Aaron, T/Sergeant in Operations, based in Berkshire, has successfully completed marathons in Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York.

He said:

It started in 2008 when my New Year’s resolution was to run a marathon having never run any long distance before. I ended up choosing a cross country marathon, which I completed in 3:49:00, vowing afterwards never to do a marathon again!

For the next couple of years I ran a couple of 10k races and half marathons, before gaining entry into the London Marathon in 2011. My aim was to go sub 3 hours for the first time and I achieved this with a time of 2:56:15.

I then found out about the World Marathon Majors, with my aim being to complete each marathon in under three hours. I completed Berlin in 2012 in 2:56:30, which got me a qualifying time for Boston in 2013.

After running Boston in 2:57:55 I had mixed emotions due to the bombings that took place there that year. Thankfully I was at my hotel with my wife, Micayla, when it all unfolded.

In 2014 I went to Chicago, where I managed to knock 10 minutes off my best time, completing it in 2:46:59. The following year was New York, in which I ran 2:47:44, deciding after that to run London again in 2016 to try to better my previous time. I crossed the line in 2:36:55, knocking ten minutes off my personal best, set in Chicago, and 20 minutes off my first London time.

The final race of the majors challenge was Tokyo in February 2017. I qualified as a semi-elite athlete, thanks to the time I set in London. I ran a personal best in 2:33:47 which I was very happy with, considering I didn’t adjust to the time difference and had very little sleep.

Going forward I am representing the MDP at the Police Sport UK 10 mile race this month (September) as part of my training for the Frankfurt marathon in October.

Aaron thanked Assistant Chief Constable Operations, Paul McLaughlin, for his support and the help of the MDP Sports Fund with entry fees, as well as the support he has received from his wife, family and work colleagues.

Congratulating Aaron, Mr McLaughlin commented:

I’m absolutely delighted with his fantastic and overwhelming achievement, which is clearly down to his dedication and the support he has had from family, friends and colleagues.

At a time when the force is driving through the necessary fitness level requirement to meet our role profiles in MDP, what Aaron has demonstrated is where officers could possibly take their personal health and fitness through sheer dedication.

T/CC Andy Adams commented:

Wow, what a fantastic achievement! We take officer fitness very seriously in MDP, striving continually to raise fitness standards to fulfil our vital role in guarding the nation’s defences: Aaron’s commitment and determination is an example to us all.

In the first week since Hurricane Irma struck the Caribbean, the British Red Cross appeal has raised over £1.3 million.

The public has donated over £650,000 since the British Red Cross appeal was launched on 6 September and the UK government is doubling any public donations made. For every £1 given, another £1 will be matched, up to £3 million.

One of the most destructive hurricanes in the region’s recent history, Irma has impacted communities in more than a dozen Caribbean nations and Island territories, destroying or severely damaging thousands of buildings, and claiming at least 40 lives. It is estimated that more than 1.2 million people have been affected.

The Red Cross are providing drinking water, family hygiene kits, blankets, tarpaulins, and other emergency supplies across the islands.

Mike Adamson, chief executive of the British Red Cross, said:

We are overwhelmed by the British public’s generosity in helping us respond to those affected by the devastating Hurricane Irma. We are on the ground providing people with urgent access to clean water and shelter now.

Communities will take years to recover from the destruction of this hurricane. Unfortunately, there will be no quick solutions. The Red Cross will be there to support them every step of the way.

International Development Secretary Priti Patel said:

Hurricane Irma has left devastation across the Caribbean and Overseas Territories. Once again, Britain has acted without hesitation and UK aid funded food, water, emergency healthcare and shelter kits are being delivered to those affected right now.

In times of crises, at home or abroad, the overwhelming generosity of the British people provides hope where there is despair, and by matching pound for pound public donations to the British Red Cross Appeal, the government will double the difference Britons can make to the lives of those affected by Hurricane Irma.

To donate to the British Red Cross Hurricane Irma appeal please visit: www.redcross.org.uk/Irma

“It is time for businesses in Wales to seize global exporting opportunities with both hands,” Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns will say today (14 Sept) during a visit to a Nantgarw- based furniture manufacturer making waves in overseas markets.

Mr Cairns will visit Orangebox in Parc Nantgarw a company that boasts a range of Blue Chip clients and export channels that span Europe, the Middle East, Far East and the USA. He will meet with senior executives at the company to hear about their future expansion plans and underline the UK Government’s commitment to providing certainty and stability to businesses in Wales as the UK prepares to exit the European Union.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said:

Wales is bursting with innovative and world-class companies that are boosting our economy, creating jobs and changing lives across the country. But now is the time to raise the bar and show the world just what Wales has to offer.

Orangebox is a great example of a company doing just that– a company with local headquarters yet with an internationally renowned reputation – putting Wales on the map right across the globe.

