Russia: UK-US joint statement on first anniversary of poisoning of Alexey Navalny

News story

The UK and US have issued a joint statement on the first anniversary of the poisoning of Alexey Navalny.

One year on from Mr Alexey Navalny’s poisoning on 20 August 2020, the United Kingdom and the United States of America reaffirm our condemnation of the assassination attempt on Mr. Navalny through the use of a nerve-agent of the “Novichok” group, a substance developed by Russia.

We call on Russia to comply fully with the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), including its obligations to declare and dismantle its chemical weapons programme.

We remain determined to uphold the global norm against the use of chemical weapons, support the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the full implementation of the CWC. We regret that the Russian authorities have failed to investigate and credibly explain the use of a chemical weapon against Mr. Navalny on Russia’s territory, in light of Russia’s obligations as a State Party to the CWC.

We welcome sanctions actions made by international partners and will continue to coordinate with international partners on further measures. Today the UK and the US join in taking further action against the individuals directly responsible for carrying out the poisoning of Mr. Navalny. As we did after Russia’s use of a chemical weapon against the Skripals in the United Kingdom in March 2018, we continue to underline that there must be accountability and no impunity for those that use chemical weapons.

We reiterate our interest in stable and predictable relations with Russia, on the basis of full compliance with and implementation of international obligations and commitments.

Published 20 August 2021



Russia: UK sanctions FSB operatives over poisoning of Alexey Navalny

News story

The UK has sanctioned the Russian FSB operatives directly responsible for Novichok attack on Alexey Navalny.

Today, on the anniversary of Alexey Navalny’s poisoning with a banned nerve agent of the “Novichok” group, the UK has announced asset freezes and travel bans against seven Russian nationals, under the UK autonomous Chemical Weapons sanctions regime.

The sanctioned individuals are directly responsible for planning or carrying out the attack on Mr Navalny in Tomsk on 20 August 2020. These measures have been taken alongside our US allies.

This is the second round of sanctions under the UK autonomous Chemical Weapons regime. In October 2020, the UK sanctioned six individuals and one entity responsible for masterminding the poisoning of Alexey Navalny.

Today’s sanctions are targeted towards those who carried out the attack.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said:

Since the horrific poisoning of Alexey Navalny took place a year ago, the UK has been at the forefront of the international response against this appalling act. Through our chemical weapons sanctions regime and at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, we are sending a clear message that any use of chemical weapons by the Russian state violates international law, and a transparent criminal investigation must be held. We urge Russia to declare its full stock of Novichok nerve agents.

The UK and its partners have repeatedly called on Russia to conduct a full and transparent criminal investigation into Mr Navalny’s poisoning. Russia continues to ignore these calls and has failed to provide a plausible explanation into how a nerve agent came to be used on Russian territory.

These sanctions on members of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) demonstrate that the UK and its partners will continue to hold those responsible to account for their actions and uphold the Chemical Weapons Convention.

In light of Mr Navalny’s politically-motivated arrest and detention and the upcoming State Duma elections, we also underline our support for democracy, including free and fair elections, the rule of law and human rights in Russia.

Published 20 August 2021



Innovation reaches deep into the Dounreay workforce

About 100 or so workers normally attend Dounreay’s annual showcase event, when staff are recognised for reaching levels of excellence in their work to decommission the plant.

The coronavirus pandemic threw a spanner in the works during 2020 because of legal restrictions about how many people could gather in one place. So, they had to make a choice – take the easy option which would have been to cancel altogether and return again next year or do something new and innovative that would be inclusive and fun.

With most staff working remotely from home, the site’s operator moved the December event on-line – and pulled in an audience many times greater than usual.

And thanks to the roll-out of video communications, it also meant they could feature a cabaret showcasing the hidden talents of the Dounreay workforce.

Now, the event has been short-listed in the “best event” category of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations Scotland PRide awards.

“Innovation in the face of adversity enabled us to take the event from a small number of invited guests to something that reached every corner of the workforce and made us all feel really proud of our achievements during a very difficult time,” said Gail Ross, head of communications at Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd.

The 90-minute show, hosted by Highland media celebrity Nicky Marr and run on-line by contractor DP Media, drew in an audience viewed by 1600 different devices.

In addition to recognising the outstanding achievements during the previous 12 months of individuals and teams at the site, it also featured a cabaret of staff performing musical interludes and even a magic show.

A poll of staff picked Caithness Mental Health Group as the nominated charity, with more than £4000 raised during the course of the evening.

The winner of the CIPR Scotland PRide award will be announced on 6 October.



