the UK in 2022, the first time it will be on British soil in more than 900 years.

The loan of the Tapestry will form part of a wider cultural exchange taking place between Britain and France over the next four years.

I am honoured at the loan of such a precious piece of our shared history which yet again underscores the closeness of our relationship.

We have agreed to build a new generation of links between our people, with an ambitious programme of twinning towns and regions, bringing together mayors, leaders of City Regions and others as they address today’s challenges and harness the potential of emerging technologies.

The UK and France are forever neighbours, united in friendship, and by our common belief in freedom and justice, both at home and in the world.

The unique 70 metre long tapestry that depicts the 1066 Norman Conquest of Britain will be put on public display in 2022.

The exhibition has been announced to coincide with the UK-France summit taking place this week. The loan of the Tapestry will form part of a wider cultural exchange taking place between Britain and France over the next four years and marks a key milestone in the celebration of our shared history.

Prime Minister Theresa May said:

Our shared history is reflected in the loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the UK in 2022, the first time it will be on British soil in more than 900 years.

The loan of the Tapestry will form part of a wider cultural exchange taking place between Britain and France over the next four years.

I am honoured at the loan of such a precious piece of our shared history which yet again underscores the closeness of the UK-France relationship.

DCMS Secretary, Matt Hancock said:

France and Britain are global cultural leaders with a millennium long recorded history. The Bayeux Tapestry is a fundamental symbol of our history as neighbours. It’s arrival in the UK is a tribute to the strength of our relationship now and in the future.

We are committed to opening up the UK to the best culture and history the world has to offer. This year Liverpool will welcome the Terracotta Warriors from ancient China and we look forward to hosting the Bayeux Tapestry.

The UK is home to some of the leading museums in the world and by showcasing works of national and international interest we will ensure that the UK remains a go to destination for the arts and culture.

The tapestry was created in the UK in the eleventh century, shortly after the Battle of Hastings and has been on display in various locations in France since its completion. The Tapestry is now part of the UNESCO Memory of the World Register and depicts the Battle which saw William the Conqueror take the English throne in 1066.

The Tapestry will come to the UK while its current home, the Bayeux Museum, undergoes refurbishment in 2022. Further details of the exhibition, including exact dates and locations will be released in due course.

Mr Chairman, Mr Secretary-General,

On behalf of the UK Government may I warmly congratulate Kazakhstan on becoming the first Central Asian nation to steer and chair the Security Council.

As has been pointed out your historic commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament is well known. We welcome this important debate because our collective security and prosperity depend on an effective global non-proliferation regime.

Now it is sometimes, I think, easy to forget just how recently the global community coalesced around a common strategy in this sphere.

There were very dark predictions made during the 1960s and 1970s of a bleak world in which dozens of nuclear armed states vied with each other.

Yet today, thanks to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, that number of nuclear states remains in single figures.

Together, we have painstakingly constructed a comprehensive set of rules, norms and standards that counter the proliferation of all types of Weapons of Mass Destruction and their means of delivery.

If the rule book that we have written together is to remain effective in this century, we must all meet our responsibilities to protect and implement our common rules, norms and standards – and hold those who breach them properly to account.

The success or failure depends on our ability to work together. This of course is illustrated by the examples of Iran, North Korea and Syria, which I shall now briefly discuss.

The threat of a nuclear Iran brought the international community, this Security Council, together to defend our commonly-held rules and to protect our shared security interests.

Through our painstaking joint diplomacy and co-ordinated pressure Iran came to the negotiating table. Collectively we agreed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which we in the UK continue to steadfastly support.

We should always remember that before the deal, Iran could have produced enough fissile material for a weapon in a few months. Now all experts would suggest this would take at least a year.

All of us in this Security Council should be proud of this success that we achieved by working together.

Let us please continue this work.

On North Korea rightly we have had successes. Not least because we have worked together.

North Korea has repeatedly, continuously flouted our non-proliferation rules, with deepening consequences for international security. We agreed that the DPRK’s development of a nuclear programme is illegal and cannot be accepted. In response, this Council collectively imposed the strictest sanctions in a generation with a number of Security Council Resolutions.

Rest assured these measures are already having an impact. The Security Council must, in my view, continue to stand united, on both North Korea and Iran.

By contrast, the Security Council has not been as united in response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

Regrettably it has been Russia that has repeatedly in this Council wielded its veto despite clear conclusions from an impartial independent expert investigation, set up by the Council itself, that the Syrian Regime and Daesh have repeatedly used chemical weapons.