As Britain prepares to exit the EU we now have the opportunity to shape our own ambitious trade and investment opportunities in Europe and beyond, and put Wales and Britain firmly at the forefront of global trade and investment.

Wales is already an exporting nation. In 2016, 4,000 companies took their first forays into the global market at a value of £12.4 billion. Across the UK, exports contribute over £570 billion to GDP annually.

Orangebox, which was established in 1972, is expecting to achieve sales of £60m in 2017. It is also predicted that that the firm will save £30k per year, following the removal of the Severn Bridge tolls in 2018.

The visit comes after the Welsh Secretary announced that he is writing to 26,000 Welsh businesses that have been identified as potential exporters and sending them a copy of a dedicated exporting guide for Welsh businesses.

The Wales Export Guide, sets out the full range of support available to Welsh businesses from the UK Government and contains inspiring stories of companies based in Wales that are successfully exporting. Alun Cairns hopes that businesses will recognise the huge potential available to help them invest and grow.

Mr Cairns added:

Our mission is to become the world’s greatest exporting nation,, boosting business confidence and national pride, and empowering more Welsh companies to go out and succeed in global markets.

That is why we are sharing the advice, guidance and support available from the UK Government, in particular from the Department for International Trade, for businesses in our Wales Export Guide. We want to help them to build their brand abroad as we continue to increase UK exports and encourage inward investment.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Orangebox has a 420-strong workforce across sites in Ystrad Mynach, Parc Nantgarw and a London showroom. Their clients range from Blue Chip Organisations to Government Departments and 78% of their supply chain is based in the UK with many key suppliers in Wales.

ENDS

• Bill will introduce safeguards to prevent and detect fraud, protect the freedom of the press, allow scientific research and maintain the integrity of professional sports
• Specifically includes measures to allow action against terrorist financing, money laundering and child abuse
• Processing done for legitimate interests will be allowed if it achieves a balance with individuals’ rights

The Data Protection Bill will make data protection laws fit for the digital age in which an ever increasing amount of data is being processed and empower people to take control of their data.

With individual data rights being strengthened, it is the Government’s view that, as far as possible, existing lawful data processing should be allowed to continue.

So the Bill assures specific UK businesses and organisations the vital data processing they undertake for legal or public interest reasons can continue uninterrupted.

It will preserve existing tailored exemptions that have worked well in the Data Protection Act 1998, carrying them over to the new law.

The government successfully negotiated these exemptions from the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation to create a proportionate data protection regime which is right for Britain.

Matt Hancock, Minister of State for Digital, said:

We are strengthening Britain’s data rules to make them fit for the digital age in which we live and that means giving people more control over their own data.

There are circumstances where the processing of data is vital for our economy, our democracy and to protect us against illegality. Today, as we publish the Data Protection Bill, I am offering assurances to both the public and private sector that we are protecting this important work.

The Bill will include exemptions for data processing in the following areas:

• Processing of personal data by journalists for freedom of expression and to expose wrongdoing is to be safeguarded
• Scientific and historical research organisations such as museums and universities will be exempt from certain obligations which would impair their core functions
• National bodies responsible for the fight against doping in sport will continue to be able to process data to catch drug cheats
• In the financial services sector, the pricing of risk or data processing done on suspicion of terrorist financing or money laundering will be protected
• Where it is justified, the Bill will allow the processing of sensitive and criminal conviction data without consent, including to allow employers to fulfil obligations of employment law

In its recent statement of intent Government committed to updating and strengthening data protection laws through the bill to provide everyone with the confidence that their data will be managed securely and safely. Research shows that more than 80 per cent of people feel that they do not have complete control over their data online.

Under the plans individuals will have more control over their data by having the right to be forgotten and ask for their personal data to be erased. This will also mean that people can ask social media channels to delete information they posted in their childhood. The reliance on default opt-out or pre-selected ‘tick boxes’, which are largely ignored, to give consent for organisations to collect personal data will also become a thing of the past.

Businesses will be supported to ensure they are able to manage and secure data properly. The data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), will be given more power to defend consumer interests and issue higher fines, of up to £17 million or 4 per cent of global turnover, in cases of the most serious data breaches.

Data protection rules will also be made clearer for those who handle data but they will be made more accountable for the data they process with the priority on personal privacy rights. Those organisations carrying out high-risk data processing will be obliged to carry out impact assessments to understand the risks involved.

The Government has published a number of factsheets on the Data Protection Bill.

Notes for Editors

• Media enquiries from accredited journalists only: DCMS News and Communications team – 020 7211 2210.

• Public enquiries: DCMS enquiries team on 020 7211 6000 or enquiries@culture.gov.uk.

Loss of control and grounding of a ferry in Lochmaddy, Scotland.