Christopher Fenton has had his sentence increased after the Solicitor General, the Rt Hon Lucy Frazer QC MP, thought his original sentence was too low.
A speeding drug driver who fled the scene of a fatal crash has had his sentence increased after the Solicitor General, the Rt Hon Lucy Frazer QC MP, thought his original sentence was too low.
Christopher Fenton, 40, was under the influence of cannabis when he crashed into a couple’s car, killing a man and seriously injuring his wife on 6 March last year.
Fenton was driving at 76mph in a 60mph zone when his vehicle collided with Marcus Haynes’ car. Fenton fled the scene and later returned with his mother.
On 10 May at Lewes Crown Court Fenton pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, and causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He was sentenced to 3 years and 8 months’ imprisonment. He was also disqualified from driving for 5 years and 10 months and must take an extended re-test should he wish to drive again.
The Solicitor General referred Fenton’s original sentence to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
On 6 July the Court of Appeal found his sentence to be unduly lenient and increased his sentence to 5 years and 3 months’ imprisonment.
Speaking after the hearing the Solicitor General, the Rt Hon Lucy Frazer QC MP, said:
This tragic case highlights the dangers of driving while under the influence of drugs. Christopher Fenton had no consideration for the risk he posed to other road users, and his reckless actions took the life of a man and shattered a family. My thoughts are with Mr Haynes’ family at this difficult time. I am pleased the Court has seen fit to increase his sentence.
Published 6 July 2021
£130 million upgrade set to unlock huge benefits for thriving North East
The new A19 Testo’s flyover over an iconic South Tyneside roundabout will enable better journeys and connections to international gateways and the rest of the country. Drivers can now travel along the A19 over the roundabout and benefit from new slip roads to the A184.
The upgrade comes as part of the Government’s drive to build back better from the pandemic and level up regions across the country.
Highways England marked the milestone, with an event where key partners, including Costain, Jacobs, South Tyneside Council, North East England Chamber of Commerce and Tyne Tunnels were in attendance.
Among those celebrating the official opening of the A19 Testo’s junction improvements were (from left to right): Fiona Bootle (Tyne Tunnels Manager), Trevor Male (South Tyneside Council, Strategic Transport Lead), Tim Gamon (Regional Delivery Director for Yorkshire and North East, Highways England) and John Marshall (Chair of North East England Chamber of Commerce)
Minister for Roads, Buses and Places, Baroness Vere of Norbiton said:
The £130m Testo’s junction upgrade will be hugely beneficial to the North East, providing swifter, more reliable free-flowing journeys and supporting economic growth in the region.
As we build back better from the pandemic, this Government will continue to invest billions of pounds to improve infrastructure, boost connections, and level-up regions right across the country.
Highways England Acting Chief Executive Nick Harris said:
This opening is an important milestone in the substantial investment being made in the North East’s major A roads.
These improvements will make a major contribution to the region, from providing better journeys to and from the region’s ports and Teesside airport, to improving journey times for local people who can get home more quickly and safely to their families or to and from their workplace.
Our roads are not only the lifeblood of our economy, they support local as well as national businesses, and are vital to enable our emergency services to support local communities.
The upgrade at Testo’s, one of more than 35 ongoing major improvement projects across England’s motorways and major A roads, is integral in a huge investment package into the A19; where:
extra capacity is being created on the Downhill Lane junction between the A19 and the A1290 in Sunderland, supporting plans for the development of the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP), located in the area north of Sunderland’s Nissan Motor Manufacturing plant and major international supply chain companies, adjacent to the A19.
widening and noise reduction enhancements are being made to the road between the Norton to Wynyard junctions. The major project is due to complete by this autumn, several months earlier than planned; and
since 2019, drivers can now continue along the A19 north or south without being held up at the Silverlink Roundabout (A19/A1084 Coast Road) with the creation of a new carriageway under the existing junction.
Also in the region, Highways England is carrying out a range of improvements along the A1 corridor between Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead by increasing the number of lanes in each direction between junction 74 at Scotswood and junction 79 at North Brunton. Work is also beginning this summer into widening the carriageway between junction 65 at Birtley and junction 67 at Coal House.
Peter Molyneux, Major Roads Director at Transport for the North, said:
It’s fantastic to see this improved junction open to traffic and hear that it is already making a real difference to those using the A19 by removing a renowned pinch-point.
The upgraded junction will provide extra capacity to help increase resilience, and also bring safety improvements and a better integrated local road network. It will also boost the development of the International Advance Manufacturing Park, supporting jobs and investment in the area.
Improving vital strategic roads like the A19 is essential to support the local and regional economy, giving people and businesses the reliable roads they need. As Transport for the North we will continue to speak with one voice for our region and advocate for investment in key schemes such as this as part of our multimodal Strategic Transport Plan and Investment Programme.
Work began on the installation of the Testo’s flyover back in March 2019, in an effort to tackle the heavy traffic which beset the junction, and is predicted to cater as many as 83,400 vehicles every day by 2033.
New link roads are being built between Downhill Lane and Testo’s, aimed at boosting journey times, as well as providing new facilities for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders.
Prior to the 142-metre and 1,300-plus tonne flyover opening to traffic, a Highways England traffic officer vehicle was joined by vehicles from Northumbria Police, Tyne and Wear Fire Service, North East Ambulance Service Nissan, as the first to travel officially over the new road.
Nissan, who’s new electric Leaf model is being built at the nearby Sunderland plant, has recently announced a major expansion of battery production in the region creating thousands of new jobs both directly and in the supply chain.