CMA finds competition concerns with NVIDIA’s purchase of Arm

A summary of the CMA’s report, which was sent to the Secretary of State (SoS) for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on 20 July ahead of the set deadline, has now been published. The CMA has determined that an in-depth investigation into the deal between NVIDIA and Arm is warranted on competition grounds.

Should the deal go ahead, the CMA is concerned that the merged business would have the ability and incentive to harm the competitiveness of NVIDIA’s rivals by restricting access to Arm’s intellectual property (IP). Arm’s IP is used by companies that produce semiconductor chips and related products, in competition with NVIDIA.

Ultimately, the CMA is concerned this loss of competition could stifle innovation across a number of markets, including data centres, gaming, the ‘internet of things’, and self-driving cars. This could result in more expensive or lower quality products for businesses and consumers.

NVIDIA offered a behavioural remedy – a measure which regulates the ongoing behaviour of a business – but the CMA found that this type of remedy would not alleviate its concerns. Therefore, the CMA found that the merger should be progressed to an in-depth Phase 2 investigation on competition grounds.

Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the CMA, said: “We’re concerned that NVIDIA controlling Arm could create real problems for NVIDIA’s rivals by limiting their access to key technologies, and ultimately stifling innovation across a number of important and growing markets. This could end up with consumers missing out on new products, or prices going up.

“The chip technology industry is worth billions and is vital to products that businesses and consumers rely on every day. This includes the critical data processing and datacentre technology that supports digital businesses across the economy, and the future development of artificial intelligence technologies that will be important to growth industries like robotics and self-driving cars.”

On 19 April 2021, the SoS issued a public interest intervention notice in relation to the merger, on the ground of national security. In line with its legal duties, the CMA has provided the DCMS SoS with a report on its competition findings, along with a summary of representations received from third parties which relate to the national security public interest consideration. The SoS will decide whether the merger should be referred for an in-depth Phase 2 investigation on both competition and national security grounds, or if it should be passed back to the CMA to investigate on competition grounds only. The timing of this decision will be decided by the SoS.

In conducting its investigation, the CMA has worked closely with other competition authorities around the world to carefully consider the impact of the deal.

For more information, visit the NVIDIA / Arm merger inquiry case page.

Notes to Editor

  1. The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the connection of electronic devices to the internet and to other devices to allow them to collect, process and share data. IoT devices include everyday consumer devices like smart speakers, and devices in industrial applications like robotic systems.
  2. Datacentres are large groups of networked computer systems used by organisations for the storage, processing, and distribution of large amounts of data. The key hardware that makes up a datacentre infrastructure allows it to perform computing, storage and networking functions.


Say ‘Hello’ to the Exmouth tidal defence scheme

Press release

The Environment Agency has launched a 12-month pilot with Hello Lamp Post to give residents and visitors to Exmouth the opportunity to have a ‘conversation’ with the Exmouth tidal defence scheme.

Lady walking 2 dogs holds her phone camera up to take a photo of sign on Exmouth tidal defence scheme flood gate

Having a ‘chat’ with the flood gate at Alexandra Terrace, Exmouth

Hello Lamp Post allows people to have 2-way ‘chats’ with objects in their local environment. QR codes have been attached to parts of the tidal defence around Exmouth; anyone with a smartphone can scan the QR code or text the number on the sign to begin a conversation.

Residents and visitors will be able to find out why the defences are needed and how they can reduce their own flood risk in a digestible, informative and playful way. They’ll also be able to give feedback on the Exmouth tidal defence scheme itself.

The first interactive objects are now live at Estuary View car park on Royal Avenue and the flood gate at Alexandra Terrace junction.

Kate Pearson, Flood Resilience Engagement Advisor at The Environment Agency said:

Community engagement is key to our flood defence work. We’re always looking for better ways to reach people, to find out what residents want and what they think of the work we’re doing.

Hello Lamp Post lets us reach people when they’re actually standing next to our defences, they can give us feedback without the need for a physical meeting so it’s a really covid secure way to engage with people.

Cllr Geoff Jung, East Devon District Council portfolio holder for Coast, Country and Environment said:

Now the contractors are nearly finished on the Exmouth tidal defence scheme this clever piece of modern technology will explain to people all the whys, the what and the what ifs for this scheme and explains to the user why the scheme was required to help protect the town, its businesses and residents. We are pleased to offer our support for this exciting initiative.

The £12 million Exmouth tidal defence scheme is due to be fully complete later this year. The Environment Agency is working in partnership with East Devon District Council to deliver the scheme which will reduce the risk of tidal flooding to over 1,400 residential and 400 commercial properties.

The Environment Agency say they’ll be launching more talking objects around Exmouth in a few weeks’ time, so make sure you keep an eye out for the QR codes and say ‘Hello’.

Published 20 August 2021