Tag Archives: HM Government

The latest intake of the Army’s School of Education’s Potential Officer Development Programme (PODP) visited MOD Main Building in London this Tuesday as part of their intensive 12-week development programme.

As part of their visit, the potential officers had the opportunity to meet and put questions to Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon during a question and answer session.

In welcoming the students to the Ministry of Defence, Sir Michael said:

Our Armed Forces are held in high esteem, and recent events have shown that in difficult times people look to us for support. 

And in such challenging times, it will be vitally important that our future leaders are thinking soldiers, capable and able to adjust to and overcome those threats which come against us.

We need the best people of each successive generation. You’ve got what it takes to be our future leaders, and I look forward to you not just making it to Sandhurst but spearheading our nation’s charge towards a brighter future.

Potential Officer Annabelle Mash, 21 from the Isle of Wight said:

I am passionate about working in an organisation with a disciplined environment where there is the opportunity for me to develop as a person and with the ability to lead men and women confidently.

The Potential Officer Development Programme has been essential to my development, enabling me to develop my weaknesses and acting as a stepping stone towards my future career.

Potential Officer Reece Munnery, 22 from Tavistock, currently serves as a Private in the Parachute Regiment. Before joining the programme he served as a Section Second in Command. He said:

The Potential Officer Development Programme course has been very helpful in reassuring me that commissioning is the route I would like to go down, in building my confidence, and has been one of the most enjoyable courses I have attended in my Army career.

Potential Officer Moiz Abusin, 23 from Chertsey, completed his secondary education abroad in Dubai, before completing a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Nottingham.

He said:

I aspire to lead a life of adventure, achievement and service. Whether leading a platoon of soldiers on operations or helping to build critical infrastructure and rebuild lives after a natural disaster, I relish the prospect leading a life far from routine.

The programme supports serving soldiers and direct entry civilian candidates by equipping participants with the skills necessary to pass the Army Officer Selection Board (AOSB).

On completion of the PODP, students will attend the AOSB to determine whether they are suitable for commissioning. If successful at this stage, they will then go on to begin Officer Cadet training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS).

First DNA vaccine authorised in the EU to protect Atlantic salmon against Salmon Pancreas Disease.

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Diebold Nixdorf has sold Diebold’s customer-operated cashpoint business in the UK to Cennox.

The Environment Agency successfully prosecuted 2 known criminals and their company who were sentenced on Friday 9 June 2017 for illegal waste tipping and storage at Baldwins Farm and Bush Farm in Essex.

The Environment Agency investigated PCS Recycling and the owners, Patrick James Corbally Snr and Patrick Lee Corbally Jnr, between 1 March 2012 and 8 May 2013. The men were arrested on site by police officers. They were found guilty of depositing waste, including potentially hazardous materials, in 2012 and 2013.

During the investigation, Environment Agency Officers discovered a large area, the size of 2 football pitches, where waste had been tipped and spread, accumulating to over 15 metres high in places. This area, known as Baldwins Farm, was being used as an illegal waste site, and at least 7,000 tonnes of waste was deposited there between 1 March and 31 August 2012. Both defendants pleaded guilty to operating a regulated facility without a permit at Baldwins Farm.

Patrick Corbally Snr and Patrick Corbally Jnr also pleaded guilty to being responsible for another organised illegal tip at a nearby site, known as Bush Farm (Priory Angling Club). The defendants were responsible for depositing in excess of 9,000 tonnes of waste at this second site. The estimated cost to the landowners (Cemex UK) of clearing and remediating the site of waste was up to £3 million pounds.

Patrick James Corbally Snr and Patrick Lee Corbally Jnr were each given 10-month prison sentences, which were suspended for 2 years, and along with the PCS Recycling, ordered to pay fines of £120,000 and £55,000 compensation to the land owner Cemex.

The sentence was imposed on the basis that the defendants had acted deliberately. There had been major costs of site remediation and significant interference with lawful waste operators, whose legitimate businesses had been undermined.

This fine is one of the highest ever to be imposed on individual defendants following an Environment Agency prosecution.

Sarah Mills, the Enforcement Team Leader at the Environment Agency, said:

Due to the complexity of the case, it took a lot of resources to get the right outcome from this investigation. Waste crime is a serious issue diverting as much as £1 billion per annum from legitimate business and treasury. Since April 2011 the Environment Agency has invested £65.2 million in tackling it.

Illegal and unscrupulous waste criminals are working with total disregard for the environment, landowners, legal waste operators and any member of the public who use the land. We are determined to stop them by working with our partners in a collaborative effort. We hope this sentence serves as a message to those involved that we won’t stop the fight against this blight, and that it acts as a deterrent against those who undermine legitimate businesses within the industry.

We urge any landowners, farmers, ramblers or dog walkers who find these sites to call us immediately on our 24-hour free incident hotline number 0800 80 70 60 or make an anonymous report to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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