Alan Johnson, Vice President of Manufacturing at Nissan UK said:
The region’s excellent transport links were one of the main reasons Nissan took the decision, more than 40 years ago, to locate our plant in Sunderland. Since then thousands of our staff, as well as millions of our cars, have travelled around the Testo’s roundabout.
The new flyover will provide a tremendous upgrade and we’re delighted that the 100% electric Nissan Leaf was the first car to officially drive over the new bridge.
More than 1,350³ (tonnes cubed) have been saved on the overall scheme footprint by recycling material from the A1058 Coast Road and more than 27,000 new plants have been added to the area.
Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.
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Appointment of Director General for the EU in the Cabinet Office
News story
Julian Braithwaite has been appointed Director General for the EU in the Cabinet Office.
The Cabinet Secretary, with the approval of the Prime Minister, has announced the appointment of Julian Braithwaite as the new Director General for the EU in the Cabinet Office.
Julian will be responsible for advice to Lord Frost and the Prime Minister on EU issues, and for coordinating policy and engagement across Whitehall, working closely with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and other Whitehall departments.
Notes for editors
Julian Braithwaite CMG was Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the WTO, UN and other International Organisations in Geneva from 2015 to 2021. Prior to that he was Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Political and Security Committee of the European Union (2011-14).
Published 6 July 2021
MHRA releases guidance in collaboration with Health Canada to improve patient safety in clinical trials through improving the quality of Development Safety Update Reports
News story
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Health Canada have published guidance to improve the safety of patients in clinical trials through improved quality of the periodic safety reports known as Development Safety Update Reports (DSURs).
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Health Canada have jointly published new guidance to improve the safety of patients in clinical trials through improved quality of the periodic safety reports known as Development Safety Update Reports (DSURs). The guidance applies to both marketed and non-marketed medicines that are undergoing clinical trials.
Director of Licensing Division at MHRA Dr Siu Ping Lam said:
This guidance will improve the safety surveillance of clinical trial participants in the UK.
We are committed to working with international partners to increase the quality of the Development Safety Update Reports submitted to regulators.
This collaboration highlights the leading role we take in ensuring the safety of clinical trials globally.
DSURs review the safety of medicinal products used in clinical trials and are produced every year. At present, even though trial sponsors will have conducted assessments regarding safety concerns, these detailed safety assessments are not always included in the DSUR. This makes it difficult for some regulators to find out if all safety concerns have been thoroughly investigated and whether appropriate measures have been taken to mitigate the risks associated with the use of the investigational medicinal products during a trial.
This guidance will improve transparency and ask sponsors to explain in the region-specific information section how they assessed the data included in the DSUR. The guidance builds on relevant existing international standards, including the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) guidance E2F, the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) Working Group VII as well as each country’s relevant clinical trial legislation.
By increasing DSUR transparency requirements globally, patients’ safety is safeguarded, and regulators can monitor how safely medicines are being investigated. This joint publication with Health Canada reflects the UK effort to demonstrate how international collaboration contributes to international research, patient safety and global public health.
Published 6 July 2021
£500m firepower upgrade for Type 45 destroyers
Supporting over 100 highly-skilled jobs in Bristol, Stevenage, Gosport and Bolton, the two contracts will develop the cutting-edge air defence systems of the Type 45 destroyers.
MBDA UK has been awarded an 11-year contract to integrate the Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM) programme, often referred to as Sea Ceptor, into the Type 45 destroyers’ Sea Viper weapon systems. In addition to this, a 10-year contract with Eurosam will provide a refresh of the Aster 30 missiles system that are currently in use.
Minister for Defence Procurement, Jeremy Quin said:
Enhancing our destroyer capabilities, this investment reaffirms our commitment to equip the Royal Navy with the most advanced and powerful defensive systems.
This upgrade ensures the Type 45 remains hugely respected by naval fleets across the globe and secures highly-skilled jobs and investment.
Announced by the Prime Minister last November, Defence has received an increase in funding of over £24 billion across the next four years, focussing on the ability to adapt to meet future threats. Outlined further in the Defence Command Paper, this investment to upgrade the Type 45 destroyers will boost the lethality of the surface fleet. Currently, the Type 45 destroyers use a combination of short-range Aster 15 and long-range Aster 30 anti-air missiles to engage and destroy enemy threats. To facilitate the introduction of CAMM, a new 24-missile CAMM silo will be added in front of the current 48-missile Aster 30 silos, therefore increasing the overall missile capacity of the vessels by 50 per cent. This will result in a total capacity of 72 anti-air missiles per destroyer.
Royal Navy Fleet Commander, Vice Admiral Jerry Kyd CBE said:
These programmes will provide an exceptional capability to the front line, ensuring the RN remains poised to defend the surface fleet, and most importantly the Carrier Strike Group, against complex air threats both now and into the future.
CAMM also provides a means to accurately and effectively engage small, fast inshore attack craft, hovering helicopters and low-speed targets alongside defeating their more traditional high-speed air targets.
The Aster 30 missile system refresh is a tri-national sustainment and enhancement contract between the UK, France and Italy which includes investment in a dedicated UK embodiment facility at Defence Munitions in Gosport, Hampshire.
DE&S CEO Sir Simon Bollom said:
The introduction of the UK produced CAMM missile in conjunction with the current Aster 30 missile will provide the Type 45 with a significant uplift in anti-air capability into the future as the Type 45 delivers the backbone of air defence to the Royal Navy’s Carrier Strike Group.
The Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyers are among the most advanced in the fleet and carry out a range of activity, including defence from air attack, counter-piracy operations and providing humanitarian aid.
The first Type 45 destroyer is expected to have been overhauled by summer 2026.
