Tag Archives: HM Government
Press release: Increased sentences for 2 Nottingham child sex offenders
Two men, convicted of serious sexual offences against children, have had their jail terms increased by the Court of Appeal.
Derrick Dobson, 80 and John Smith, 71 were sentenced in August at Nottingham Crown Court. Dobson was convicted on 5 counts of indecent assault and was originally given a 6 month jail sentence. Smith, pleaded guilty to committing sexual assaults including rape, and was given a 5 ½ year prison sentence.
The 2 offenders were also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years and will be prevented from working with vulnerable groups, including children.
The Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP welcomed the extension of these sentences from 6 months to 4 years 6 months for Dobson and 12 years instead of the original sentence of 5 ½ years for Smith.
Speaking after the hearing the Solicitor General said:
“I am pleased the Court of Appeal has recognised that the original sentences handed down were unduly lenient. The 2 offenders attacked their victims over a number of years and this abuse led to long-lasting devastating impacts. The increased jail terms now really reflect the severity of the offences.”
read moreNews story: Sentinel-5P successfully launched to monitor world’s pollution
Sentinel-5 Precursor is an important satellite for the joint European Commission–ESA Copernicus programme – which monitors the atmosphere to help us understand the spread of key pollutants and their impact on our changing planet.
The satellite, which was launched on a Rockot from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia at 10.37am BST, shows how important the UK contribution is to European space programmes.
Science Minister, Jo Johnson, said:
“The successful launch of the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite is a clear demonstration of the UK’s valuable contribution to improving global knowledge through satellite data, and the heights we can reach by collaborating with our European partners.
“Our ongoing investment in the UK space sector forms a key part of our Industrial Strategy, and we are committed to ensuring that we have the infrastructure and skills in place to support our ambition to capture 10% of the global space market by 2030.”
The UK provides investment into the Copernicus programme through the European Union as well as additional UK Space Agency investment through the European Space Agency for the development of the Sentinel satellite technology and instruments. Defra are the lead department for Copernicus, championing the use of the Copernicus satellite data for government policy making, scientific research and commercial services.
Graham Turnock, CEO of the UK Space Agency, with sixth form students from Drapers Academy in Romford who were invited by the UK Space Agency to the launch event in London.Sentinel-5 Precursor features the TROPOMI (TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument) instrument, developed by Airbus DS Netherlands for the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Netherlands Space Office. TROPOMI will measure ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, methane and other atmospheric pollutants at a higher resolution than previous instruments. Having more accurate atmospheric data will enable improved climate models and pollutant tracking and forecasting.
Professor John Remedios, Director of the National Centre for Earth Observation, who attended a launch event at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands, along with a panel of experts from the UK, said:
“Sentinel-5P and successor satellites will give the public a consistent measure of the quality of our atmosphere over the next decades and monitor the success of the really significant steps society wants to take towards a healthier lifestyle and clean economy. It is encouraging to see the excellent UK participation with its expertise in this mission.”
read morePress release: Pre-season tours no longer friendly for banned director
Moyes’ disqualification follows an investigation by the Insolvency Service into Glasgow-based Professional Pre Season Tours Limited, which ceased trading in April 2014.
The company had been involved in arranging pre-season tours for various football clubs, including Everton, Chelsea, Liverpool, Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest, Norwich City, Aberdeen, Hibernian and Celtic.
The investigation found that Moyes transferred over £300,000 from the company to himself as a ‘bonus payment’ shortly before the company stopped trading. However according to the company accounts, no money was actually transferred, although it allowed him to claim a loan account debt was settled. In reality, this money had already been withdrawn for his personal use.
Investigators established that he withdrew at least £420,400 in cash from the company while it was trading, but failed to declare the full amount.
Because the fictitious transfer resulted in a nominal asset of the company being turned into a liability, it was unable to pay its obligations to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in terms of PAYE and National Insurance contributions. At liquidation it owed £271,180 to creditors, of which all but £4,067 of which was to HMRC.
Commenting on the disqualification, Cheryl Lambert, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:
This is a simple case of a director trying to avoid repaying their loans to a company and avoiding their proper tax payments. It was a cynical attempt to maintain personal wealth, with the consequence of depriving the public of tax receipts, and he abused the privileges and benefits of limited liability trading.
Kenneth Moyes also kept HMRC in the dark by not filing all returns on time, including partially paying VAT assessments at a sufficient level to avoid attracting priority attention.
Taking action against him is a warning to all directors that such behaviour will result in a very significant sanction, with a personal consequence. A limited company Is not a personal piggy bank for directors.
On 18 July 2017, the Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a disqualification undertaking from Kenneth Moyes. The disqualification commenced on 8 September 2017.
Notes to editors
Professional Pre Season Tours Ltd (CRO SC311860) was incorporated on 14 November 2006. Its registered office was c/o McLay, McAlister & McGibbon LLP, First Floor, 145 St Vincent Street, Glasgow, Strathclyde, G2 5JF. It traded from 15 North Claremont Street, Glasgow, G3 7NR
Professional Pre Season Tours (PPST) Ltd was placed into liquidation on 8 October 2014 with Donald McKinnon of Wylie & Bisset, 168 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4TP appointed sole liquidator.
Kenneth Moyes is of Glasgow and his date of birth is February 1968.
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.
The Insolvency Service investigation established that:
- In the annual accounts for PPST for the year ended 31 December 2012 Mr Moyes had an outstanding director loan due to PPST of £172,597 which was repayable by 30th September 2013.
- Mr Moyes declared remuneration, reflected in p60 returns to HMRC and PPST’s accounts, for the six years from incorporation to April 2013, totalled £90,464
- On 26 March 2014, shortly before PPST ceased trading in April 2014, a “bonus payment” of £329,936.02 was recorded (including in a pay slip) as being made to Mr Moyes. No moneys were transferred.
- Mr Moyes received at least £420,400 in cash from PPST during its trading, of which only £90,464 had been declared to HMRC for taxation purposes prior to 26 March 2014.
- The “Bonus Payment” extinguished, on paper, the director’s loan account previously shown and created a liability of PAYE & NIC to HMRC of at least £203,022.24. This tax debt remained due and outstanding at liquidation.
- PPST did not comply with its statutory obligations to HMRC resulting in £271,180 being due in relation to PAYE/NIC (accrued from 2009/10), Corporation Tax accrued from December 2012) and VAT accruing for 18 consecutive partially paid assessments from 2010, whilst non-HMRC creditors totalled £4,068.14
Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.
The Insolvency Service, an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), administers the insolvency regime, and aims to deliver and promote a range of investigation and enforcement activities both civil and criminal in nature, to support fair and open markets. We do this by effectively enforcing the statutory company and insolvency regimes, maintaining public confidence in those regimes and reducing the harm caused to victims of fraudulent activity and to the business community, including dealing with the disqualification of directors in corporate failures.
Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available. Media enquiries
Contact Press Office
You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:
read moreGovernment response: Statement on Al-Hijrah school judgement
I am delighted that we have won this appeal. Ofsted’s job is to make sure that all schools properly prepare children for life in modern Britain. Educational institutions should never treat pupils less favourably because of their sex, or for any other reason.
The school is teaching boys and girls entirely separately, making them walk down separate corridors, and keeping them apart at all times. This is discrimination and is wrong. It places these boys and girls at a disadvantage for life beyond the classroom and the workplace, and fails to prepare them for life in modern Britain.
This case involves issues of real public interest, and has significant implications for gender equality, Ofsted, government, and the wider education sector. We will be considering the ruling carefully to understand how this will affect future inspections.
read more