I fear that this Council’s lack of unity and resolve on Syria sends the most dangerous possible signal of a confused message to would-be proliferators of the future.

The Security Council must be prepared to hold all transgressors to account. And the UK implores those in this Council that have stood in the way of action to join the consensus for the future.

Mr President, the lesson for this Council could not be clearer when we work together, we can persuade and cajole States to abandon their ambitions to obtain weapons of mass destruction. If we do not it is the most vulnerable, civilians often, who suffer, and the security of the world is put at risk.

The Nuclear Proliferation Treaty remains a cornerstone of international security. Although the pace of non-proliferation and disarmament is often frustratingly slow, it is vital not to lose sight of the ambitious vision that the Treaty embodies.

Its achievements stem from its development, over time, by consensus, and because it offered tangible benefits to all its signatories.

By contrast, the nuclear weapons ban treaty would offer no solutions to the very complex security challenges that we face, nor in my view to the significant technical challenges of nuclear disarmament.

This is why the United Kingdom will not become a party to the weapons ban treaty. We do not consider that its prohibitions represent an emerging rule of customary international law.

The United Kingdom remains committed to a world without nuclear weapons. We believe the best way to achieve this goal is through gradual multilateral disarmament, negotiated step-by-step, within existing frameworks.

There is much more we can do if we continue to work together. We can continue the voluntary moratoria on nuclear weapons testing and work for the entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

We can prevent nuclear, chemical and biological material from falling into the hands of terrorists, by working for full and effective implementation of the Security Council Resolution 1540.

And we can tackle the threat of ballistic missiles by encouraging Member States to consider acceding or adhering to the Missile Technology Control Regime and the Hague Code of Conduct.

Mr Secretary General, Mr President, the Security Council has as we know has a very special role to play in safeguarding international peace and security. And as ever, it is the unity of this Security Council and the UN beyond that is vital.

Together, we must continue working to prevent proliferation.

Together, we must hold to account those states that breach our rules.

And together, we must persuade and cajole would-be proliferators to abandon their ambitions to develop weapons of mass destruction.

The UK remains ready to work closely with you, with all members of this Security Council towards these important goals – goals which I belive are essential for the future security of mankind.

Artist’s impression of the ExoMars rover. Credit: ESA.

Security firm Eboracum was established in 2011 and now provides a range of services in York. These include security guarding, facilities management and community projects. The company also provide a street ranger service to the York business improvement district.

Body-worn cameras have become important items of equipment and are now deployed with operatives across the company. Supported by local police and the city council enforcement officers, body-worn cameras have enabled the provision of evidence leading to successful prosecutions. Aside from prosecutions, body-worn cameras have also been used to deter assaults on staff and prevent crime. They also inhibit aggressive behaviour.

Recognising the importance of maintaining public trust and confidence when conducting surveillance activity, Eboracum were committed to being transparent in demonstrating high standards and ethical use of their body-worn cameras and therefore decided to undertake voluntary certification assessment against the surveillance camera code of practice, which is regulated by the Surveillance Camera Commissioner, Tony Porter.

The code of practice is intended to ensure that individuals and wider communities have confidence that public body surveillance cameras are deployed to protect and support them, rather than spy on them. The government is keen to encourage organisations to voluntarily adopt the code, which is a mandatory requirement for police forces in England and Wales.

Eboracum’s procedures, privacy impact assessment and processes were audited by the Security Systems and Alarms Inspection board (SSAIB).

Eboracum UK has taken steps to ensure that their body-worn CCTV systems operate within a legal framework and meet the standards of the Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s code of practice. This includes data security, appropriate usage, control of records and promoting a culture of honesty.

Carl Nickson, Director of Eboracum UK said:

Although accreditation is voluntary, I feel that it is important to demonstrate a transparent and compliant approach to the use of CCTV. We are leading from the front as the first security company to achieve this accolade and I hope that others will follow. Achieving this accreditation outlines that even small to medium businesses can put privacy, compliance and transparency at the top of the agenda.

Tony Porter, Surveillance Camera Commissioner, added:

A key component of my national surveillance camera strategy is to encourage organisations that are not bound by statute to comply with the Secretary of State’s code of practice, to voluntarily adopt its provisions. In doing so, Eboracum have demonstrated a real commitment to ensure that the public can have confidence in their use of body-worn surveillance cameras. I congratulate them on their achievement and encourage other organisations to follow their example.